Heady heights of glory scaled

Edmund Hillary quotes “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” The quote is apt for the man who in spite of all odds set out to conquer the highest peak of the world-Mt. Everest. Achieving a glorious distinction in the mountaineering history of Arunachal Pradesh, Tapi Mra who was among the 12 Indians to scale Mount Everest has created a historical milestone for Arunachal Pradesh by being the first Arunachalee to scale the mighty Mount Everest. His achievement is a path breaking endeavor which will be recorded in golden words in the book of Arunachal, which truly depicts the potential of our brave and energetic youth. It is no wonder that with his ascent to the highest mountain peak, he reached the pinnacle of his chosen profession which has instilled a sense of pride to the people especially the youth of Arunachal Pradesh who have been inspired to achieve their goals in spite of all ordeals.

Born on the 12th of December, 1985 and son of late Nyamin Mra, twenty-five-year-old Mra, hailing from the sleepy village of Lemiking in the Upper Subansiri district, close to the India-China boundary, was inspired ever since he heard of Everester Bachendri Pal’s feat when he was at school over the radio. He told elders that he would climb the snow-capped 5000 meter Dadi Kri Mountain near his home district, which he did two to three times along with other climbers and army personnel. Mra is a keen adventure sports enthusiast and did his basic mountaineering and training course from Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), Darjeeling and also has a certificate course in Para-gliding from Manali and in water sports from Pongdam in Himachal Pradesh.

He had to struggle against poverty and lack of sponsorship to give shape to his dream of becoming a seasoned mountaineer. Those who think that climbing Mt. Everest is all about grit and stamina are mistaken. Scaling the world’s highest peak also involves a lot of money and to meet his expenses and gather funds for the expedition, Mra sold off his four mithuns (bos frontals), semi domesticated cow like animals flaunted by Arunachalees as a status symbol in the tribal society. The government of Arunachal Pradesh and some local clubs in Arunachal Pradesh also provided substantial financial assistance to Tapi Mra to meet his expenditure to scale the dizzying heights of Everest.

Tapi Mra wanted to create history in Indian Mountaineering Expeditions by climbing Mt Everest without stopping overnight anywhere within 24 hours time starting from base camp to become the fastest Indian climber to climb Mt Everest. For this mission, Mra had to undergo numerous ordeals to finally clear all tests to scale Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. After successfully completing his final round of body acclimatization for four days, climbing in high altitudes in the vicinity of 21,000-25,000 feet, the daredevil climber from Upper Subansiri district returned to the base camp and was prepared to scale the peak depending on weather conditions.

In this year’s expedition, as many as 28 teams comprising 253 mountaineers from different countries across the globe attempted to scale Everest. Mra who was enrolled as one of the 33 members of an international expedition team which took more than a month from early April to complete it.

Mra who was accompanied by a Sherpa climber Karma Sherpa, accomplished his mission by dint of his indomitable spirit and physical grit. Starting from South Col, they scaled the summit of Mt. Everest at 06.40 AM to augur a new dawn atop Everest exemplifying the exhilarating zenith of adventure and freedom of the human spirit. He placed the national tricolour and another flag with the name of Arunachal Pradesh on it on the peak. Prior to his Everest expedition, Mra had also scaled the 6,160 meter high Island Peak in Nepal during 2007 and the Mera Peak (6,654 meters) in 2008. Mra, along with two other Indians, represented India in the Mount Everest Joint Expedition-2009.

Sharing his thoughts after his successful descent, Mra said that he had reached the base camp and spent over a month there for acclimatization. He felt like he had to abandon the expedition when an avalanche killed some members of the expedition. He was so terrified that he almost decided to return home. However, he thought of the faces of several persons whose help made the expedition possible and this spurred him on.

Crawling over the bodies of members of earlier expeditions imprinted on ice and which still looked fresh, he remembered he went past somebody sitting in a meditative posture near the summit with a flag in hand only to discover later that it was a body lying there for several years.

After his successful descent from the peak, when asked how it felt on the top of the world, he proudly said that it was a divine feeling and felt like standing on top of the world as for the final moment of the assault he felt that he had an out of body experience and he forgot everything.

A grateful Mra on his return after conquering Everest presented the Governor and Chief Minister a piece of the rock that he collected from the top of the world and the photographs of himself with the tricolour atop Everest.

State Governor, Gen JJ Singh along with Chief Minster Dorjee Khandu and people from all walks of life expressed their happiness regarding the historic accomplishment of Tapi Mra as this historic feat would be a harbinger for more adventure and the spirit of excellence epitomizing the youth, said the Governor.

Taro Chatung, chairman of an NGO, Taro Opey Foundation, which provided this young mountaineer with financial aid, said that Mra was a “symbol of the Arunachalee youth, a flame of determination and perseverance.” It was Chatung whom Mra contacted after reaching the base camp to convey the news of his achievement.

As for Tapi Mra the famous quotes of Mahatma Gandhi and Napoleon Bonaparte stands true “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” and “Great people are meteors designed to burn so that the earth may be lighted.”

C.B. Namchoom