While we in India celebrated our 77th Independence Day last week and PM Narendra Modi unfurled the tricolour and customarily addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi, a Mumbai man acclimatized himself to battle minus 25 degrees Celsius for a non-stop steep climb of six hours to reach and hoist the national flag at Elbrus, the highest mountain peak in Europe (in Russia). Imran Abdul Hamid Fakhi, 39, did it immediately after he reached the summit next morning on August 16 at 6.30 am.
“We felt so proud. It was so windy on the summit that we could spend barely 15 minutes there before we began descending back to the basecamp which was the toughest part,” recalled Fakhi, part of eight, divided into two groups of four in each group. TOI spoke to Fakhi while he halted briefly on his way back from Russia to Saudi Arabia. He works there as a senior planning engineer with a firm.
Fakhi’s feat has his parents and friends in Mumbai and relatives in and around the small, sleepy village Mumbke in Khed taluka, Ratnagiri in Konkan filled with pride. “Every time Imran begins his climb or trek to a new mountain, he calls me up to take my blessings. This time too he called and said, ‘mummy, dua karna (pray for me). I stayed up the whole night and continuously prayed till he called again to inform me that he had successfully scaled this mountain too,” said Fakhi’s mother Swalihabi.
“We get worried, but we know he will not stop till he achieves what he has aimed at. It is his hard work and determination to do what few have done before that propels to take risks,” added his father Abdul Hamid Fakhi. Hamid quit his job as a constable (1973-1980) with Mumbai police before he went to work in the Gulf and, after a decade, returned to Mumbai.
Hamid said Imran has been “adventurous” since he was very young. “In the summer vacations, he would spend time with friends, plucking mangoes and climbing hills around our village. He loves trekking and is fond of seeing sights,” said a proud Hamid.
Having completed a diploma in civil engineering from Anjuman-I-Islam’s Haji Saboo Siddik Polytechnic, Fakhi graduated from VJTI before picking up a Master’s in Management Studies from Rizvi College of Management in 2008. He has been in Saudi Arabia since 2012.
How did he get enticed to trekking and climbing mountains?
In 2016, Fazal, his friend from Saboo Siddik Polytechnic, invited him for a trek to Hampta Pass in the Himalayas. “I pounced on this offer as I love trekking,” he recalled. He subsequently tried to reach Pangarchulla in Uttarakhand but abandoned it due to inclement weather. However, in 20018 he trekked up to Mount Stok Kangri in Ladakh, 6000 metres above the mean sea level. “It was a 17-hour, non-stop climb and descent. It really encouraged me to take on bigger challenges,” he said.
That challenge awaited him this year when famous mountaineer Soumen Sarkar from Kolkata invited him to join the expedition to Mount Elbrus. Among several people he thanks for this feat includes Anand Bhansode who facilitated his expedition.
So, which peak is he aiming to scale next? “I want to scale the world’s seven highest mountains. Besides Elbrus in Europe, these are Kilimanjaro (Africa), Denali (North America), Mount Aconcagua (South America), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), Mount Kosciuszko (Australia) and Mount Everest (Asia).” But Kilimanjaro is what he will attempt to conquer next.
What about scaling Mount Everest? At 8,890 meters, it is the highest mountain in the world and requires advanced training, elaborate planning and a huge cost (around 35 lakh). He spent around Rs 2.5 lakh from his own savings to scale Elbrus and will need sponsors for attempting to reach Everest and unfurl the tricolour there too.
After a long flight, he was with his wife and three children waiting eagerly for him in Saudi Arabia.
“We felt so proud. It was so windy on the summit that we could spend barely 15 minutes there before we began descending back to the basecamp which was the toughest part,” recalled Fakhi, part of eight, divided into two groups of four in each group. TOI spoke to Fakhi while he halted briefly on his way back from Russia to Saudi Arabia. He works there as a senior planning engineer with a firm.
Fakhi’s feat has his parents and friends in Mumbai and relatives in and around the small, sleepy village Mumbke in Khed taluka, Ratnagiri in Konkan filled with pride. “Every time Imran begins his climb or trek to a new mountain, he calls me up to take my blessings. This time too he called and said, ‘mummy, dua karna (pray for me). I stayed up the whole night and continuously prayed till he called again to inform me that he had successfully scaled this mountain too,” said Fakhi’s mother Swalihabi.
“We get worried, but we know he will not stop till he achieves what he has aimed at. It is his hard work and determination to do what few have done before that propels to take risks,” added his father Abdul Hamid Fakhi. Hamid quit his job as a constable (1973-1980) with Mumbai police before he went to work in the Gulf and, after a decade, returned to Mumbai.
Hamid said Imran has been “adventurous” since he was very young. “In the summer vacations, he would spend time with friends, plucking mangoes and climbing hills around our village. He loves trekking and is fond of seeing sights,” said a proud Hamid.
Having completed a diploma in civil engineering from Anjuman-I-Islam’s Haji Saboo Siddik Polytechnic, Fakhi graduated from VJTI before picking up a Master’s in Management Studies from Rizvi College of Management in 2008. He has been in Saudi Arabia since 2012.
How did he get enticed to trekking and climbing mountains?
In 2016, Fazal, his friend from Saboo Siddik Polytechnic, invited him for a trek to Hampta Pass in the Himalayas. “I pounced on this offer as I love trekking,” he recalled. He subsequently tried to reach Pangarchulla in Uttarakhand but abandoned it due to inclement weather. However, in 20018 he trekked up to Mount Stok Kangri in Ladakh, 6000 metres above the mean sea level. “It was a 17-hour, non-stop climb and descent. It really encouraged me to take on bigger challenges,” he said.
That challenge awaited him this year when famous mountaineer Soumen Sarkar from Kolkata invited him to join the expedition to Mount Elbrus. Among several people he thanks for this feat includes Anand Bhansode who facilitated his expedition.
So, which peak is he aiming to scale next? “I want to scale the world’s seven highest mountains. Besides Elbrus in Europe, these are Kilimanjaro (Africa), Denali (North America), Mount Aconcagua (South America), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), Mount Kosciuszko (Australia) and Mount Everest (Asia).” But Kilimanjaro is what he will attempt to conquer next.
What about scaling Mount Everest? At 8,890 meters, it is the highest mountain in the world and requires advanced training, elaborate planning and a huge cost (around 35 lakh). He spent around Rs 2.5 lakh from his own savings to scale Elbrus and will need sponsors for attempting to reach Everest and unfurl the tricolour there too.
After a long flight, he was with his wife and three children waiting eagerly for him in Saudi Arabia.