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| Mark Inglis |
On Monday, 8 October 2012, i attended a talk by Mark Inglis at the prince of whales lawns at the Taj west end, Bangalore. The occasion was a dinner hosted by the chairman of Mindtree, Subroto Bagchi .
I am not connected with Mindtree in any way. Though the dinner was a Mindtree event, it was very nice of Mr Bagchi to invite me to join him.
Mindtree has recently done some re-branding and their new tagline reads "Welcome to possible" . So, i think there was no better way other than to host Mark Inglis to flag off the new wave of aspiration and inspiration.
Mark Inglis is a living testimony to the age old saying "Where there is a will, there is a way". He is the world's first double amputee to climb the world's highest peak, the Mount Everest. His story , that he succinctly put in about 70 minutes was full of determination, Passion and above all compassion and humility.
Mark Inglis encountered his ill fate on top of Mount cook in Newzealnad (world's sixth highest peak, 649.00M) at the age of 23. Mark Inglis and his fellow mountaineer Philip Doole were on top of Mount cook when a powerful blizzard pushed the duo into a 4 feet tall ice cave in sub-zero temperature for 13 long days. They had to survive the snowstorm for 13 days with just 5 biscuits. This encounter with the mountains landed Mark Inglis with severe frost bites so much so that both his legs had to be amputated. Mark had shed 31 kilograms in those 13 torturous days. As mark said, every second of the 312 hours that he spent on mount cook, his only thought was "How to survive" .
This encounter with destiny did not stop Mark from attempting more adventures. His love for cycling fetched him a silver medal (Which he carries with him) in the para-Olympic games in Sydney. This success rekindled his love for the mountains. He set his eyes on mount cook again. He designed and fabricated his own artificial legs (aluminium) that took him on top of mount cook again. Once on top of mount cook, the only other peak in sight for the mark was the majestic Mount Everest.
Aluminium limbs would not work in his expedition to mount Everest. So mark designed carbon limbs. Armed by the new limbs, after 47 days of climbing, Mark was on top of the Mount Everest in May 2006.
Mark is a walking example of another age old adage "look at the opportunities and not at adversities". He says,with artificial limbs, one cannot get frost-bites. What an attitude!!
Mark lost his middle finger of his right hand on his way back from the Everest. Mark wittily added that the finger would have come handy while driving in Bangalore traffic.
Mark had an unfinished job at the base-camp of the Everest on his way back. He had carried with him an additional pair of artificial limbs. That was for his friend who had lost his legs two decades back. Mark fitted the new limbs to his Sherpa friend. As mark said " Watching his friend walk on the new limbs was more satisfying than standing on the roof of the world."
The entire gathering listened to Mark with awe and applause. It was just impossible to believe that there was a man in front of us with a pair of aluminium limbs who had climbed the highest peak in the world . As someone remarked, he just climbed it "with his mind".
In addition to his love for the mountains, Mark runs a charitable trust "Limbs4 All". He is also a regular speaker and a owner of an energy drink company.
Mark's story was an inspiration for the gathering who listened with rapt attention in the tranquil lawns . All in all a great evening spent with brilliant company.
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I am not connected with Mindtree in any way. Though the dinner was a Mindtree event, it was very nice of Mr Bagchi to invite me to join him.
Mindtree has recently done some re-branding and their new tagline reads "Welcome to possible" . So, i think there was no better way other than to host Mark Inglis to flag off the new wave of aspiration and inspiration.
Mark Inglis is a living testimony to the age old saying "Where there is a will, there is a way". He is the world's first double amputee to climb the world's highest peak, the Mount Everest. His story , that he succinctly put in about 70 minutes was full of determination, Passion and above all compassion and humility.
Mark Inglis encountered his ill fate on top of Mount cook in Newzealnad (world's sixth highest peak, 649.00M) at the age of 23. Mark Inglis and his fellow mountaineer Philip Doole were on top of Mount cook when a powerful blizzard pushed the duo into a 4 feet tall ice cave in sub-zero temperature for 13 long days. They had to survive the snowstorm for 13 days with just 5 biscuits. This encounter with the mountains landed Mark Inglis with severe frost bites so much so that both his legs had to be amputated. Mark had shed 31 kilograms in those 13 torturous days. As mark said, every second of the 312 hours that he spent on mount cook, his only thought was "How to survive" .
This encounter with destiny did not stop Mark from attempting more adventures. His love for cycling fetched him a silver medal (Which he carries with him) in the para-Olympic games in Sydney. This success rekindled his love for the mountains. He set his eyes on mount cook again. He designed and fabricated his own artificial legs (aluminium) that took him on top of mount cook again. Once on top of mount cook, the only other peak in sight for the mark was the majestic Mount Everest.
Aluminium limbs would not work in his expedition to mount Everest. So mark designed carbon limbs. Armed by the new limbs, after 47 days of climbing, Mark was on top of the Mount Everest in May 2006.
Mark is a walking example of another age old adage "look at the opportunities and not at adversities". He says,with artificial limbs, one cannot get frost-bites. What an attitude!!
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| On top of Mt Everest |
Mark had an unfinished job at the base-camp of the Everest on his way back. He had carried with him an additional pair of artificial limbs. That was for his friend who had lost his legs two decades back. Mark fitted the new limbs to his Sherpa friend. As mark said " Watching his friend walk on the new limbs was more satisfying than standing on the roof of the world."
The entire gathering listened to Mark with awe and applause. It was just impossible to believe that there was a man in front of us with a pair of aluminium limbs who had climbed the highest peak in the world . As someone remarked, he just climbed it "with his mind".
In addition to his love for the mountains, Mark runs a charitable trust "Limbs4 All". He is also a regular speaker and a owner of an energy drink company.
Mark's story was an inspiration for the gathering who listened with rapt attention in the tranquil lawns . All in all a great evening spent with brilliant company.
"Be More than equal to your next mountain"
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Mark is phenomenal !! these are the few of many examples that the world is witnessing every day, now the question for everybody here is A double amputee can climb mount Everest, why not the rest? I am not saying everybody to scale the Everest but we have to understand that many a times its our beliefs system and the way we look at the problems with our own limitations.
ReplyDeleteWe know many of us have big dreams, but are stuck in fear or the dream itself. The only way to achieve your dreams is by actually doing something about them. Decide whether you want to be a doer or just a dreamer.
epic!
ReplyDeleteepic!
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