{"id":49728,"date":"2016-11-19T06:33:51","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T10:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=49728"},"modified":"2016-11-19T08:05:34","modified_gmt":"2016-11-19T12:05:34","slug":"first-sri-lankan-and-1st-woman-to-climb-mt-everest-jayanthi-kuru-utumpola-is-yet-to-be-honoured-officially-by-govt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=49728","title":{"rendered":"First Sri Lankan and 1st Woman to Climb Mt.Everest Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpola is Yet to be Honoured Officially by Govt"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy P.K.Balachandran <\/strong><\/p>\n

When Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala became the first Sri Lankan and also the first Sri Lankan woman to have climbed the 8848 meter Mount Everest in May this year, the Sri Lankan media went to town on it and accolades were showered on her by the elite of the island. Only three women before her had had the distinction of being the first in their respective countries to have climbed the Everest.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old Jayanthi had also replicated the achievement of another world record-holding compatriot \u2013 Mrs.Sirimavo Bandaranaike – who had made history in 1960 by becoming the world\u2019s first woman Prime Minister. Jayanthi and her mountaineering partner Johann Peries (who was with her up to 8400 meters and had to give up for lack of sufficient oxygen), are still besieged by schools and other organizations to give lectures on the thrills and challenges of mountaineering. \u201cThe extent of interest is truly amazing. But people think that they can become mountaineers overnight.This is stupid. I tell them that it needs rigorous training, great mental strength and finances to buy the safest equipment,\u201d she said. And mountaineering in Sri Lanka cannot be the sport it is in the West, unless the government puts in money to create the right kind of facilities and the people at large give the sport due recognition, she adds. \u201cIn Sri Lanka, cricketers walk away with all the adulation, and encouragement in the form of awards and gifts like cars. The claims of others who also win laurels for the country are ignored.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This has to change,\u201d Jayanthi said. She notes with a tinge of sadness that, till date, she has not got any national award or any reward for that matter. \u201cEdmund Hillary, who was the first to climb the Everest (along with the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay) in 1953 was knighted,\u201d she recalled. But Jayanthi is quick to add that lack of formal recognition does not discourage her. \u201cWe are in mountaineering because of a passion for it.<\/p>\n

We are also pleased that the Prime Minister (Ranil Wickremesinghe) called us on the phone to congratulate us soon after the achievement,\u201d Jayanthi said. \u201cThe PM had also given us a banquet prior to our departure, and had earlier written to companies recommending sponsorship for the expedition,\u201d added Johann.<\/p>\n

Mountaineering for Gender Justice <\/strong><\/p>\n

But Jayanthi is not just a mountaineer. She is a \u201cgender specialist\u201d, as her visiting card says. She is trying to link mountaineering to her campaign for binging about gender justice and women\u2019s rights in Sri Lanka. She believes that conquering the highest mountain on earth has demonstrated that gender is irrelevant even in a physically demanding sport like mountaineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Sri Lanka, as in many other parts of the world, women and girls are discouraged from doing things which are traditionally set apart for men. This ranges from climbing trees to doing a doctorate in the advanced sciences. Such discrimination must be ended. I am thankful to my father for letting me do risky things (of course on the condition that I take the right precautions). But I wonder how many families would allow their girls to cross cultural boundaries,\u201d Jayanthi remarked. Gender discrimination has affected the presence of women among those who attempt to climb the Everest.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of the 5,000-odd who have climbed it, only 10 percent are women,\u201d Johann pointed out. Asked if women have the physical strength to take to mountaineering seriously, Jayanthi said: \u201cAttitude is the basis of strength. Strength and endurance are attributes of the mind rather than the body, though physical fitness gained through training is a must.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is not taken in by men who put themselves on a high protein diet and work out in gyms to develop rippling muscles. \u201cFor all that, they may not be able to lift a man!\u201d she said dismissively. Jayanthi herself is petite \u2013 hardly the picture of a tough mountaineer of one\u2019s imagination. But she is fit. \u201cI play all games, run and swim,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Johann is regular with his workouts at the gym. Risks To Life Endurance and fearlessness are essential for rock and mountain climbing as these pose risks to life, especially in the Himalayas with their steep inclinations, deep gorges, avalanches and blizzards. \u201cOne out of eight people who had tried to climb the Everest have died. So we were prepared to die when we set out,\u201d Johann said. \u201cWe had written out our respective wills before we left so that we didn\u2019t leave a mess behind,\u201d Jayanthi recalled in a matter of fact way.<\/p>\n

Were they tormented by the fear death? \u201c I had no fear of death,\u201d Jayanthi replied emphatically. But Johann said that he did fear death at the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. \u201c It\u2019s is a dangerous place. There were ice blocks, crevices and an avalanche too. With the ladder moving and a terrific roar in the background, I felt I my end was near. But my inner spiritual strength saw me through,\u201d Johann said.
\nThe mountains have their secrets and at times only prayers can see one through the dangers ahead. \u201cThe Nepali Sherpas who go up and done the Everest do a puja at the start, seeking permission from the Gods to begin the ascent and they go by their Gods\u2019 command. Western climbers are disdainful about this. But the Sherpas\u2019 innate sense cannot be discounted.<\/p>\n

Their predictions about the weather are often more accurate than those of modern instruments,\u201d Jayanthi said. Adequate training facilities, sponsorship and state encouragement for mountaineering are badly needed in Sri Lanka, Jayanthi and Johann said.<\/p>\n

Jayanthi herself had the good fortune of doing a basic and an advanced course at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) at Darjeeling in India when she was just 23. At HMI, she met Tenzing Norgay who, along with Sir Edmund Hillary, was the first to climb the Everest in 1953.<\/p>\n

She also attended a very tough course conducted by the Indian army at 19,000 ft. \u201c We need something like the HMI here,\u201d she said. Asked about their future plans, the duo said that they will continue climbing peaks all over the world. \u201cEach mountain is unique, posing its own challenges,\u201d Johann reasoned.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:New Indian Express<\/em><\/p>\n

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By P.K.Balachandran When Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala became the first Sri Lankan and also the first Sri Lankan woman to have climbed the 8848 meter Mount Everest in May this year, the Sri Lankan media went to town on it and accolades were showered on her by the elite of the island. Only three women before her …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘First Sri Lankan and 1st Woman to Climb Mt.Everest Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpola is Yet to be Honoured Officially by Govt’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49728"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49728"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49729,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49728\/revisions\/49729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}