Thirteen year old Dhwani spent an evening with our Trinity Communication Skills students, describing her arduous but triumphant climb to the Everest Base Camp. It was an interesting question answer session and we are particularly pleased to share a little feature on Dhwani that some of our students penned down. Makes for great and interesting reading, especially when children write about each other!! May you all always celebrate each others successes!
Tanushree Golhar
For almost a fortnight, little determined specks dotted the magnificent veil of white which shimmered
in the soft and feeble morning sunlight. Passionate trekker, Dhwani Shrotriya,
spent the evening sharing her views on the life among the pure and soothing
atmosphere of the Himalayan ranges.
The immense support of her parents and her six months long tough training and hard work is what helped
her successfully complete this exhilarating escapade . Packed with goods like
foreclaz trekking shoes , jackets ,dry fruits and most importantly faith , she
set off from Kathmandu to a village called Lukla by a tiny jet after which her
trek actually started.
With twenty eight other people, including her father, she faced the undergrowth
of pine cone forests , rocks and then thick snow .According to Dhwani, the
mules ,yaks and jobgyos were a great help. She also extends great thanks to the
sherpas without whose help the trip would have been even more perilous . Dhwani
says that everyday was a new challenge. Everyday the slope grew steeper and an
overwhelming tiredness seized her. No bridges ,slippery ice and sense of danger
every where but the thought of reaching there kept her going .Her frozen knees
, breathlessness at night and the sense of nausea made her feel uncomfortable
every now and then . Her throat yearned for WARM water and HOT soothing food. But
her strong will shielded her against all negative thoughts.
Dhwani also says that the mountains are definitely a beautiful place and
that she would love to go back there again. The serene nature and
tranquillizing scenes fascinated her. She went there representing her school ,
The Bishops School , and came back making her school , her parents and everyone
proud.
Dhwani
shares that, one of the best moments were when she and her group sang the
school song and the Indian national anthem on reaching the base camp. There was
a wave of satisfaction within them. Today Dhwani greatly misses the mountains
and the silence there. Lastly she shares ,'' Positivity, respect for nature and
to value what we have got are the three main life lessons I have learnt.'' She
says that the silence and peace there greatly fascinated her because ''where there is silence there is
magnificence.''
Ananya Chaure
It all began with the 150 year celebration of the Bishops
school. Here was it…..Dhwani’s chance to have her name etched in the glorious
history of Bishops. A mountaineering expedition to Everest base camp was being
organized by her school. Encouraged by her supportive parents, 13 year old
Dhwani began her arduous journey towards reaching her destination.
How does one prepare for the Everest? For
Dhwani it was climbing up and down thirty floors a day. Not to mention squats,
jogs, walking five kilometers and a six month training session!
Finally, D-day! Dhwani and her father set off for the long
trek to base camp.
They began from the small town of Lukla in Nepal where they
took a Donnyair to Kathmandu. Dhwani was very excited on her first day of
trekking. But at the end of the day, she was more than happy to retire to her
sleeping bag. Dhwani and the rest of her group crossed numerous valleys and
faced great challenges at night. It was difficult to go to the toilet behind a
rock every fifteen minutes. Yes, you heard me right. Due to the Acute Mountain
Sickness medicine she had taken, she had to respond to the call of nature every
fifteen minutes. Having to consume seven litres of water every day and using a
pyush to purify the water wasn’t easy either. Many times Dhwani felt like
giving up. But her father’s encouragement and her mental strength kept her
going. After eleven days of trekking, they had finally reached! The
exhilarating view took everybody’s breath away. Bright sunlight plastered the
mountains in a golden hue. The Bishopites then sang the national anthem and
their school song.
After nearly having walked off a cliff and dealing with 5364
m, Dhwani has returned wiser and stronger. And answering the question we have
all waited for with bated breath, Dhwani will definitely be climbing Mt.
Everest one day.
Aarushi Dhanuka
Is it tiring climbing 10 floors without a break? But for
Dhwani, it is just “child’s play”!
An 8th grader, Dhwani Shrotriya just 13 years of age decided
to go on a trek to the Everest Base Camp because of her love and passion for
trekking. She had truly been practicing
wholeheartedly for 6 months by climbing 30 floors non-stop and doing squats.
Not only that, she had also gone on many treks with her grandfather before this
in and around pune. ”To trek, anybody can train & become physically fit,
but overcoming your fears & becoming mentally fit is the real challenge”,
she says.
They left with a group of 29 people. The trek started from a
small town named Lukla from where they took a jet to Kathmandu. ”I was all
excited & energetic on the first day but by the end of the trip I was very
tired” shares Dhwani. The trek lasted for 11 days . Dhwani also shares some
challenging experiences. Dhwani and her group had to sleep in the tiny tea houses and very often by midnight their knees froze and Dhwani was so breathless
she could hardly sleep. Dhwani also shares, ” it was made a rule for us that we had to drink at least 7
litres of water even if we were not thirsty.”
For Dhwani this trek was more than just a trek it taught her
a life lesson to be positive & respect nature as in front of nature we are
all very small and weak and also to
value whatever you have.
Rishi Lahoti
Dhwani Shrotriya, a teenager in her earliest year, made it big by climbing the Everest Base Camp 1 week ago. Dhwani, who always loved trekking, had invariably wanted to climb Mt. Everest. When the opportunity to conquer the Everest Base Camp came, she didn’t waste a second to pounce on the opportunity.
Her 6 month strenuous training included jogging 5km per day and running up and down 30 floors without breaking a sweat. Her team comprised of 29 people, the youngest being Dhwani and the oldest being her dad. Her parents gave her all the support she needed and when she and her dad left for the Everest Base Camp, little did they know that their lives were about to be turned upside down.
On the first couple of days, Dhwani and her team had to fight themselves through pinecone forests. Only on the last day or two did they experience snow. They had to eat chocolates and potatoes all along for quick energy. All their stuff was carried by sherpaboys and yaks. Dhwani said that she felt like giving up one day before reaching the Everest Base Camp but when her father gave her her pep talk and rekindled her flame, she was ready to climb Mt. Everest itself! She said that the weather at the night was horrible and all of a sudden they would start getting breathless and nauseous. They would trek the whole day and would rest at a small motel for the night. The whole trek lasted for 11 days.
After returning to Pune, she actually missed the mountains. But what she missed the most was the silence. Only when she came back home did she realise how big a racket we humans create. Dhwani said that she would love to do this trek again. She learnt 3 important things on the trek-Be positive, value what you have and respect nature. So if Dhwani Shrotriya’s name comes along in the Guinness world record book, don’t be surprised!
