There is one memory of
Japan which stays on in the mind after all these years. The sight of Mt Fuji
I have seen it in all
seasons during my many visits to Japan. As a dear friend of mine used to
describe, it is of course "The Perfect Cone"
It was during one of the busiest schedule in my Tokyo visit. We were in
the implementation phase of a project. Days were longer in office, we used to
leave in time for the last train (12 pm) and reach our apartment well into the
next day. We were a team of five people then working in the client’s office.
Project work was like a perfect example of Murphy's Law. We were dousing more
fires on a daily basis than ever before. The morale in the team was dipping and
the shoulders were dropping and people were getting burnt out.
It was like
everyone wanted a small win, a small victory so that one could motivate the
team for better days at work.
It was around this time that Preetam (our engagement
manager @ that time) brought up climbing Mt Fuji. He did point out that it
would be a costly affair. Not a lot of guys were interested in climbing a
dormant volcano. I had always wanted to climb Mt Fuji, it was one of the items
on my bucket list. I was always curious on how the crater would be like on top
of the volcanic mountain. I had read a lot about dormant volcanoes and a few
friends of mine had climbed Mt Kilimanjaro. I was up for the challenge right
away. It was already end of August and it was pretty much the last weekend
where we could get to try climbing Mt Fuji.
I had read that meteorological condition of Mt Fuji
was similar to that of Himalayas, hence we had to be well prepared and carry
the right equipment. We went shopping in Shinjuku and picked up Gale wind
jackets and climbing gear. North face jackets and gloves did burn a big hole in
our pocket.
Inoue San and Hemanth
from our team agreed to join us. Preetham convinced our sales guy
Shimomura san and hr Sreevishnu to join. So finally Me, Preetham, Preetham's
wife, Hemanth, Inoue San, Shimomura san and Vishnu decided to climb Mt Fuji.
We selected the subhashiri route (
http://www.fujiyama-navi.jp/fujitozan/route/page/subashiri/lang/en/). One thing
was that this was one of the most scenic route and this ensured we would get
down faster on the sand slope.
We started on a bright sunny Saturday morning and reached
subashiri 5th station.
Our trail was
approximately around 7.8 kms of climb to the summit and would normally take 6.5
hours. We decided to acclimatize for a few hours and rest in 6th or 7
station and climb in the night to reach the summit well in advance for
sunrise.
We started
the ascent in the evening and after a couple of hours stopped in one of the
huts. We got talking while enjoying the meso soup. Preetham's wife and I had a
lot in common. She was part of the blue cross and had participated in tiger
census in Jim Corbett. We ventured from treks to climbing and started
discussing on Himalayas and base camp. In such company last thing we get to do
is sleep :). She was very well versed in all these and she was questioning on
if I had viewed the glacier, what wild animals we have spotted during the treks
etc.
Finally we thought we need to sleep till 12 pm and then resume the
climb. When we decided to resume Shimomura san told me that Preetham and his
wife would return to the base as Preetham's wife was feeling nauseated and it
might be altitude sickness.
Climbing needs a
lot of stamina and it’s better to not attempt it in case we are not in the best
of health. So we started on the trail and reached the seventh station. Only way
for us to understand it was the torii gates. From the seventh station as we
climbed our speed reduced. We were panting after a few feet and were taking a
lot of breaks. We decided to break into groups of two and climb together as it
was getting difficult with multiple breaks. After passing the old seventh
and
eighth stations the
trail became far more steeper. When I reached the 8.5 station I came across the
last hut before the summit. Me and Inoue san had meso soup and it tasted like
elixir.
The hardest part of the
trail was in front of us from 9th station to summit. Finally at around 5 am we
reached the summit. We both crashed into a corner, tired, flustered and trying
to get some air. We noticed that Shimomura san was the first to reach and he
waved from afar. I wanted to get some breadth and said let’s wait for the
sunrise. Then after the hard part of climbing was over, my mind was relieved,
calm and happy to have one item off the bucket list. Curiosity to look at the
crater was very much there but wanted to watch the sunrise as a lot of people
had told me it’s a sight by itself.
There it was the Sun
finally at around 5.35 am in the morning.
It was the moment a lot
of us were waiting for since quite a while.
The sight of the golden
sun, slowly rising on the horizon was enough to dispel the longing and quell
the tiredness.
Looking at the joy
emanating from the people's faces at the onset of the sun. Sun surely does rise
in the east. The cries of Sugoi, the clapping of the hands and couples huddled
together mesmerized at the beauty of the sun, lost in thought, lost in the moment,
lost in one another....
All I could remember is our song. I searched for that song in my iPod and was lost in it for a while.
Such beautiful
lyrics...
Nee Amrithadhare Koti
Januma Jotegaati
Nee Amrithadhare Ehaku
paraku Sangaati
Nee Illavadare Naa Hege
Baalali
Nenapideye Modala Kavana
Nenapideye Modala Payana
Nenapideye Modala
Dinada
Bharavaseya Aasare
Nee Illavadare Naa Hege
Baalali
All I wanted at that moment of loneliness was for a witness in life. It is not enough that I experience the beauty of nature, the sense of accomplishment, the joy of simple things. I wanted someone to share this happiness with. Memories will stay on, but shared memories have a stronger bonding I feel.
Then I remembered her
wish list,
·
most important thing for
me in life she had said is patience
·
second most important
thing is confidence
·
third most important
thing is trust and comfort
·
fourth most important
thing is sense of humor
She liked someone who
can lead, decide and take care of her, someone who knows her in and out and is
a witness for her life, with whom she does not feel alien, with whom she need
not think twice to share, with whom she feels like a person without any mask,
the person who makes her feel special and with whom she would give her life to
be with.
When she had talked
about witness for life, I had never understood the realm of it. Now it made
some sense, the profoundness of that hit me there looking at the folks in joy.
There the world became so small, I was on top of Mt Fuji, after having realized
a long lost dream and after all that hard work, mind still thought of her. All
I could do is sigh and answer Inoue san who had a long list of questions
Now with the sunrise
done, it was about getting down safely.
We went around the
crater then started our descent. The run down the slope was fun. I never had in
my dreams thought that there would be volcanic sand. As I tried put my foot
down it would sink into the ground and as I ran down it was messing with my
shoes. The morning was beautiful and I loved the feeling of being over the
clouds and passing through them.
Then at a point during the descent, I was mesmerized with what I
saw. A dreamy landscape wherein I was unable to differentiate where the sky
ends and ground begins. It was for only a few seconds it felt so. But it was
the most beautiful sight in this small life.
After I reached the
train station, I waited for the rest to join on the journey back to Tokyo.
There behind us was the
Mt Fuji, something which was unconquered all these years. Now there was a sense
of confidence, a feeling of conquering my own mind for a while, fighting
against fatigue.
Little did I realize
that this wouldn’t be the last visit to Mt Fuji.
A well-known Japanese
saying suggests that anybody would be a fool not to climb Mount Fuji once but a
fool to do so twice.
And I guess I had to
prove I was a fool after all :)
