Mountaineering has always been a passion for Jarupula Bhaskar. From the time he would climb hillocks near his village to collect custard apples ( seethaphal ) during his school days to scaling rocks at altitudes of 15,000 feet, Bhaskar epitomises the love for heights.
A second-year B.A. student at SR&BGNR Government Degree and PG College, Bhaskar’s zeal for adventure spurred him on to join the NCC and subsequ-ently complete a basic course in mountaineering in Uttarakhand.
Hailing from Veeraram Dubba Thanda, a tribal hamlet in Maripeda mandal of Warangal district, the nineteen-year-old had undergone training as part of a foundation course in the Uttarkashi-based Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) for nearly a month this May.
He received an appreciation certificate at the Independence Day ceremony held in the town on August 15.
Having successfully completed the basic course with “A” grade, Bhaskar, an NCC Junior Under Officer of the 11 Andhra NCC Battalion, Khammam, is now eyeing greater heights.
“The basic training at NIM helped me gain practical exposure to a broad spectrum of aspects of mountaineering, including snow craft and rock climbing at an altitude of 15,000 feet,” he says.
“My ambition is to comp-lete the advanced course at NIM, upgrade my mountain-eering skills and climb Mt. Everest,” affirms Bhaskar, who belongs to a poor tribal farm labourer’s family.
“Everest hero S. Anand (a student of APSWR School/Junior College at Annapureddypalli) proved that students from poor families and rural background can achieve rare distinctions if given proper support and encouragement. I wish to reinforce this fact and join the armed forces to serve the cause of the motherland,” Bhaskar says.
