Just a day before Poila Baishakh (April 14) this year, two siblings from Kolkata’s Santoshpur, Debangshi Chakraborty, 7, and her brother, Deepayan Chakraborty, 14, trekked to the Annapurna Base Camp (around 13,500 feet above sea level) in Nepal in another example of how the mountains madden the average Bengali.
The Chakraborty family at Annapurna Base Camp
Accompanied by their parents, the group said they walked without any porter. The father, finance sector professional Sudeep Chakraborty, took a fortnight’s leave from office. He and his wife, Sananda, took special permission from the children’s school, South Point.
Travelling through Gorakhpur, crossing the border, the group of four reached Pokhara. Due to bad weather and news of snowfall at the Annapurna Base Camp, the group feared they might not be able to make it.
The siblings on the trail to Tadapani-Ghorepani
They chose the Tadapani-Ghorepani trek to see if the children could take the hardships of a hike.
The group of four reached the base camp of Mt Annapurna after days on the trail through Chamlang, Jhinu Danda and Doban.
Debangshi, on the steps leading to the camp
“The journey was magical with ethereal scenery. Our kids got a lot of praise from other trekkers, and their contagious energy helped everyone in our group,” said Chakraborty.
When Tenzing Norgay set foot on Mount Everest summit along with Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953, there was a distinct snowball effect in Bengal. Norgay belonged to Darjeeling district.
Last year, a 45-year-old man from Ranaghat died on the way down after summiting Everest. He was part of a team from the Mountaineering Association of Krishnanagar. At least 111 mountaineering clubs were registered in Bengal in the year 2024.
Treks, as the Chakrabortys exemplify, are now a Bengali family thing.
The kids led the way for the adults on the trek
Starting from the early 1920s, with travelogues and the British tradition of running off the mountains to escape the Kolkata sun, the Bengali middle class got access to mountains with relative ease.
Jyotisko Biswas, founder of Trekking Buddha
“The whole culture was transmitted from Europe,” said Jyotisko Biswas, founder of Trekking Buddha. “They would save up throughout the year and go on a trekking expedition. We followed that too.”
Bengalis with their monkey caps and mufflers – both of which are mostly ineffective in minus temperatures – are a ubiquitous sight across the Himalayas.
“The problem begins when people act like tourists on the mountains. Nepali people now recognise loud, demanding people as Bengalis or Indians. That is not a moment of glory for us,” said Biswas.
There were no such problems for the family of four from Santoshpur.
“We took every precaution, from medicines to oxygen cans. But we did not need it. Our kids showed resilience and courage throughout the trek,” said Sudeep Chakraborty.
Debraj Dutta summited Mt Everest in 2016
Debraj Dutta, who summited Mt Everest in 2016, said: “Kids are natural climbers. They have healthier lungs. It is easier for them to climb than us adults.”
However, children can and do face problems in high altitudes without lack of proper acclimatisation. An Indian Army scolded a father from Kolkata when his nine-year-old daughter fell ill near Gurudongmar Lake in Sikkim (around 17,800 feet) and had to be administered oxygen.
“Why do you bring kids to places like this?” the jawan said. “Is this a place for children?”
Dutta also underlined the importance of acclimatisation.
“There’s a specific period of acclimatisation, staying at each base camp, stocking up on essential gear at the camps, and coming back down each time when climbing. You cannot just scale a mountain like Everest at one go,” he said.
Deepayan and Debangshi are very happy. On Poila Baishak, Deepayan sang the Tagore song Anandaloke. He said that the journey was beautiful and the mountains looked even bigger during the trek.
“I got to meet a lot of new people and loved the trip,” said Debangshi. “I want to go to the mountains again very soon.”