The Gangotri peak

Long after Junko Tabei of Japan — the first woman to scale Mount Everest — and Bachendri Pal have broken the barrier in the strenuous adventure sport of mountaineering, a 21-year-old Tripura girl has proved a point by reaching Gangotri-II at an altitude of 6,590 metres.

Mukta Ghosh, whose first significant climbing achievement was a 17,200-feet peak in Himachal Pradesh in 2001, scaled Gangotri-II along with eight other mountaineers. Her last major successful expedition was to the 19,091-feet Rudraghera peak on September 22 last year.

The Tripura girl has unknowingly broken a jinx surrounding the Gangotri-II peak. Mountaineers of the army had failed to scale the peak two decades ago and many other expeditions were grounded till Mukta and her team reached the summit last month.

The Gangotri-II experience has emboldened her determination to follow in the footsteps of idol Bachendri Pal to Mount Everest.

The same cannot be said about three years ago, when Mukta contemplated giving up her studies and looking for a job following the death of her mother, Pranati Ghosh. Third among four siblings, Mukta lost her mother soon just after passing the higher secondary examination in 2000.

However, her life changed dramatically after her father, Bishnupada Ghosh, an upper division assistant in a higher secondary school, encouraged her to join the women’s college here.

“My mother’s death was a big blow. But my affectionate father has greatly made up for the loss,” she said.

Mantu enrolled into the National Cadet Corps (NCC) unit in her college and became the under officer in the “girls’ independent company” in quick time.

“Participation in the NCC and promotion to the rank of under officer really encouraged me and the moment I heard about the mountaineering expedition, I decided to join it,” she said.

As an efficient NCC cadet she was selected ahead of other applicants for a monthlong training at the Mountaineering Insititute in Manali. “After I learnt the basics it was easy to take on the Himalayan peak in Himachal Pradesh in 2001 and Rudraghera last year,” she said.

For the Gangotri-II expedition, altogether 18 mountaineers had left Delhi on September 5.

However, in the final selection, four mountaineers from Ladakh and Garowan, including the team leader, and four NCC cadets — Mukta, Bidyanpati Debi of Manipur, Kamana Dubey of Andhra Pradesh and Dipika Rathore of Rajasthan — qualified.

“The expedition was dangerous because of inclement weather, including snowfall, lack of oxygen and a doctor and the tricky trekking. But we finally made it on September 23 morning,” Mukta recalled.

There was good news waiting for Mukta at home — he graduation results were out and she had passed.