What is the most common phenomenon
at any tourist spot? You always see
tourists clicking photographs for capturing permanent memories of the place / occasion.
One of the most cynical comments I ever heard was – ‘People click the pictures
in frenzy and then do site-seeing when they browse their albums at home!’
Nothing wrong with that – the concept
of photograph was perhaps invented to capture the memories. My mind drifted to
one momentous occasion which is marked by lack of one photograph which should
have been taken. In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed the world’s
tallest peak – Mount Everest. When they reached the top, they spent only 15
minutes at the top. They had limited time as they had to head back safely. They
quickly assessed the situation, looked for any evidence whether the earlier
expedition by George Mallory had reached the top. Tenzing left a chocolate at
the top and Hillary left a cross he carried. And of course Edmund Hillary
clicked the photos! He clicked the photos from the top to prove authenticity of
their claim and also took photo of Tenzing Norgay unfurling the flags of Nepal,
UK, UN and India! But there is no photograph of Edmund Hillary at the top! It
is said that Tenzing was not familiar with a camera and hence there is no
picture. Tenzing in one of the interviews years later said that he had offered
to take a picture of Hillary but he refused – he did not want it.
I wonder what must have been the
reason for Hillary to not have a photo? Perhaps he had decided to leave a
memory different than a photograph. Sir Edmund Hillary spent significant part
of his life to improve the lives of local ‘Sherpa’ community by opening
multiple schools, hospitals and providing clean drinking water. Apart from his legacy of philanthropy, he also
left a legacy of adventure – exactly 50 years after his successful Mount
Everest expedition, his son climbed Mount Everest along with Tenzing’s son!
Here was a man who had an
indomitable spirit of adventure – he was the first (and perhaps only) man to
have been on both poles of earth and Mount Everest; to drive a farm tractor to
South Pole. In 1977, he also traveled in a jet boat starting from ocean towards
the point nearest to the origin of Ganges.
Take a bow Sir Edmund Hillary –
you will always remind us that there are better ways of preserving memories
than a photograph!
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