This year so far has been about celebrities and I met a true blue achiever yesterday. Tenzing Norgay’s son Jamling came and spoke at the Nasscom GIC conclave. I met him just before the session started and what amazing humility !! I have always wondered what it means to have a famous father and that too a true life hero like Tenzing. Maybe someday I will get the chance to ask Jamling that.
Krishnan, Appa, Amma and I managed to see the Everest from inside a Buddha Air flight on Sept 7th, 2006…. From a distance of nearly 1.5 kms because any closer and the turbulence would have led to a crash. It was majestic and awe-inspiring. The entire Himalayan range really appeared to be the abode of the Gods. Silent, Serene and beautiful. Even the tallest tower that man has made would be a Pygmy amidst these tall mountains and ofcourse if it’s a beauty pageant, man-made buildings cannot get anywhere close to the master artist’s creations.
After hearing Jamling speak about how they reached the summit of Everest, many of our everyday problems seem like pygmies… The planning that goes into an expedition, the uncaring inexperienced climbers throwing trash all over, the -40 deg C temperatures and almost no oxygen. What a life altering event ! The unforgiving terrain that kills at the slightest mistake but offers the most amazing views if you follow the rules. The way Jamling narrated the whole experience made many of us to give him a standing ovation and am sure like me many people thought of atleast reaching the Everest base camp 🙂
There was some magic in the air as the pictures came alive with Jamling’s narrative, the anecdotes about his father and Sir Edmund Hillary, the sharing of what went on in his head as the movie director tried out different angles – he just helped us all to live those moments.
A truly worthy son of a heroic father !!