FIRST WOMAN TO REACH THE SUMMIT OF MT. EVEREST

Junko Tabei 

Junko Tabei was the first woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest and also the first woman to climb the Seven Summits (the highest peaks of the seven continents).

WHEN Junko and her all-woman Ladies Club team from Japan were ascending Mt. Everest, they were caught in a deadly avalanche. For a few hours, they were buried under snow. Fortunately, some Sherpas found them. Junko could hardly walk for a couple of days but the daring 35-year-old braved it to the summit 12 days later, on 16 May, 1975 with her Sherpa, Ang Tshering.

Junko was born in 1939 in a small agricultural town in Fukushima prefecture. She was drawn to mountaineering from a young age. After obtaining a degree in English and American literature, she joined mountain-climbing clubs. In 1969, she established the Ladies Climbing Club with the motto ‘Let’s go on an overseas expedition by ourselves’. 

The group’s first expedition was to scale Annapurna III (7,555 m) in Nepal, where she and her all-woman team succeeded in forging a new path up the south side of the mountain. In 1992, Junko established another record, when she became the first woman to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents, including Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Denali (Alaska) and Vinson (Antarctica).

The achievement paved the way for women mountaineers to reach for the heights at a time when women were encouraged to stay at home and look after the family.

As chairperson of the Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan, Junko campaigned for sustainable mountaineering, worked for the upliftment of Sherpas and tried to bring about a greater awareness of the need to preserve the ecology of the mountains in the face of tourism. 

In 2012, Junko was diagnosed with cancer. It did not stop her from continuing with her passion for scaling mountains and during an interview, she said, “I am suffering from cancer but I would like to keep going my way and climb mountains.” She passed away in November 2016.

A NORTH AMERICAN FOLK TALE

The foolish couple 

The war was over and the land was at peace. Rod Cunningham the soldier packed his bags and set off into the world with no address to go to. Always short of money, he lived by his wits, doing odd jobs wherever he went. He breezed through towns, trekked up mountains and went through valleys, looking to make a quickbuck.

One day, he arrived at a farm. There lived a foolish farmer and his equally hare-brained wife. That afternoon, the farm owner had gone to the market to buy seeds. 

Before he left, he gave his wife ten gold coins and said, "Wife, keep this money safe till I get back." 

The farmer's wife tucked away the money in her cupboard and went about doing her chores.

Rod knocked at the door. The woman called out, "Who's there?" 

Rod answered, "I am Rod Cunningham."

"Where are you from?"

"Paradise."

The woman flung open the door and exclaimed, "O my goodness! Have you seen my dear departed mother?"

Without batting an eyelid, Rod replied, "Yes, I have."

"Is she well?" asked the farmer woman anxiously.

Rod pulled a sorry face and shook his head. 

"The old lady is unhappy. She spins all day and eats only dry bread," he said.

"Does she have a message for me?"

"Yes. She wants money to buy a warm shawl. A bottle of wine and a wedge of cheese, too."

The foolish woman immediately went down to her cellar and brought out two bottles of wine and some cheese. Then she fetched the bag of coins in her cupboard and handed them all to Rod.

She said, "Give this money to my mother. Tell her to buy whatever she needs and then send back the change."

Rod chuckled with delight as he gladly pocketed all that the woman offered and made good his escape.

When the farmer returned, he asked for the bag of coins. His wife excitedly told him about Rod. The farmer cried in anger, "You silly goose! I have never heard of such nonsense!"

Wasting not a moment, the farmer mounted his horse and rode furiously to catch up with the trickster. Hearing the sound of hoofs, Rod guessed what had happened and quickly thought of a ploy. 

He lay down on the grass, shading his eyes with one hand and pointing to the sky with the other. As man and horse drew close, he exclaimed, "The Lord be praised! It is such a wonderful sight!"

The farmer asked, "What do you see?"

"A man soaring into the clouds, as he enters the pearly gates of heaven."

Curious, the farmer asked, "Can you still see him?"

Rod said, "Of course, and you can too, if you lie down next to me."

The farmer hesitated and said, "Someone has to hold the horse."

Rod sprang up and offered to hold the horse's reins while the farmer lay down to catch a glimpse of the divine passage.

"I can't see anything!" cried the farmer.

"Cover your eyes and you will see a man flying away from you."

Just as the man placed his hand over his eyes, Rod mounted the horse in a flash and galloped away before the farmer could do anything to stop him.

The farmer hung his head low and slowly made his way home on foot, poorer by ten gold coins and a fine horse.

THE ABODE OF DEMOISELLE CRANES

Khichan

Khichan is a sleepy village located 150 km north of Jodhpur in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan. Towards the end of August, just after the monsoon has ceased, it undergoes an amazing transformation—the sound of ‘krok-krok’ calls fill the air and the sky darkens as thousands of Demoiselle cranes fly in from their breeding grounds in Eurasia and Mongolia. 

It all began in the 1970s when one Jain family began to feed wild birds in their backyard. A small number of Demoiselle cranes were among them. Every year, more feed was put out till their numbers swelled. Today, around 25,000 cranes arrive here and stay on till March. 

The villagers have created a rectangular enclosure especially for these cranes where they consume up to 5000kg of bird seed every morning. The birds spend the rest of the day at water bodies nearby, drinking and eating pebbles (which helps them digest the grains). At night, they roost in the salt beds 30km away. The smallest of the crane species, the Demoiselle crane is an elegant grey-plumaged bird with fiery red eyes. These birds travel almost 4000 km across the Himalayas to spend the winter in India. 

To protect them from feral dogs, the villagers have built a fenced bird-feeding home with a granary. Even those who have left to trade elsewhere, send home money to ensure a steady supply of grains. When a few cranes got electrocuted by the high powered lines surrounding Khichan, one resident got a power line removed from the cranes’ flight path and another line was laid underground. 

The residents of Khichan, many of whom are Jains, consider it a religious duty to look after the demoiselle cranes. Called kuraj orkurja in the local language, they find mention in folk songs going back almost a hundred years. 

Khichan today is recognised as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) by Bird Life International, a global partnership of NGOs that works to conserve birds and their habitats. It has emerged as a tourist spot, attracting bird-lovers and photographers.

GAS USED IN BALLOONS

Helium

Hydrogen is the lightest element and has a greater lifting power than helium. However, toy balloons are filled with helium rather than hydrogen. Why?

Though hydrogen is twice as light as helium and also cheaper, the gas is not used in balloons because it is inflammable—it catches fire easily. Helium, the second-lightest element in the universe is an inert gas, which means it is non combustible, and safe to use in balloons whether they are toy balloons or scientific balloons. Balloons are the most visible form of helium use but the gas has an important role in scientific research and industry, and in its liquid form is essential in MRI machines where it cools the imaging magnets. Hydrogen, helium and lithium were the first three elements created at the formation of the universe, at the time of the Big Bang.

DO YOU KNOW

What causes waves in the sea?

Waves are caused by winds. Particles of moving air brush against molecules of water on the ocean’s surface imparting energy to them by the process of collision.

The height of the waves is related to the amount of energy transferred to the water by the wind. The speed of the wind, the length of time the wind blows and the distance the wind blows over the open sea are the three factors that determine the height of the waves which in stormy weather can reach heights of 30 metres or more.

By the time the waves reach the shore they’re usually much diminished in size.

BILLION DOLLAR SMILE

Mona Lisa

The world’s most famous painting is the Mona Lisa also known as La Giaconda. Many believe the woman shown in the painting is Lisa Gherardini, wife of a merchant named Francesco Del Giocondo, though this is not certain. 

It’s a half-length portrait of a woman painted in oil, on a wood panel by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci sometime between 1503 and 1519 when he was living in the town of Florence in Italy (he moved to France in 1516 and may have given finishing touches to the painting there). In those days, portraits showed people in stiff formal poses. Leonardo put soul and meaning in his work, giving a puzzling expression to the woman’s face and skilfully directing the viewer’s gaze to the mountainous and detailed scenery in the background. But the painting did not attract much attention during his lifetime or even for centuries afterwards. 

The world first took note of it in August 1911 when it was stolen from the walls of the Louvre Museum and media frenzy followed. People flocked to the Louvre to view the empty space where the painting had been hanging; when it was recovered and put back in place, people flocked to see the now famous painting. When they scrutinized it to try to discern why it was considered valuable, they were struck by the mysterious expression on the woman’s face: the half-smile and the look in her eyes seem to be inviting attention but at the same time there is a certain aloofness in her demeanour. The mysterious smile made people wonder. Was she really the wife of the silk merchant as reported or was she somebody else, somebody close to the artist? 

The Mona Lisa smile became a talking point and has remained so. The Louvre Museum attracts millions of visitors each year and most of them come to see the Mona Lisa. As a ticket to the Louvre costs 15 euros (1,180), it brings huge revenue to the museum. Art connoisseurs are reluctant to put a price on the painting, they say it is worth millions. Mona Lisa is truly a woman with a billion dollar smile!

FESTIVAL OF COLOURS

Holi 

     Often referred to as the festival of colours, Holi is a cheerful occasion characterised by family and friends daubing each other with coloured powders.

     A widespread belief is that its name is derived from Holika, the wicked sister of a demon king, Hiranyakashyapu who perished in a fire while trying to kill her nephew. On the night before Holi, community bonfires are lit to commemorate this folk tale. Another story pays tribute to Lord Krishna, who enjoyed teasing local milkmaids by showering them with coloured powders and water – this ritual is now recreated in homes across India.

     Holi marks the end of winter and beginning of spring. Symbolic offerings, such as wheat sheaves, are often thrown into the flames in gratitude for the harvest. The night of the bonfires has a religious element, but the next day is a raucous celebration of new beginnings and well-being.

     Traditionally, water would have been scented and dyed with flower petals, but these days, commercially prepared colours are used. Early risers arrange snacks on platters while children fill ‘pichkaris’ (water pistols) ready for action. The morning starts with an outdoor exchange of sweetmeats and powdered colours, and often culminates in being drenched in a deluge of water. After a few hours of drinking and snacking, lunch is served and revellers bathe and change into clean clothes, marking the end of exuberant activities.