25 September,2018 08:13 AM IST | | Subodh Mayure
Blind climbers Divyanshu Ganatra (left) and Prasad Gurav, who scaled Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro earlier this month. Pic/Subodh Mayure
"Come and experience our world... you can overcome all limitations." That's the message blind climbers - Prasad Gurav, 45, and Divyanshu Ganatra, 41 - sent out after they became India's first blind climbers to scale the 16,100-feet Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa on September 13. Israel's blind climber Uri Basha and 10 sighted climbers also achieved the feat with expedition leader Anusha Subramanian. Gurav is an IT engineer, while Ganatra is a graduate in psychology.
Gurav, who lost his sight at 21, was born and brought up in Mumbai. He was a 1995 batch topper at Somaiya College of Engineering. After a five-year stint at Siemens that ended in 2000, he formed his own IT firm (EGenietech) which he sold to a friend after 12 years. He is now a consultant in the same firm.
"The most challenging task of the African expedition was tackling the heavy wind at minus-15 degrees. But, the most unforgettable part for me was while coming down. I was very sleepy so had to apply ice on my face every 15 minutes to stay fresh." Ganatra, who was only 19 when he lost his sight and runs the Adventure Beyond Barriors Foundation, that chalked out this expedition along with Summiting4Hope, said: "Basically, you work at the belief that you have. It's all in the mind."
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