Home  -  Back Issues  -  The Team  Contact Us
                                                                                                                    
Linking Young Minds Together
 Volume 3 | Issue 11 | March 20, 2011 |


   Inside

   News Room
   Spotlight
   Making a Difference
   Competition
   News Snap
   Sports
   Event
   Athletics
   Going Green
   Youth in Action
   Trends
   Star Chat




   Star Campus     Home


Star Chat

The First Bangladeshi to Climb the Mount Everest: A Voyage to his World of Adventures

Mountaineer Musa Ibrahim
Talks to
Sumaiya Ahsan Bushra

I was born under strange circumstances; my grandmother who was present during my birth could not feel my pulse for quite some time after I was born. So, she decided to place me on top of a shovel and bring me near the fire to nurture me to health with the warmth from the heat. Of course I had no idea about this. My parents related this story to me later on about how I came into existence. I guess to some extent it is plausible to say that this incident gave my family a glimpse of the future of how I always came out as strong as ever from the most difficult of situations.

As a child I was always restless and curious. At some point I was named 'toto-company'. When I was in Panchagarh, my parents decided to have a tutor for me. The first day my tutor came to teach me, the atmosphere of my house almost seemed festive. However, I somehow managed to sit down and study for only a duration of fifteen minutes! It was much later in life when I would study hard and score high grades. In Shampur of Rangpur, the Shampur sugar mill goods train would at times carry an empty bogie. So, my friends and I decided to go to the transit station in one of the empty bogies. It was quite an adventure, travelling alone and exploring what's on the other side, but reality soon came crashing down, when we got caught by a guard from the sugar mill!

Like the phrase, 'curiosity killed the cat', I was the cat once! A bunch of boys who liked cycling around the place where I lived caught my attention. I was curious enough to go ask them about the workings and wonders of a bicycle. In response to my inquisitiveness the boys decided to play a little trick on me. One of them told me that if I wanted to see the workings of a bicycle, I would have to put my hands on the chains while somebody was peddling. Well, as one can assume the outcome was pretty obvious. My hand was not only bruised but my finger nails and the skin of my hands were peeled off revealing the pink flesh!

As I grew up, during my high school years, I would always be doing something or the other. For instance, I often used the 'coaching excuse' with my parents. I used to tell them that I was going for my classes and would go wandering off on my bicycle (the one I had bought by saving my own money) with my friends to watch movies. However, when I came to Notre Dame College, things changed a lot. Being in Dhaka and getting used to the unfamiliar environment were challenging since I came from a small town where everyone knew everyone.

In Dhaka University, I studied at the Institute of Education and Research Department (IER). My sister was living in Rokeya Hall of Dhaka University at the time and it was some how arranged by one of her friends that I would stay in the boys Mohsin Hall. University was a lot more fun since I was away from my parents and I could have my fair share of freedom. In the year 2000 when I was in my second year of university, I met a man named Enam Talukder, who went around different places in Bangladesh. But these adventure trips -- climbing the different hills and mountains in Bangladesh did not satisfy us and the thrill seemed to be missing. So in 2002 we decided to go to Nepal and my excuse to my parents was simple. I told them I was going on a trip because the truth would scare them and they would hold me back. Soon I started the basic training to climb mountains and then entered the advanced level expedition. My carefree spirit eventually took me to the highest peak of the world. But now, looking down from those heights, I reminisce those precious moments of my school days, those unforgotten shenanigans and those familiar faces of my friends and family.

 

Copyright (R) thedailystar.net 2010