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Ten Mountain Personalities
JAGDISH C. NANAVATI
The speaker requires no introduction’. This is the cliché by which Jagdish C. Nanavati (also known as JCN) is introduced by most speakers to Bombay audiences. But one can say that Nanavati does require an introduction, for such a varied and energetic life needs to be elaborated upon.
He started trekking in the early 50s when the sport was little known in India and took a keen interest in its organisation right from its early days. When I joined a rock climbing training course near Bombay in 1960, I was briefed by JCN, clad in simple but immaculate clothes, giving precise instructions. He conducted these popular courses till the early 70s. A difference of opinion with his alma mater, the Climber’s Club, led to his resignation as its President. Their loss was an international gain, for he joined The Himalayan Club and became its Secretary. In that 21-year stint he has done an enormous amount of work for the HC.
When he joined, the Club was almost defunct. JCN dug out old records and with single-mindedness started revamping the administration. In 1978 he organised the Golden Jubilee of the Club with fanfare and arranged a series of talks at Bombay. This was the signal to all members, particularly to the ones regarding the health of the Club: it was ‘Alive and Well and Rules Okay’.
The Club has never looked back since then, and it was JCN who helped put this 66-year old Club back on a solid footing. Incidentally, JCN was born (19 November) almost 9 months from the date of the formation of the Club (17 February 1928).
Apart from the Himalayan Club connection, JCN is known for his meticulous study of expeditions. He has brought to book many misguided and erring leaders and pointed out wrong claims. When I was visiting England, Doug Scott said, ‘Give my regards to that inquisitor from Bombay’. He remembered the work though he had forgotten the name of the person! Someone had once called him the ‘Inquisitor of the Useless’ (with due apologies to Lionel Terray and his famous book Conquistador of the Useless).
JCN was introduced to the mountains by a Sadhu, Swami Anand, who was known to JCN’s family. He had written about how a few monks had crossed the Gangotri glacier to Badrinath over a high pass (Kalindi Khal) with minimum equipment, way back in the early 1940s. Swami Anand, who lived at Gangotri, excited the imagination of JCN, gave him maps and books to read and a different kind of love for the Himalaya was born. JCN introduced many youngsters, including me, to the moun-tains. Being influenced by Gandhian views his ideas flowed in a different stream which were sometimes difficult to follow.
Throughout his life, even today, JCN has maintained a close association with the mountains. He has trekked extensively in the local hills—the Western Ghats. His visits to the Himalaya have been spread over almost four decades. A training
course, a climbing camp to the Valley of Flowers, a tragic expedition to Garhwal and plenty of long treks—all these included meticulous observations of nature; the flora, the fauna, the stars and allied campcrafts like map reading. Every year we share many visits to the local hills, at least one week-long holiday and a visit to the Himalaya. My son Nawang (22) hangs around with JCN (70) more than I do, bridging the generation gap. Even today he continues to guide young and not-so-young enthusiasts on mountain matters.
His office, which serves as the headquarters of the Himalayan Club, is visited by many. There one can find JCN correcting an address in the Club records, making a receipt or studying a map with equal zeal. His equanimity is evident as he talks to a visiting mountaineer or collects a fee for the late return of a library book. It was this spirit that had worked against to professionalise the Club, to make him give up the routine jobs. He fought for the old ways but when he understood what was good for the Club, he changed. He took opposition in his stride and today instead of working in his own voluntary way, he runs the Club professionally and with a lot of dedication. Just like him, to adapt to changes some of which were against his principles and sometimes difficult for him to imbibe. Every time the interest of the Club ruled over everything else. Today as the President of the Club, one can say he is the central pillar around which this international club has revolved for almost two decades.
In 1970 when I planned an expedition to Bethartoli Himal, JCN offered to join up. As young mountaineers, with our wild ways, we wondered whether we would be able to adhere to the virtuous lifestyle of JCN, his perfection, simplicity, cleanliness and attention to exact details. Finally it was my friend Boga who clinched the issue. ‘Let’s follow one simple rule. It is JCN who will have to “adapt” to our habits. We cannot match his virtues!’ Both parties have kept the ‘truce’ to this day. We don’t force our style on him and he retains his high ideals.
To quote James Hilton in Lost Horizon. When the plane crash-landed in Shangrila, the American asked the Lama about the central philosophy of the place. The Lama’s reply about the philosophy of Shangrila could be equally applicable to JCN.
If I were to put it into a very few words, my dear Sir I should say that our prevalent belief is in moderation. We inculcate the virtue of avoiding excess of all kinds, including, if you will pardon the paradox, the excess of virtue itself.
AAMIR ALI
‘The old-dilemma: protect Ladakh completely from outside influence as it was a museum? Unacceptable. Allow free access to every tripper and carpet-bagger? Surely not. Where is the golden mean?’
Aamir Ali wrote the above (Himalayan Journal, Vol. 37, p. 101) in 1980 on his trip to Ladakh. It exemplifies his care and concern for the area he was visiting. This is typical of him. Though he lives in Geneva his concern and interest in the Himalaya goes much deeper. He is a member of the ‘Commission for the
Protection of Alpine Nature’ (Swiss Alpine Club) and of ‘Mountain Wilderness’. He lectures on the mountain environment in Switzerland and India.
I await Aamir Ali’s visit to Bombay every year. He is a ‘Bombayite’ in spirit and visits the city to meet his family. That gives me a chance to interact with him on various subjects. Particularly in the recent years he has been advising the editors of The Himalayan Journal and his series on the past H.J.s is a testimony to his deep study. He has been a writer having authored three novels (Conflict; Via Geneva; Assignment in Kashmir). His non-fiction works include, The Story of Buddha and A Basic Introduction to Shakespeare. Yes he is an expert on Shakespeare and has lectured on the bard at various places. He lists bird watching, public speaking and Shakespeare as ‘hobbies’. But the first hobby listed is of course ‘Mountain-eering’.
Aamir Ali made early trips to the Himalayan foothills with Jack Gibson in 1938- 39 from the Doon School. In 1943 he trekked with Rusi Ghandhy over Kuari pass, to Mana and Satopanth glacier. (‘Kuari, Satopanth and Nostalgia’, in the Himalayan Journal, Vol. 45, p. 24). Then came the expeditions. The first was to Kalanag (‘highly unsuccessful’, he writes candidly). In 1958 with Gurdial Singh and Rajendra Vikram Singh he made the first ascent of Mrigthuni on the Nanda Devi sanctuary walls. (‘Mrigthuni, 1958’, in the Himalayan Journal, Vol. XXI, p.
86) He trekked to Saser la (Ladakh) in 1980. He has been active in the Alps since 1974 climbing with Raymond Lambert, Réné Dittert and Loulou Boulaz. His skiing trips included the Haute Route, from Verbier to Zermatt.
With such an active interest it was natural for him to join the Swiss Alpine Club in 1950 and the Himalayan Club in 1954. At the age of 70 years he continues to be active with his interest in and his love for the mountains undiminished.
How did such interests grow? The answer perhaps lies in his background. He went to school at Kobe, Japan, then at the Doon School, Dehradun, India. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Arts at Bombay University. After a 2-year teaching stint at the Doon School he served at the UN International Labour Office for 10 years (1975-1985), at various places and in various senior capacities; being Chairman of UN Joint Staff Pension Board for three years. With such an enriched life and a superior intellect it was indeed natural that he would develop a keen interest in something strong like the mountains. Kobe, Dehra Dun (Doon School) and Bombay (the Himalayan Club), have all produced mountain lovers!
Another facet of his activity is lecturing to a variety of audiences on the UN system and on Shakespeare. Besides institutions, and universities he has even been a guest lecturer on QE 2. For the last two decades he has conducted training courses on effective speaking, communication skills and writing for publications. With his nationality (‘Indian’) he has certainly done all of us proud.
I had a chance to meet him in his abode, Geneva. I will always remember the evening we spent strolling on the Geneva lake, discussing several topics and of course a dinner of Fondue with him.
On his trip to Ladakh, Aamir Ali and his team gave a lift to one Lama Lobsang. He wrote: ‘Lama Lobsang, who had obviously taken no vow of silence, was on his way to provide religious service. He regaled us with many merry tales of his
experiences’. I am sure that the Lama must also have learnt something from Aamir Ali.
During one of his visits to Bombay, I introduced him to my friend. ‘I must have a Bohra Muslim (M.H. Contractor) on my trip. I don’t go without one’.
‘Then take me as well, for I am a Bohra and you will have a double advantage’, Aamir Ali readily replied.
I will take him up on that offer. We have to learn a lot from the likes of him.
TREVOR BRAHAM
Recently I was trying to organise a meeting with Trevor Braham in Geneva. I asked him for a fax or an e-mail address so that everything could be organised quickly. ‘No, I am pleased to say that I am not connected either on the fax or the e-mail’, came his prompt reply. That is typical of Braham, who though well- connected with many editors of the world refuses to be pressurised by the electronic communication systems. We nevertheless had a relaxed lunch together and I learned a lot about him.
Braham lived in India till 1959 and he visited mountains a few times. Some of the best known of his trips during this period were a visit to the Garhwal as a member of the André Roch expedition which made many historic climbs. He visited Spiti in 1955 and, apart from climbing and exploring, the party resolved the doubt about true height of Shilla. It was thought that this peak was more than 7000 m high whereas, as Braham discovered, it was only 6132 m.
After his years in India Braham lived in London for two years. In 1961, with V.S. Risoe, he organised the first-ever London Reunion Dinner of the Himalayan Club members. The tradition is still alive today. The same year he left for Pakistan, and held various positions in a British agro-industrial complex. He was able to plan six mountaineering expeditions in Pakistan and also enjoyed several short trips. No one knows the sub-continent better than Braham. All his trips are well-covered in his popular book Himalayan Odyssey which is an essential reference for anyone wishing to climb in the Himalaya and Karakoram.
Apart from his classic book, from 1976 to 1986 Braham edited the Himalayan Chronicle, which was published annually in the Swiss Alpine Club Journal. He is in contact with most happenings in the mountaineering world and guides several editors—who needs a fax for this! I receive several neatly written postcards or letters from him regularly. For any contacts and references, he is always around. In fact many of his letters spark off new ideas, new projects, like the proverbial, ‘a face that launches a thousand ships’.
All these years Braham has been closely associated with the Himalayan Club and served it in several capacities. He became a member of the Club in 1946 and joined the Managing Committee in 1956 and served on it later from 1967 to 1974. He was Secretary of the Club from 1950 to 1955, Hon. Editor of The Himalayan Journal from 1957 to 1959, Librarian in 1957 and Vice-President from 1958 to 1964. What more a person can do to serve his Club! He is now an Honorary Member of the Club.
After marrying in 1971, he lived in England with his wife and two sons. In 1974 they moved to Switzerland where he had been offered a post in an international trading house. They have lived there ever since. This gave him unlimited oppor- tunities for week-end trips to the Alps, for summer and winter holidays and for meeting many friends. In retirement since 1995, as he says, ‘I am able, in addition, to spend longer hours in my library, writing and reading.
I have one complaint against Braham though. He has met many leading names of our generation, interacted with them and has memories that can fill volumes. Busy as he is, I have failed to persuade him to pen these down for posterity, even in an article for the Himalayan Journal. A lot will be lost unless he does something about it.1 I for one will always look forward to another book from him. One can never get enough from a person of his calibre.
When I arrived back home after my meeting with him, I dug out a postcard with a few photographs which had been sent by Braham. He had enquired whether the col at the head of the Bhagirath Kharak glacier was crossed after 1912 or not. He wrote, ‘An interesting exploratory link, if it has not already been done.’ This was an incentive enough to send me on a future trip there. Like a true pillar, sometimes well-hidden but most essential, Braham has supported the Himalayan Club for decades and sent persons like me to roam in the Himalaya!
DR. J.B. AUDEN
Dr. John Bicknell Auden passed away peacefully in London on 21st January 1991, aged 87 years.
Dr. Auden was the Original Member of The Mountain Club of India (1927) and founder member of the Himalayan Club. He served on the Club’s Committee in 1936 and 1944, and was Vice-President from 1950 to 1953. He was the Hon. Assistant Editor of the Himalayan Journal for nine years (1936-1944) and was an Honorary Member of the Himalayan Club.
I came to know Dr. Auden through correspondence. During the last two years of his life we exchanged letters, particularly about his explorations in Mana gad which I visited in 1990, following his footsteps. It was an honour to have corresponded with him and heeded what he had to say in the last years of his life.
Dr. J.B. Auden was the elder brother of the poet W.H. Auden. They were three brothers, John Auden being the middle one. He joined the Geological Survey of India and had travelled widely in many parts of the Himalaya and the Karakoram. As per the records in the Himalayan Journals, he made several journeys in the course of his work or otherwise. In July 1933 Auden with Captain C.E.C. Gregory completed the survey of the Biafo glacier in Baltistan (Himalayan Journal, Vol. VI, p. 67). Then in 1934 he was in Nepal to study the effects of the great earthquake which caused havoc in Bihar-Nepal on 15 January 1934. With D.N. Wadia, Dr. J.A. Dunn and A.M.N. Ghosh he traversed large areas of Nepal and published an authentic record of what he observed (Himalayan Journal, Vol. VII, p. 76).
In October 1935 he was in the Gangotri area of Garhwal with Dr. D.G. Macdonald and three Sherpas. He explored the then unknown area. Here in
1939 he crossed a pass at the head of the Rudugaira valley to the Bhilangana valley in the south. This is now known as ‘Auden’s Col’ and is not often visited. He also explored the Jadh ganga, Mana gad and the Lamkhaga valleys (Himalayan Journal, Vol. VIII, p. 96 and Vol. XII, p. 17).
Auden’s best known trip was to the Shaksgam valley in 1937. With him were Eric Shipton, H.W. Tilman and M.A. Spender, the brother of another famous poet. Shipton made a full reference to their journey in his autobiography while Auden recorded the geological results of the trip (Himalayan Journal, Vol. X, p. 40).
Dr. Auden, concluding his letter to me, wrote:
‘It is now thirty years since I retired from the Geological Survey of India, and I miss India very much.
It would be a great pleasure to meet you, should you come to London. How I wish London was as near as the Jadh ganga valley from India’.
Dr. Auden left behind his wife Sheila (nee Bonnerjee) and daughters Anita and Rita. He was cremated in London on 29 January 1991 after a Mass at Westminster Cathedral.
N.D. SHERPA
During the 1930s, German teams led by Paul Bauer tried a difficult route on the eastern side of Kangchenjunga. Though this peak was climbed from the western approaches this northeast spur remained a major challenge. In 1977 a team from the Indian army climbed this route on Kangchenjunga. One of the summitters was Nima Dorjee Sherpa, a Subedar in the Indian army. This was one of the most acknowledged climbs which put him into the category of the leading mountaineers of the world. He had many years of experience and had participated in 37 expeditions.
Nima Dorjee was born in 1948 in Share village of Solo Khumbu. He was commissioned in the 5/3 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian army in 1968. Once introduced to mountaineering, he took to the sport in a big way. He was part of the team which traversed the entire Himalaya. This was a year-long expedition which went from east to west, keeping as high as possible in the mighty range. After his climb of Kangchenjunga Nima Dorjee was always in great demand for various army expeditions. He notched up some excellent climbs. He was a member of the team which climbed Saser Kangri. While many mountaineers struggled on the slopes to reach C3, Nima Dorjee had leisurely climbed up from the other side in mukluks!
But being in the army and a simple Subedar was perhaps his undoing. He was deputed to join more than five to six expeditions per year to various heights. I met him in 1991 in Eastern Karakoram. He was a member of an Indian army-German expedition which was climbing a small, easy peak of 6000 m. This was a peak which Nima Dorjee could simply have walked over and he was there only as a sort of a trump card. All army expeditions had to succeed and sometimes Nima Dorjee was used as the final ‘artillery’ which could win the war against a mountain. He could not refuse to go and he was easily persuaded because of economic constraints.
In 1984 he first joined an expedition which attempted Everest, with the Indian team. He worked hard, but could not reach the summit. He again went to Everest with the Indian army team in 1985. He went upto 8380 m but did not reach the summit. That expedition ended in disaster with the loss of several members. Not reach-ing the summit of Everest turned into a private grief within him and gave him a sense of emptiness. That coupled with a disturbed family life, possibly made him take to alcohol which killed this moun-tain hero on 15 September 1993. He died a peaceful death at his home.
Any person with a climbing record like him would have been acknowledged as a climbing hero, but Nima Dorjee passed away unsung even in his homeland. We came to know of his death too late and we did not read much about it. This simple Sherpa was a born mountaineer and one is sure that the Himalaya will beckon him wherever he is.
S.P. GODREJ
The party was over, S.P. Godrej (SPG) was about to depart, with K.N. Naoroji (former President of the Himalayan Club). Near the door he bent down to read the make of the lock.
‘It is made by Godrej’, my wife Geeta said. Godrej Industries makes the best locks in India and SPG is the Chairman of the Godrej companies in India.
‘Good, it won’t open then’, SPG said and burst out laughing. ‘What to do? I have formed this habit, wherever I go I look at the brand name on the locks. Once, decades ago, I went to the Russian Embassy for a visa. Waiting alone in a room I started checking the locks. I couldn’t resist peeping through the key-hole. To my utter surprise from the other side, the Russian Ambassador was peeping back at me!’
This is S.P. Godrej: eighty-two and his humour and vitality still intact. He is the doyen of all activities related to nature. A member of the Himalayan Club since 1978, current Vice-President of the World Wide Fund for Nature-India, he is associated with the Bombay Natural History Society and many other organisations. Recently he worked actively for ‘The Indian Heritage Society’ which fought against the destruction of many old heritage buildings in Bombay. If a forest is being cut at Matheran hill station near Bombay, he will be up in arms, in courts of law. His commitment to the causes he takes up is legendary.
SPG is actively associated with various other bodies committed to the preservation of nature, wildlife and environment, linked with population control, like 1001: A Nature Trust, the Family Planning Association of India, the Population Foundation of India, and so on.
International recognition of Godrej’s contribution to the conservation of nature and natural resources was the conferment of the WWF 25th Anniversary Benefactor ‘White Pelican Award’ on him by of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
National Honours include the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar for 1991, the Indian Merchants’ Chamber Award for his outstanding contribution in enhancing the image of the business community by personal service, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award by the Indian Science Congress Association.
A keen lover of art and culture, he is on the Governing Board of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. He is a past-president of the Alliance Francaise of Bombay. Mr. Godrej has travelled extensively, having visited over a hundred and fifty countries and all the seven continents (that is, including Antarctica).
Recently we had a gathering with Chris Bonington and some of the leading mountaineers of the world. SPG gave a party on the roof-top garden of his office building. He was wearing a black flag on his left sleeve. When I asked him about the flag, he said proudly, ‘This is my protest against corruption in India, so that people like you ask and become aware’. Then without elaborating further he turned to Bonington and continued talking about the Alps and his Himalayan climbs.
SPG is a devoted environmentalist, and in a sense a true Indian. It is more like a love affair with the environment, not merely a science. In his contribution to the Himalayan Club publication Environmental Protection of the Himalaya, he defined the importance of our environment:
Above all, for unity and racial harmony we should adopt worship of the all-embracing Mother Nature. The Indian ethos is not complete without the inclusion of the sanctity of the Himalaya in all respects.
Naturally he titled his contribution ‘The sanctity of the Himalaya’, as mountaineering, actively or passively, has given him spiritual satisfaction. He has trekked in Kashmir and Nepal. He has indulged in some climbing in the Swiss Alps, in the Andes, Rockies and has walked up to the summit of Kili-manjaro.
When Stephen Venables was injured on Panch Chuli, SPG made it a point to visit him during one of his trips to the U.K. He still inquires about him. When I met him to tell him about our Indian-British Kinnaur expedition 1994, he listened carefully to all I had to say about our climbs.
‘Well done. Most importantly, you’ve all come back safely and happily’.
As I cast a glance at the black flag on his right sleeve, he added, ‘This is for the failure of India’s population programme’ and went about his work. And so the commitment continues.
SADASHIGE INADA
Like any group of friends, an association is known by the company it keeps. The Himalayan Association of Japan, Tokyo, has S. Inada as its President. He is a roving ambassador for the HAJ mountaineers. Inada travels widely to all the Himalayan countries before any expedition is planned. With his mild manners and excellent rapport everything is smoothened out before the team reaches the country.
On one such visit Inada was in Bombay. Meeting him, even trying to communicate via gestures and broken English, was a pleasure. Inada lives away
from the hustle-bustle of Tokyo. He has a large collection of Himalayan books, both in Japanese and English. He is constantly collecting information and researching. By profession he is the sort of Cultural Secretary for his State. This also keeps him busy with various activities and conferences. Short but strong like many Japanese, Inada himself does not climb regularly in the Himalaya. His chief job is to organise. He mentioned a special system of sponsorship in Japan, specially for few HAJ climbers. Many times a climber is ‘sponsored’ individually by his friends, each contributing a little sum to aid him. In return the climber, usually a good friend, shares the adventure personally upon his return and thus each takes pride in the achievement.
Inada is not a bureaucrat in the usual sense. Give him a little beer and you can talk for hours with language being no bar. I can personally testify to this. His knowledge and interest comes across unadulterated. Mountaineers don’t need a common language and Inada is always ready with reports, photographs and papers if need be. His methods and system never fail him, even after a good meal.
Inada has a very sharp mind about mountaineering matters. Talking to him you realise that he has read almost everything written, even in English. At the same time he remains a strong nationalist, supporting all that the Japanese mountaineers have done and the style in which it was done. It is such dedication and belief in what he is doing that has made Inada take HAJ from one milestone to another. Today under him it has completed 30 years of its formation.
M.C. MOTWANI
A brief announcement in the annual report of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) mentioned that M.C. Motwani (1922-1991) was dead. He passed away as quietly as he had always lived.
To understand Motwani’s work one has to appreciate the system he worked with. All his life he was in the service of the government. Stationed at Delhi he worked in a bureaucratic atmosphere which can stifle all creativity. Committees, budgets and pressures would dictate terms to even mountaineering journals and tie knots with the proverbial red tape. Government publishers are more devilish than others without a proper set-up and have worse financial constraints. In such an environ-ment he produced 26 issues (2 per year) of the Indian Mountaineer since its inception. This continuous publication, though delayed sometimes, for 13 years was done almost single-handedly. Without his painstaking research through the dusty files at the IMF the records of climbing in India would have been much poorer.
Before that, Motwani had produced more than 12 mountaineering bulletins of the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP). Those accounts, considered ‘secret’, were dug out by him and those soldiers, who were not writers, were persuaded to pen their adventures. These large format glossy bulletins are a brilliant record of the rare parts of the Himalaya and the climbs ITBP did in them. Unfortunately they remain a ‘secret’ even now.
Born in 1922 Motwani lost his father at the age of five and barely managed to complete his schooling. He served as a clerk in a British cantonment and attended college at night to complete his graduation in Bachelor of Arts. This was in Karachi. During the bloody partition he migrated to Delhi in 1947 and was without a job for seven months. He started as a clerk all over again in the Intelligence Bureau.
He married in 1948 and worked, getting his regular promotions till 1965 when he was deputed to the ITBP where he served for 10 years as Assistant Director. It was here that he developed a keen interest in mountains. Combined with his interest in literature the ITBP Bulletins were produced. In 1978 he was awarded ‘President’s Medal’ for meritorious service. He retired in 1980. All his savings were spent on a collection of books on literature, philosophy and mountaineering, rare in a person with his background. He published a collection of short stories in Caravan about pre-partition days.
After retirement he joined the IMF as an Administrative Officer and edited the Indian Mountaineer. He met many mountaineers here and was well informed about the world of mountaineering. He travelled to Japan and was most helpful to all mountaineers. But at heart he always remained a simple person of simple habits, wore white clothes and his spare time was confined to his office or his study table at home.
I made it a point to meet him whenever I was in Delhi, on my way to and from the mountains. Even after retirement he came to IMF to meet us and I will cherish those lunches and discussions on our expeditions. He knew what mountaineering was all about. He obtained his knowledge and awareness from the files, though he never actually climbed.
Mohanlal Chandanlal Motwani died of a stroke on 8 September 1991 at the age of 69 years. He left behind his wife, three sons and two daughters. His enthusiasm for languages has rubbed on his son Prem who is the Chairperson of Centre for East Asian Languages and an expert in Japanese.
I had some grouses against him. He never travelled to Bombay and printed only my critical letters about his journal, though those were not meant for publication. Humility was a way of life with him. When the 25th issue of the Indian Mountaineer was published he brushed aside my suggestion to celebrate it as a Silver Jubilee issue of his editorship. ‘25 years make it Silver and not 25 issues in 12 years’, he said. I wish he was around to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of his journal. In Motwani’s death the mountaineering world has lost a senior and dedicated editor.
K.N. NAOROJI
K.N. Naoroji, born in 1915, was nine years old when Irvine and Mallory disappeared on Everest in 1924. This event had the effect of introducing him to Himalayan happenings. He recollects even today that as a young student he had imbibed from his school teacher stories about the Himalaya which were contemporary at that time. However he missed the news of the formation of the Himalayan Club in 1928.
‘One does not read papers at that age, so it must have missed my attention’.
Little did he know then, that he would become the President of this international Club from 1986 to 1992.
He was born in Karachi where he spent the first 20 years of his life. His father was an advocate. Naoroji finished his degree in Arts and spent four years (1936-40) in England acquiring a degree in Economics. The family moved to Bombay in 1940 and settled there. His first trip to the Himalaya was in 1944 when he visited Kashmir for a trek. During those days just reaching Kashmir was a difficult task. It was considered to be a very remote part of the country. Again in 1950 he went to Kullu and Lahaul, over Rohtang pass and into the surrounding areas. When he returned from this trek, M.H. Hackney pro-posed his name for membership to the Himalayan Club. They were both working in ICI. Naoroji joined the Club and has sustained his interest in it right till today.
In 1952 Naoroji spent 11 weeks in Central Garhwal, by far one of his longest trips. He visited the ‘Valley of Flowers’ but failed to reach the Bhuindhar Khal. Trekking around Nilkanth and Dunagiri, he reached two passes, on either side of Duna-giri, and came out from the Bagini glacier. Those were the early days of travel and explora-tion and this trip thoroughly whetted his appetite to see and discover more. Another major trip to the Himalaya was in 1958 when he went to Sikkim and reached the Nepal Gap, not easily accessible in those days.
‘We wanted to go to Donkhya la but I messed up due to an error in map reading. I should have done my home-work better’.
The party tried to reach Jongsang la but had to stop a little before the pass. While they were in the area two accidents occurred to some others climbing in the north Sikkim. These accidents were given wide publicity, the news of which caused ripples in Bombay.
Naoroji had married Dosa in 1946 and had one son, Rishad born in 1951.
‘It is not fair to the family’, was Naoroji’s comment about the tension suffered by them. Gentleman as he is, he stopped going actively to the mountains since then.
Many mountaineers know it is very difficult to maintain a life long interest in the mountains without being actively involved in climbing and trekking. To Naoroji’s credit, for the last 35 years he has kept up with mountaineering academics and has taken a keen interest in its literature and other aspects.
When the Himalayan Club moved to Bombay, Naoroji became the first Secretary in 1971 and its Vice-President from 1983 to 1985. For the seven years that he was the President of the Club he introduced many changes in his own quiet way. Regular ‘Annual Seminars’ on mountain matters were organised. The Club’s membership increased gradually and detailed attention was paid to the Club’s finances. In 1988 the Club celebrated its ‘Diamond Jubilee’ where Naoroji played a quiet effective role behind the scenes. With his modesty and soft- spoken nature, he refused to give lectures or hog the limelight.
His other interests include listening to western classical music, reading about wildlife and conservation. His interest has rubbed on to his son Rishad who is at present studying about Raptors.
Naoroji has one regret,
‘After 50 years of smoking the pipe I had to give it up for the sake of my health’, but he added immediately, ‘I still enjoy a drink—50 years of continuous pleasure!’
‘What is your chief contribution to The Himalayan Club?’, I dared to ask him. It was not possible to shake his modesty.
‘My chief contribution was to introduce Soli Mehta to the Club. We were both working in ICI and I tempted him to join the Club. Without Soli the Club would not have survived even a decade of change and we would not have found an excellent editor like him’.
For some men, modesty is a way of life even after a 45-year long contribution to a cause.
YOSHIO OGATA
Ogata is nicknamed the ‘human machine’ in Japan. On meeting him one is immediately struck by his fitness and his disarming smile. I first met him by chance on a trek in Zanskar. I was with my wife Geeta, and Sabina amongst others. Both the ladies were very tired and poured out their woes to Ogata over a cup of tea. As they described how ‘difficult’ the crossing of the last pass was, little did they realise that they were talking to Yoshio Ogata who climbed the Southwest Face of Everest in the winter of 1994. Ogata, of course, sympathised with them, flashing his famous smile.
Ogata is one of the fittest person I have met. He trains hard and climbs constantly. Still in his forties, he has a lot to do. But what he has done so far is remarkable. Kedarnath Dome (6831 m), Mamostong Kangri (7516 m), Gyala Peri (7151 m), Rimo I (7385 m), Kangchenjunga (8586 m), the list is long and impressive. Apart from this climbed attempting Everest from the southwest face, he does not wish to do it the easier way. Kangchenjunga was climbed by the northeast ridge.
Ogata was the Secretary General of HAJ and worked full time. Now he has taken a job as Special Officer with a leading newspaper in Tokyo. He climbs with other organisations also. Being a full-timer he is involved in many other related activities like filming the mountains or search and rescue of any missing mountaineers. When you talk to him you see him listening intensely, then a mind- computer switches on, translates and you get a reply in English in his soft voice.
I wrote an article on our Zanskar trip in the Himalayan Journal (Vol. 47, p. 99) highlighting the woes of the ladies and meeting Ogata. Ogata had read the article. When we met next at Delhi he told me ‘Your Zanskar article very good’. I thought he was just being polite. But after a silence, he let his mind-computer work, then spoke again, with a grin, ‘That’s why I bring no wife on climbs’.
In 1998 I met him and his wife in Tokyo. The same old spirit was there and one could see the flame burning. He was the ‘Master of Ceremonies’ at the 30th Anniversary Celebrations of the Himalayan Association of Japan. I asked him where he intends to climb this year. His reply was, ‘This year no climb. I choose job’. (He was referring to the title of the famous book by Sir Chris Bonington, I
Chose to Climb. Sir Chris, early in his career, when faced with the dilemma of choosing between a job or climbing had selected the latter).
During the long dinner parties when sake was in abundance everyone started talking and enjoying. Suddenly I heard Ogata singing a camp song which linked up his various climbs in the Indian Himalaya. Clapping and singing with abandon no one would notice that this simple soul was a leading mountaineer in the world.
Job or not, I am sure very soon he will choose to climb!
NOTES & REFERENCES
1. Since writing this I have an article from him recalling his association with several leading names. See ‘Random Reflections’ in the Himalayan Journal, Vol. 54. But can we have some more please!