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On a high

Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

The torchbearers Expedition leader Bachendri Pal (in olive green T-shirt) with other members on their return to New Delhi

They were set a difficult target and they not only succeeded but smiled and sang all the way. Bachendri Pal and her team reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro (19,335 feet) in Tanzania in a record five days. Part of an Indo-African expedition sent by the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation to commemorate Tata Steel’s centenary celebrations, all nine Indian members of the all-women’s expedition reached the top. Bachendri is jubilant.

“The handling agency at first said why did you choose this route (the Machame route). This put a doubt in our minds, and we thought after so much energy and money has gone into this venture, what if we fail?” However, the team refused a route change. One Tanzanian member, on her maiden mountaineering expedition, climbed till 17,000 feet and had to return due to altitude sickness. “But in my team everyone was very strong,” says Bachendri. “They had all done the mountaineering course and had endurance.”

On their return the climbers took the handling agency to task for their discouraging remarks. The adventurers had enough anxieties of their own to begin with, says Bachendri. “We didn’t know the terrain, the people, the language.” As it happened, the difficulties were more in their head. “I thought, now I’m 54, will I be able to do it? Sab ki apne andar se ladai thi. Everyone was fighting their own demons.)”

The porters spoke no English, and the guide, even with a limited command of the language, managed to convey to the team that Indian women had tried and failed before this. “Maybe they underestimated us,” says Bachendri. “Later the guide said, ‘Indian women’ — and gestured ‘Power!’ with his hands.”

The weather held up well too, she notes, unusual for the rainforest region. On their triumphal descent they were felicitated by Tanzania’s national park representative, who gave a grand dinner, relates India’s first woman to reach Mt. Everest. Keeping in touch with their homes using the phone supplied by Tata, they were cheerful all the way. “We had been singing in the camp every day. We never just go to sleep in the tent. I make them come out and climb a bit more. This helps in acclimatising. And we had a very short time to reach the summit.”

The last lap to the summit was completed through the night of June 28 to gain maximum time at the top. “Usually the weather starts deteriorating in the afternoon,” explains Bachendri. “We left at 11.30 p.m. I dislike night time climbing. You feel so tired, and as if you are falling asleep. It is not just the tiredness but due to lack of oxygen.”

Reaching the summit at 8.30 a.m. after nearly nine hours, it all became worth it. “We spent a half hour to 45 minutes there. We took loads of pictures.”

Back home in Jamshedpur, Bachendri resumes her post at the Adventure Foundation. Ready to conquer more of life’s Everests.

ANJANA RAJAN

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