PIYALI BASAK THE MOUNTAIN QUEEN OF BENGAL
 |
| PIYALI BASAK AFTER EVEREST SUMMIT IN THE PICTURE |
Introduction
Mountaineering is a pursuit that demands courage, resilience and an unwavering commitment to push oneself to one's limits. Among the many extraordinary individuals who have taken up this challenging endeavour, Piyali Basak, a Bengali mountaineer, has emerged as a true inspiration. Her passion for conquering the world's highest peaks, along with her dedication to breaking gender stereotypes, has made her an extraordinary figure in the world of mountaineering. In this blog, we will discuss the life and achievements of Piyali Basak.
A Brief Introduction of Piyali Basak Tweet Here🐦
Piyali Basak ,"The mountain Queen of West Bengal", "A Bengal Teacher", is a "mountaineer". This one word holds some of her greatest achievements. She is the first Indian woman to have climbed the DHAULAGIRI Summits without supplementary Oxygen in 2021 and the MOUNT EVEREST, the highest peaks of the world in 2022. Hailing from Chandannagar, Piyali started her career as a Primary School Teacher in Kanailal Vidyamandir. She idolized Tenzing Norgay from her childhood. Being a mountain lover, she used to trek and climb mountains since the age of 6. She completed both basic and advanced mountaineering course from The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) in 2008 and 2010 respectively. She was honoured at The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence 2023. Piyali Basak was felicitated by ASSOCHAM along with Nalanda Learning and Rotary Club of Calcutta Centenary for her amazing achievement in achieving one the rarest feat in human history by summiting Mount Everest without oxygen. Recently She got a Guinness World Record certificate.
Aim & Focus
Rash Behari Bose,( was an Indian revolutionary leader who fought against the British Empire. He was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar Mutiny and founded the Indian Independence League. Bose also led the Indian National Army which was formed in 1942 under Mohan Singh) & Radhanath Shikder, a philanthropist ( 5 October 1813 – 17 May 1870) was an Indian mathematician who is best known for calculating the height of Mount Everest. He was the first person to calculate the height of Mount Everest, in 1852. Coincidentally he is also a resident of Chandannagar. Piyali dedicates all her expeditions to them. It means all revolutionary person and Freedom fighters.
Early Life and Inspiration
Piyali Basak hails from the picturesque state of West Bengal, India. She grew up in Chandannagar, a small town in Hooghly district. Her journey into the world of mountaineering began as a very young girl, when she was only six years old. In the very early age Piyali was taught by her mother. She often used to read Bengali "KISHOLOY" book. Where she read and inspired as a child by the stories of famous mountaineers like Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary who conquered Mount Everest. Tenzing Norgay, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer. He and Edmund Hillary jointly climbed the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, on 29 May 1953. Their incredible feats ignited a fire in her, inspiring her to follow in their footsteps. Parents also accompany the daughter in her dreams. Her trekking started at the age of six. Since then, she has been addicted to climbing mountains. After that Piyali Basak, a girl from Chandannagar, set a unique precedent by climbing Everest without the help of oxygen.
Family History
Piyali has a small family with only four members. She, her father, her mother and sister. Her father Tapan Basak has been bedridden for a long time. Along with her mother Swapna Basak and sister Tamali, she continues to bear the full responsibility of the her family.
Piyali’s mother Swapna said, “Piyali, from the very beginning, possessed a great love for mountains. She could not resist the call of the mountains, her practice continued amidst poverty, some benevolent persons came forward to assist Piyali to achieve her goal to conquer Mt Everest without oxygen support. Her strong determination, dedication and breathing exercises helped her to go ahead towards fulfillment of her dreams.”
Working Life
Piyali works at Kanailal Primary School as a English Teacher in Chandannagar. This school once used to have an exhibition of mountaineers clothing and accessories. As a child, Piyali used to take hers father's hand and supplicate for, to get climbing boots and rope. She is now a teacher in that school. Piyali can draw very well. Apart from this, there is a black belt in her martial arts (Traditional Taekwondo). She also represented the country. She is the first female ice skating player in the state. She also does yoga very well.
Life and Career
Piyali is a little different from those general children. While Taekwondo training was her first choice as a child, Piyali's second interest was swimming. This is how years goes one by one. You have to listen to her experience of struggle again and again, you are a girl, so don't do it, it doesn't suit you. But Piyali didn't stop at graduating with mathematics.
After graduating in mathematics, she took basic and advanced courses at the Himalayan Moun-taineering Institute in Darjeeling. During her Amarnath expedition in August 2000, Basak witnessed Amarnath pilgrimage massacre from very close quarters. Again in June 2013, Basak was on the spot when a mid-day cloudburst centered on Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides, becoming the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. She not only survived the disaster but also joined hands with locals to rescue residents and tourists trapped in the calamity. This instilled in her a greater sense of affinity towards the mountains.
Despite facing numerous adversities, including financial constraints and social pressure, Piyali remained determined in her dream of becoming a mountaineer. He knew that following such a path would require a lot of dedication and hard work, but she was undeterred.
Notable Achievements
Piyali Basak's journey as a mountaineer is extraordinary and unique. There are Six 8000 metres summits she also completed most of them without Oxygen till the year in 2023. Her achievements include:
Piyali, being an avid lover of mountains, she would go trekking and mountain climbing from an early age of 6 years. Owing to financial constraints Piyali could not complete her dream of going to the Everest earlier. Finally on 2nd April, 2019 she set out for her dream expedition, Lhotse and Everest.
On 3rd April, they reached Kathmandu. On 19th April, they left Kathmandu for Ramechhap Airport. On reaching Lukla they trekked to Phakding.
A few of her notable expeditions include Mount Renok (16500ft), Mount Kabru South Camp-2 (18000ft) in 2010 and Mount Mulkila (5852m) in the same year.
In the year 2011 she set out for Mount Kamet (7756m) but could reach a height of 17500ft. The expedition was unsuccessful due to bad planning. In 2013 she was a part of the IMF All women expedition to Mount Bhagirathi-2 (21360ft) but could reach a height of 19050ft due to the Uttarakhand cloud burst in the summit camp (19050ft). Piyali was part of an alpine style expedition to an unnamed peak in 2015 at an altitude of 6280m but she could reach till 6083m due to bad weather. In 2015 she successfully scaled Mount Tinchenkang (6010m) as part of WBMASF( West Bengal Mountaineering & Adventure Sports Foundation) All Girls Expedition. Piyali became the first Indian civilian woman to ascend Mount Manaslu (8163m) via the North-East route.(According to Dream Wanderlust 23 apr 2019 Facebook)
There are 14 such peaks in the world – all in the Himalayas – of which Indians can climb a max-imum of nine, as five others are in Pakistan where Indians are not allowed to climb.
In mountaineering parlance, those who climb peaks above 8,000m are accorded special stature and are called ‘eight-thousander’. Basak became an elite member of the ‘Eight thousander’ circle after she scaled Mt. Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest peak, at 8,163 metres, in 2018.
◀️Manaslu (8th Highest) Summit In 2018▶️
Piyali Basak set foot on Manaslu peak. As the first Indian woman to scale the eighth highest mountain in the world on 27 September 2018, she is riding a wave of goodwill.
She left home on September 1 on the way to Manaslu. She promised in his heart that he must be the winner. However it happened, after 26 consecutive days, that auspicious time came. Piyali conquered the eighth highest mountain in the world on October 27, 2018 . That year, she became the first woman to conquer an 8,000-meter peak.
◀️Dhaulagiri (7th Highest) Summit In 2021▶️
Piyali Basak became the first Indian woman to climb Dhaulagiri without oxygen. This Bengali mountaineer conquered the 8 thousand 167 meter peak without supplementary oxygen with the help of an agency on Friday morning( 1s October 2021). Apart from Piyali, there were two other Indians and four Sherpas in this expedition. All of them completed the expedition with oxygen, but only Piyali completed the expedition without the help of oxygen.
◀️Mount Everest (Highest) Summit In 2022 ▶️
PIYALI BASAK AFTER SUMMIT OF EVEREST (Images source Piyali's Facebook Handle)
Piyali became the first woman in the country to climb the Dhaulagiri peak without the aid of oxygen last October. Within seven months of that, Sh once again achieved a unique feat. She has overcome many hurdles to achieve this feat on 22 May 2022. Before this, she had to come back before Everest. This time too she was in financial trouble. A Bengali girl climbed the world's highest peak after overcoming all obstacles.
Not only Bengal, there is no precedent for climbing Mount Everest without the help of oxygen from the whole country. Very few climbers make this decision. But Piyali is an exception here. She is brave since her childhood. In 2019, she had to turn back due to bad weather while climbing Mount Everest for the first time. On his way back he met some mountaineers who were trying to climb Everest without the help of oxygen. Piyali was inspired by them and decided that the next time she climbed Everest, she would climb without the aid of oxygen. She started that preparation.
In 2015, after going to Everest for the first time, the expedition was canceled due to an earthquake, She realized how much it takes to think again after a broken dream. Piyali did that too. It is instructive that even after his first Everest expedition failed, she did not give up, but returned to the path with renewed enthusiasm. So today, after Kunga Bhutia, Shipra Majumder, Chanda Gayen, Tusi Das, Piali's name is included in the list of Bengali women who have reached the top of Everest.
According to Piyali: In 2016, at 8800m on Everest, my oxygen mask did not work, I spent almost half an hour without oxygen. In the death zone, the oxygen level in the air is reduced to one-third, so each person's body behaves in a different way. As I was falling asleep, I could not see in one eye for a while. So I know how difficult it is. In the end, Piali's decision to use extra oxygen to come back alive is absolutely correct. Because as the great mountaineers say, 'Reaching the summit is optional, coming back is mandatory.'
◀️Lhotse (4th Highest) Summit In 2022▶️
She set out to conquer two peaks at once. On Tuesday, mother Swapna Basak got the news of her elder daughter's dream come true.
Piyali was preparing for Everest for a long time. But the financial problem stood in the way of her journey. Even with a house mortgage and pooling all her savings, it was not more than 18 lakh rupees. On the other hand, 35 lakh was required for the Everest expedition. The Nepalese government said that they will not allow the Everest expedition unless they receive the full amount.
In this situation, Piyali requested money from common people by posting on Facebook. Another five lakhs of money was raised from there. Yet 12 lakhs was still needed. At such a time, his agency came forward to help Piyali. They said that they will give the rest of the money for now. As a result, Piyali got permission to climb Everest at the last moment. She climbed the world's highest peak on Sunday morning on 22 May 2022. Piyali reached Lhotse, summit on Tuesday evening on May 24,2022.
◀️Annapurna (10th Highest)Summit In 2023▶️
Piyali Basak set out in March to conquer the Annapurna and Makalu peaks. She reached the summit of Annapurna, the world's 10th highest peak, at 8:50 am local time on Monday, on 17 April 2023.
In 2019 She came close to conquering Everest but had to return. That time Everest was not conquered because of bad weather. However, that regret was resolved on May 22, 2022. Piyali climbed the highest peak in the world without oxygen. Just two days after that, she conquered the fourth highest peak in the world, Lhotse. This time she won another eight thousand peaks. Piyali left for the base camp in Nepal from home on March 9. It might take her two months to conquer the two peaks. The cost is around 31 lakh rupees.
Piyali left on March 16 for the Annapurna 1 - Makalu twin expedition without the aid of oxygen cylinders. The two-month campaign cost around Rs 31 lakh, for which public assistance had to be sought. She left on Saturday to try to touch the peak of Annapurna without oxygen cylinder. But it was not possible due to bad weather. Piyali started the summit push from Camp 4 around 5 pm on Sunday, Pasang Sherpa, leader of Piyali's expedition organizer 'Pioneer Adventure', said on phone from Kathmandu. By 8:25 am (local time) on 17 April 2023. Today, Piyali with Dawanuru Sherpa reached the summit of Annapurna. However, he had to use an oxygen cylinder. Piyali came down to Camp 1 this evening. Sherpa said the weather was good.
Piyali's sister Tamali Basak said, "There is so much joy. Mother is also relieved. Worried about her elder daughter for the past two days, she was sick.'' But the ailing, bedridden father Tapan Basak feels nothing. Mother Swapna Basak says, "Daughter's love for mountains started with her father's hand." But now her father doesn't understand anything about his daughter's achievements.
◀️Makalu (5th Highest) Summit In 2023▶️
According to the Nepalese organization Pioneer Adventure, Piyali conquered Makalu, the fifth peak in the world, between 7 am and 8 am on Wednesday, 17 May 2013 . As a result, after conquering Everest, Lhotse, Manasulu, Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, Piyali conquered another eight thousand peaks. In all, Piyali conquered six eight thousand peaks. Piyali left home on March 9 to conquer Annapurna and Makalu peaks. She conquered Annapurna, the tenth highest peak in the world, on Monday morning, April 17.
Piyali conquered Manasulu, the eighth highest peak in the world in 2018. Then in 2021 he conquered the seventh highest peak Dhaulagiri. In 2022, Piyali climbed the world's highest peak Everest. Two days later, Lhotse conquered the world's fourth highest peak. After that he stepped into Makalu.
Piyali's aim was to conquer Annapurna and Makalu together. But she returned home on April 24 after hearing about his father Tapan Basak's illness. On April 27, Makalu went out on the campaign. She left for Makalu base camp in the first week of May. Hers dream came true on Wednesday.
Mountaineer Piyali Basak fallen ill on her way back from reaching the summit of Makalu, the fifth highest peak in the world. A team of Sherpas rescued Piyali from a height of 7,800 meters and brought her down to Camp 3 on Thursday. Then she has taken to Kathmandu in a helicopter on Friday. According to Nepal's pioneer agency.
Awards, Honours, and Recognition
Gaane Gaana Kovitar Chhande Aparajita, (Image source Piyali' Facebook Handle)
She received so many awards, both local and international.
Piyali was honoured at The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence 2023. Piyali Basak was felicitated by ASSOCHAM along with Nalanda Learning and Rotary Club of Calcutta Centenary for her amazing achievement in achieving one the rarest feat in human history by summiting Mount Everest without oxygen. She also got Guinness World Record certificate.
In an honour to her achievements A poem and song was composed by Bhuvan Chatterjee (former footballer) titled "Gaane Gaane Kavitar Chhande Aparajita". That poem was recited by Ishita Das Adhikari (an eminent reciter). In addition to the composition of this song, he has filled the melody beautifully in it. Kakali Chattopadhyay has contributed the voice as an associate.
Challenges and Future Aspirations
Piyali's journey was not without its challenges. The world of mountaineering can be unforgiving, with extreme weather conditions, physical hardships and ever-present risks to life. Instead of these Piyali Basak has not received the certificate afte the victory in Everest-Lhotse despite touching four eight thousand peaks in Dhaulagiri-Mansalu-Everest-Lhotse. Because the agency through which he climbed Everest still gets ten lakh rupees. The agency did not issue the certificate as it could not pay that amount. In this situation, student-youth organization stood with her. They collected the subscription and handed over one lakh rupees to Piyali.
However, Piyali's unwavering determination and resilience allowed her to persevere and achieve her goals.
Everest-conqueror Piyali Basak's report from basecamp 'Standing at the summit, "I thought, will I return?' Piyali's realization of standing on the summit of Everest, missing certain death after getting his foot stuck in a crevasse, is touching. She said, "If I come back alive, I can become a better person. That 5-7 minutes spent at the top of Everest that day reminded me again and again how precious life is.” In this context, about 17 years ago, the first Bengali woman Everest conqueror Shipra Mazumder's perception is remembered by me. On July 2, 2005 article titled 'No More Horns to Conquer Now' in this newspaper, he wrote, “Earth underfoot. My words do not have enough power to capture the feeling of this moment. One after another silver peaks covered the sky below me through the white cottony clouds. Lack of oxygen, cold teeth piercing through the lining of special clothing, nothing else. The whole thing is like a dream.”
Looking ahead, Piyali Basak aspires to continue his mountaineering endeavors with dreams of conquering more challenging peaks and leaving an indelible mark in the world of adventure sports. She hopes to inspire the next generation of climbers, especially women, to embrace their passions and break free from societal constraints.
Conclusion
Piyali Basak's story is a testament to the power of determination, passion, and breaking through societal norms. This Bengal mountaineer has not only scaled great heights but has also broken gender stereotypes along the way. Her remarkable journey serves as an inspiration to all, reminding us that with dedication and unwavering commitment, we can achieve the seemingly impossible.
I would like to take this opportunity to inform the Himalayan lovers that Piyali still owes a lot of money to the expedition director agency. In this situation, the kind-hearted people are requested to come forward with Piyali's help. Piyali Bank Account:-
Piyali Basak, A/C No.: 40387563000
Bank Name :State Bank of India
IFSC: SBIN0000053,
Branch- Chandannagar
According to Sudipta Cheena, (Munsirhat, Howrah): What men can do, women are also capable of doing it, is spread in the history of Everest expedition full of numerous successes and failures. On May 16, 1975, Japan's Junko Tabei became the first woman to set foot on Mount Everest. Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to climb the Everest peak on May 23, 1984. Why did the expedition team run to Everest again and again after suffering so much? The philosophical answer was given by a tragic hero of the Everest expedition, the British mountaineer George Mallory—“It's there” (because it's there). An Everest expedition is a test of tenacity, strength, endurance, and endurance. Piyali Basak once again proved that Bengali girls can also succeed in the Expedition.
According to Aritra Mukherjee, (Srirampur, Hooghly): Bengali explorers raised money with difficulty and took loans. So either way, the horn must be conquered—the very idea that brings danger. Chanda Gayen was in danger because she did not sound the baran despite the adverse weather conditions. Piyali Basak's bravery in conquering another peak, including Everest, in adverse weather conditions, but the less risk is taken, the better. Due to inadequate training, lack of experience, I see Bengali families facing difficulties even on ordinary trek routes. The more they are discussed, the more alert the agencies that support mountaineering will be, along with the adventurers. The courage, enthusiasm and persistence of Bengalis will not decline in this.
---
.jpg)
Keep it up and go on...
ReplyDeleteAmazing Story....
ReplyDelete