India's first woman who skied to the South Pole says her husband inspired her to achieve the feat
India's first woman who skied to the South Pole says her husband inspired her to achieve the feat
The first Indian women to ski to South Pole Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu fought all natural barriers to conquer the South Pole but for her it could not have been possible without the support of her husband Loveraj Dharmshaktu who himself is a three-time Everester.
Bravehearts all: Reena Kaushal was one of the eight-member team
that went on an expedition that covered 900 km from the beginning of
Antarctica to the end of the South Pole last month. Reena had to give
up on vegetarian food and did not call her family for two months
of the expedition. Pics above Robert Hollingworth/MID DAY
Loveraj encouraged Reena to join the eight-member expedition team that covered 900 km from the beginning of Antarctica to the end of the South Pole last month. "Unlike conventional Indian families my husband always stood by me and made me achieve this unique feat. He took care of my fitness and diet," said a beaming Reena clad in a red jacket sitting beside proud Loveraj at the couple's modest flat in Paschimpuri in West Delhi.
Reena was hooked onto adventure sports since childhood and her enthusiasm multiplied when she first met Loveraj at the mountaineer's paradise Ladakh. "I met my husband in Ladakh while on an expedition and he was returning from another trek. We met through a common friend and since then we decided to get onto a life-long expedition," she said.
"The first meeting in Ladakh in 2000 was a very brief one," said Loveraj, an inspector with the mountaineering team of the Border Security Force.
However, already head over heels in love with Reena, Loveraj ensured that his stay at the Indian
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Reena at her Paschimpuri flat pic Rajeev Tyagi |
Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) in Delhi coincided with the time Reena spent there.
The duo spent most of the time together at the IMF before getting married in 2004.
Interestingly the couple, which is involved in outdoor adventure sports for more than 15 years, are yet to make a trip together. However, they plan to go on one "very soon".
Apart from braving -40 degrees of chill and walking 10 hours a day for 40 days, pulling 80kg sledges loaded with food, fuel and equipment in winds in excess of 80mph, Reena didn't even thought twice to give up on her vegetarianism. Also, for more than two months, the 38-year-old mountaineer never called back home.
"I guess I would have become emotionally weak if I would have called home. Though we had satellite phones I restrained myself. But I knew that my family's good wishes were there with me in the snow-capped terrains," added Reena.
"In a team one has to live as a team member. I was the only vegetarian and it was impossible to cook vegetarian food separately so I started eating meat which also has high calories and required to survive in such environment," explained Reena.
However, accustomed to indifference from both the government and the public alike towards the sport of mountaineering, Reena was shocked to see the fan fare and media craze when she reached Delhi airport.
"I thought that in India Cricket is the only sport. I never imagined that so many people would come to felicitate me. People from my state Uttrakhand and people associated with adventure sports gave me a warm welcome. Even our neighbours who were sceptical about our profession have started appreciating the sport and came to the colony gate to greet me," said an excited Reena.
In the hindsight, Reena said that the biggest challenge for her was arranging finance for the expedition. "I have been writing to various ministries for help but till now I have got no response. No government body has come forward to support me. I have approached more than 100 corporate houses and political leaders but they thought mountaineering was a useless sport. I could never have succeeded without the support of my sponsors, Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) and the Bajaj Group, who helped me during training in Norway and New Zealand and of course, the Kaspersky Group who sponsored the expedition."
The adventure sports enthusiast couple are now planning to encourage women mountaineers in India and educate the people about global warming, having experienced in person what planet Earth is losing.
-40 degrees Celsius Temperature in Antarctica that Reena braved
80 kg Weight of the sledge that Reena pulled on foot
