Call of the Mountains; A divine attachment
Dr Satya Priya Sinha
As a matter of fact, most renowned people usually prefer to write their memoirs based on their lifetime endeavors, experiences, and achievements while some others pen their life’s pages in their biographies. But I have no intention to do so because I am neither a renowned person nor a famous individual. As I am a simple person, I just wish to share my experiences that I felt and confronted on the mountains as a mountaineer and in the wilderness as a researcher in different National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries of India over a span of almost 40 years. Hopefully, in the coming years I would add my recent experiences to this chronicle.
True wilderness has become a matter of the bygone era as the damaging footprints of mankind even in the remotest of forests have gradually diminished them along with their jewels - the wild animals.
Our team leader was a strict disciplinarian and an adept climber himself. In his mountaineering career, he remained totally devoted to this part of his vocation. In one of the expeditions, when his leg got fractured, he had trudged nearly five kilometers and had reached a motorable stretch from where he was rescued.
Later during my training, I had a golden opportunity to work directly with Tenzing Norgay, the first Everest summiter and Nawang Gombu, who had scaled Mount Everest twice. One thing which I have learned in their association is to respect the Mountains, its wilderness and to face the odds cheerfully despite the hardships. I had always found Tenzing in a cheerful mood and encouraging the entire team. Later I followed the edicts of these two great mountaineers when I was working in Ladakh in search of the elusive snow leopard. In Ladakh, I met two very old Lamas in one of the villages in Markha valley. Local people told me that those Lamas were very old and highly respected in the valley. They had come to Markha valley for the last rites of a Lama who had died recently in a Gompa near Hankar, which was the last village in this valley. I told them that since last 8 months we were in search of the snow leopard without any success. After a few moments, one of the Lamas with a wide smile on his face predicted that I would see the animal in that valley within a short time and he was right as later, during the very next month, we sighted a snow leopard in the Markha valley.
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