A mountain for myriad reasons: Nanda Devi

I remember reading an essay titled “Why men climb?” in my undergraduate course. The title evoked a lot of banter amongst us, young as we were. One of the reasons the author offered was ‘because they are there’. Though banal and facetious on the face of it, which the author was conscious of, the essay dwelt in some detail the urge of human beings to take challenges, test their potential to perform physically, endure the hardship and feel a sense of self-actualisation.

Mountains have been beckoning men for ages. Conversely, the human urge to measure up to mountains is as old as the mountains themselves. Some braved the challenge and many others surrendered to the might of the mountains. Among the global mountain system, the Himalayas, being the youngest and tallest, have for long invited intrepid mountaineers. Much like the young, the Himalayan geology is unstable, impulsive and the weather changes its moods in a trice. Many a mountaineer failed to predict its ever changing weather and ended up with derailed plans, some resulting in aborting the expedition.

‘Nanda Devi’ is a peak in the pantheon of Himalayan peaks, whose myth and charm enticed Sandeep Madadi, the author of the book who undertook the journey in cohort with his not-so-enthusiastic friends namely Raj and Sai. Sandeep captured the myriad myths and mystique of this peak in an eponymous volume of about one hundred pages in a demi-sized book. Not to forget, he narrates the legends about ‘Nanda Devi’ , the simple and austere life of those living in the midst of mountains, their existential anxieties and the adventures of local heroes. Sandeep narrates the highs and lows he faced during expedition without much obfuscation which should lay bare the threats and thrills one encounters on a mountain trail. An expedition into mountains, particularly the snow-covered ones, is not a prospectus for a pleasure trip. 'There are moments when one feels frustrated to the point of terminating the plan. Yet when the splendour of nature reveals itself, one feels so blessed and forgets all the self-inflicted weariness. For the author that moment of bliss occurs after traversing the treacherous trail of Himalayan terrain braving the unpredictable boulders rolling down the peaks, the landslides blocking the narrow paths and all hazards characteristic of mountain topography.