Before it begins: A toast to my friends

It has taken me six (though very short) web logs to write something close to a prologue about my plans to undertake a long journey in Africa. Through them I have also tried to justify why I have this pathological need to experience Africa on a bicycle, alone. It was always in there, in me, this bohemian ‘me’, always wanting, craving to wander. And partly it is Mr. Tilman to blame, I guess.

My heart is full of excitement. I am excited in anticipation of the vastness of the unknown factors that lay ahead. Factors that will govern and dictate the fate of my journey. Factors that I cannot possibly imagine may be! And that is what making me alive, again.

In this episode I would like to mention my friends without whom my dream for this African journey would not have turned into a reality. People without whose support the stalemate of the mundane would have carried on and on.

First of all, it is, Mr. Sabyasachi Talukdar, the CEO and Editor, of Uttarbanga Sambad (www.uttarbangasambad.com) for believing in my project and extending invaluable financial support. Without his help the fate of my Africa dreams would have been seriously compromised.

With Mr. Sabyasachi Talukdar in his office at Kolkata

I will be contributing my articles, as I travel, in Bengali, to ‘Uttarbanga Sambad’ regularly. This daily newspaper is also available online.

I will be updating my blog, as and when I get a chance. For those who wish to follow me in English; this blog is the place.

The next person I must mention is Dr. Rupak Bhattacharya. In spite of his busy surgery schedule in C.M.R.I, Kolkata, he was always extremely enthusiastic about my project and gone out of his way to help me; from finding contacts in cities that I will be travelling through to planning my route. I owe a great deal to him; not just because of the enthusiasm and support for Africa, but also for doing a damn good lung surgery on me back in 2010. For me it is truly the second innings of my life! I am grateful. 

with Dr. Rupak Bhattacharya, during one of our many map study sittings in Kolkata

Next is Sri Biswanath Dasgupta, or should I say ‘BDG’. Through his messages and blogs he has been outstandingly inspiring; to many like me I am sure.

Then my old friend Martin Muecke, with whom I had raced in Elbrus (2008) and climbed Manirang (2009) and Satopanth (2011). He is truly a good friend and I am indebted to him for his support and help. 

Martin Muecke, at Nandanvan, on our way down from Satopanth, July 2011

And of course, my new mountain friend Ananth whom I met in Kalanag a few weeks back; his gesture of support touched my heart. 

with Ananth at Seema on our way out of Kalanag

Tomorrow I leave for Nairobi, Kenya. I will be flying to Mumbai tomorrow afternoon and then catch the Nairobi flight on very early morning of 21st June.

Today, as it happens, it’s my birthday and I have just turned 42. Now that I am officially middle aged, let’s begin this journey with a toast to all my friends. I wish I could play that Joe Cocker number for all of you. You know which one I am talking about: “...with a little help from my friend”...of course!

Cheers!


"...What would you do if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
Mmm,I get high with a little help from my friends,
Mmm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends."

Prologue to Africa Part VI

A break from ‘my’ known and ‘my’ obvious

“ ...does your enthusiasm hold good only for mountaineering?’

‘By and large I do everything with enthusiasm, as long as it doesn’t concern bureaucracy, which I hate like the plague.’

Is there another climb to come?’

‘I would like to travel to Tibet, to South America, I would like to experience so many countries, get to know so many areas..."

The above conversation takes place somewhere in Cologne, Germany in 1979. Questions asked by anonymous public, answers given by none other than Reinhold Messner. (Source: Crystal Horizon, Reinhold Messner, p.60)

Today mountaineering is the only activity I can put to practice and use it to earn bread for my family. But it is not just livelihood. It was never just about work. I am passionate about it. That is why I had left a job in the Pharmaceutical Industry in the first place.

8 hectic years in pharmaceutical marketing was enough to suffocate and slow poison me. I had quit without even thinking or planning. I wanted out.

Mountains gave me the true sense of freedom, of a life so different and distant from the smog covered skyline of Belur, a suburb of West Bengal, where I was born and brought up.

Over the past decade or so I have participated in more than 30 mountaineering ventures in the Indian Himalaya. I was never a mere participant in those expeditions. I was the brain, one of the foot soldiers; and most of the time a responsible leader.

That brings the statistics to an average of 3 expeditions a year. May be for a few of my friends this average is poor; but for me it has been an exhausting journey. Rewarding, but exhausting at the same time.

Rewarding, because with each expedition, irrespective of getting my members to the summit and getting them down safe; I grew up a little, learnt something new and above all made new friends. And to add to that, I must mention my biggest reward has been working with the Sherpa community of Darjeeling. The roles of one of my comrade in Adventure Mania- Thendup Sherpa have been enormously significant. He is more than family, and without him Adventure Mania seems incomplete to me. With Thendup I share many of my favourite adventures in the Indian Himalaya and I am sure will have many more.

Exhausting, because, every repetitive action must bring monotony to the actor. It is only a matter of time and eventuality. For me the question was when and how?

This business of offering mountaineering services was quickly becoming a mundane affair. Surely there was no ‘zen’ to be found on top of a mountain and especially on a day when a tailor-make fashion seems to work just fine. From Mt Blanc to Mount Everest, this is the trend and it seems like it is here to thrive. I am talking about commercially guided expeditions of course.

I have no problem with this trend. After all, this is also my livelihood. I just need a break. Break from the known and the obvious. A break from ‘my’ known and ‘my’ obvious. My soul is in constant search for the new and is dreaming to venture out in the unknown.

And if you are slaves of your own dreams what do you do? You follow your dreams no matter what height, depth or distance it takes you.

For me, this time, it is beckoning me to Africa. The first spark of inspiration came from none other than my Guru in Himalayan exploration, H.W.Tilman.

In 2011, I had travelled and explored in the Indian Himalaya following his footprints; once while achieving the first ascent of Zemu Gap from south and the other while charting a new passage on the Nanda Devi Sanctuary wall. Now I see Tilman’s signature across Equator in Africa.

I have already talked about my Nanda Devi and Zemu Gap trips in my past blog ( Blanks on the Map) : http://himalaya-raja.blogspot.in/2012/05/prologue-to-africa-part-iv.html

After twenty years of mountain exploration, Tilman bought the first of three wooden pilot cutters he was to own, and set about teaching himself to sail. He then voyaged nearly every year for more than a quarter century to the frigid waters of the Antarctic and Arctic in search of new mountains to climb and places blank on the map.

As a young gunner officer he had served in France in the First War and won the Military Cross and a bar, being twice wounded; and in the Second War gained the Distinguished Service Order for his outstanding work in Italy and Albania with the partisans. Between the wars he had run a coffee plantation in Kenya, and with Eric Shipton from a neighbouring farm he had done some pioneer climbing on Mount Kenya. His time in Africa terminated characteristically with a bicycle ride across the continent and an ascent of Kilimanjaro en route. This was recorded in his book Snow on the Equator.

With a bicycle across the equator, enough to fire up any adventurer’s imagination and I am no exception.

I too want to travel across Africa on a bicycle, except, my path will be slightly different. I will start from the Equator at Nanyuki, Kenya and finish my journey at Walvis Bay, near the tropic of Capricorn, Namibia. I have to travel nearly 5000km and across 6 countries. Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. I will take my bike along and yes I will be on my own. Now isn’t that something to look forward to? What could be a better way to touch one’s Guru’s soul than taking the path shown by him?

End of part VI
End of Prologue to Africa

Prologue to Africa Part V

When mountains become a mundane monotony

In the last episode of my blog (Prologue to Africa Part IV: Blanks on the map) I had talked about the exploratory trips that I had undertaken in 2011. But surely there were more to 2011 than just those three.

In July 2011, my old friend Martin Muecke and I dreamt of climbing Mount Satopanth (7075m). Michael Kohler joined in and the team became threesome.

Together with our Sherpa support team we were only 6 people ( Martin, Michael, Thendup, Lakpa, Mingma and myself) trying to get our way up the summit of Satopanth in a lightweight style and everything went well till the summit day.

After pitching our base camp in Vasuki Tal; we had set up an ABC and two further and higher camps putting us strategically located for the summit bid. On the summit day heavy smog engulfed us and the forecast ahead was of long, heavy snow days. We decided to turn back within 100m of the summit with not so happy faces.

Satopanth had other surprises in store.

While working our way up the mountain, on one of the load ferry days to the Advanced Base; Martin and I spotted something odd at the bottom of a moraine slope. When we got closer it was evident that we had stumbled upon an accident site.

It was a crushed, collapsed tent and from its torn areas emerged human body parts. I decided to get a closer look as I knew this could be the unfortunate lost trekkers (2010) of Kalindi Khal. Soon I was close and decided to open one of the backpacks in order to find some sort of identification. I requested Martin to take photographs as I opened one of the backpacks. Out came a plastic bag in which I soon found out an Indian flag along with a certain club flag (HDMLA). I was now sure that these 'were' the lost trekkers of kalindi.

Here is a link to that story as unfolded by the Indian media. They got my name wrong of course but close though! They called me "Alind Mukherjee"! They could have easily written " A blind Mukherjee" and later call it a typo! I like that!

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/bodies-of-missing-trekkers-spotted-in-upper-himalayas/754769.html

It was a heavy feeling. I remember both me and Martin were in tears at the first shocking sight and for many nights after that whenever I closed my eyes the unfortunate and the dead visited.

I made sure that the news of sighting of their bodies reaches Kolkata as fast as possible hoping to start a process of recovery of the dead bodies for the last rights.

Much later, after the expedition to Satopanth was over and I had reached home myself; I saw a race (by a handful of West Bengal mountaineers) to claim publicity over the sad affair. Everyone was trying to present their case in a fashion that the credit of finding the poor souls belonged to them alone.

To those friends of mine I would like to say, I never seek any credit or glory in stumbling upon the unfortunate souls. I rather feel warned like a soft, yet cold deadly whisper; that I could be next. (I have intentionally not added any photographs of the lost trekkers here.)

The mountains and these relentless theatricals of climbing them were quickly becoming a mundane monotony for me and I wished for an escape.

The opportunity of getting away from the Indian Himalaya came in August 2011 as Rajeev Ranjan wanted to climb Mont Blanc and decided to take me along as his guide. Rajeev’s friend Bhavin Gandhi joined the party and soon we met in Chamonix.

We attempted Mont Blanc by the Gouter route. High wind stopped us from reaching its summit. Rajeev and me turned back from the Valot refuge. After a couple of days I climbed Mont Blanc du Tacul, a beautiful climb from the Aigle du Midi. That is another story but it was still not the escape I was longing for.