An affair in the mountain……

Who’s the Vice President of India; Kabaddi Captain? 50% of us do not know who our Vice President is, but Maria Sharapova not knowing Sachin is cardinal sin. It’s the high time to publish a book called – “1000 things” to know about India, first being – Sachin is our god. Dear Toastmasters and Guests - We all have an affair to talk about; a royal affair, biting affair, not knowing Sachin affair, too many affairs around. Here is the mountain affair. November 2010, my Everest Base Camp fiasco year. I was set to walk that glorious path of Everest. With my preparation, I went with a gang of 5 mountaineers. For my good or bad, they were all married. So, there was an innumerable peer pressure on me. It was fun initially. But as the days passed on, I realized – all is not well. They envied that I had no such constraint to make that “mandatory call back” every day to home – hey darling/ hey sweetheart stuff and most of the mountaineers were single, they preferred meeting and talking to me or it seemed that these married buddies were not ready or free to mingle. 14 days long trip in a place where the paths were steep; weather was tough; air was thin. But, on everyone's mind the thought of finding soul mate for me was weighing heavy. Heya! Every day, each one came up with a question “what kind of guy do you want”…..well, I wanted to play along. Since it was the mountain season, I said “someone who has summited Mount Everest”! Whose fathers what goes? My calculation was – in that season it’s tough to find an Everester and even if they find – why would he be willing to meet someone who hasn’t even been to the Everest base? Savvy? Lawyer’s mind helps! Hunt started – like treasure hunt – hunt for an Everest guy. The beauty of the Everest path is, you meet climbers from all over the world, Germany, UK, USA, Japan, Holland, Poland you name them, and you find them. My group was so determined to find an Everest guy. Wherever we stopped for coffee, tea, lunch and dinner – they would briefly summarize the issue to the house owner and he would pass that – “customary smile” at me and tell, we have many – you pick and choose. My group was selective in their choice. Their criteria were – a 6 footer/ tall/dark/handsome/qualified/ earning/ unmarried/healthy/fit & if he is Indian nothing like it …..So the list continued to the point that – one day we were playing antakshari – and one of them got an idea – he should be a singer too, so that he can play antakshari with us. Next day, the climb was too strenuous to carry even water; so, an idea sirji – a weight lifting champion. One more from females that if he is a photographer – it would be Happy Meal combo, we can pose and he can click. I was wondering….if they were in search of a guy or a discovery channel host. Finally an order was placed for a “6 footer/tall/dark/handsome/qualified/Indian/Caucasian/singer/ trekker/clicker/lifter/traveler & an Everester. Our search was like Ph.D. research, never-ending and I was glad, they failed. But, whenever you find a key to success, someone changes the lock. While descending, we visited few places, where we rendered our tender! Aila there were few bidders. Yet nothing could suit our specifications. Finally, we reached a beautiful place, surrounded by glorious Himalayas, ringing yak chimes and dust erupted by thousand travelers. The owner was smiling. I got little suspicious. He was the one who said, that his brother was on the Everest. Mind flashed – oh probably he is back. Gang was elated that their plan clicked. Everywhere in the world, it’s a girl, who enters with tea, sweets and what not, the role play changed here. The owner declared – voila, my brother is here. All were waiting for a – “6 footer/ tall/dark/handsome/la la la and an Everest guy. The guy enters – 5’5 footer, short, dark, burnt face, frost bitten nose, lengthy hair, thin tattooed body with smile of success on his face. Gang was enthralled, flabbergasted, stunned and speechless. Being a mountaineer wasn’t so easy. He proved that. They are not like the one in the movies, fairytales, or novels. The real face with surreal look is hard to digest. Gang was silent. I was thrilled to see that he had such a charming attitude, he was smiling, talking to everyone and had a pleasing personality'. And my respect for him increased when he said, this was the third time he was escorting Indian army to the Everest. Never judge a book by its cover; grass is smooth, green, and tender from far. People may not be the same as we predict, presage, portent, perceive and forecast. Even weather changes from the forecast. Each individual is different. Appreciate everyone’s individuality. Let’s not and never judge a book by its cover.