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Montage of the mountains
Climb every mountain and photograph them... that's what J. Ramanan does in his spare time. A rocky peak or snow-capped one, he takes on the challenge head on. And like most mountaineers, he simply can't resist the Himalayas. What's more, he captures the mystique and grandeur of the silent peaks on camera.
When the Trichy-based Chennai-born Ramanan talks about the youngest mountains of the world, his passion for adventure and Nature, the Himalayas in particular, is palpable.
As a young boy, he used to walk from Royapuram to the Marina at three every morning... with eight to ten bricks on his back! "I still remember all the dogs that would chase me at that hour!" At 16, he read Tenzing Norgay's biography "Tiger of the Snow" and that did it. He decided to learn the ropes of the game!
So, off he went to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarakashi, to do Basic and Advanced courses. Soon, he was participating in several expeditions and even training students. "In fact, Bachendri Pal was my course mate," says Ramanan, who is an interior designer and architect by profession.
At one such training programme exclusively for women, a young climber lost her grip and Ramanan saved her (much to his delight, he later discovered that she was also from Tamil Nadu) from falling off the cliff. And the next thing they know... they are married!
Vrinda, Ramanan's wife, shares his passion for the mountains and the couple and their two children often go trekking!
The moment of glory for the mountain photographer was when, in 1982, he was chosen to be part of the pre-Everest expedition to Kabru Dome in the Kanchanjunga Massif. "It was quite a dangerous proposition. I had to carry three cameras plus the essentials. But it was an exhilarating experience. In fact, a spiritual one," says the mild-mannered and soft-spoken rock climber. "The mountains make you think... about the purpose of Creation. I remember suddenly we would spot a beautiful flower nestled in the snow. It was as if Nature was expressing joy. The silence of the mountains is sublime."
But there were tense moments too. Like when he lost his way. "It was in the 1980s. I was climbing the Sudarshana peak above Gaumukh. I just kept wandering about in the snow for about 10 hours! But thankfully I was rescued," he says calmly. Yet another time, he and 22 others survived an avalanche on the 20,000 ft-high Koteswar peak. "All we could do was let the snow sweep us. My only worry was protecting my three cameras!"
Ramanan's photographs, taken in Kashmir ("It is really heaven on Earth"), Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and also the Western Ghats, capture the myriad moods of the mountains in different seasons. Through these shots, he hopes to present the pristine picture of Nature and create an awareness among the youth about life beyond the confines of the home and school/ college, about the importance of Nature and outdoor life.
It is to promote this endeavour that the couple founded the Bala Kala Vidhanam, a centre that encourages outdoor activities, in Trichy.
One can catch some candid shots of the mountains at "Call of The Mountains", an exhibition of Ramanan's photographs, which is on from today till Jan 13, 10.30 a.m. to 7.00 p.m., at The Balcony Art Gallery, 44, C.P. Ramaswamy Road, (opp Foodworld), Raja Annamalaipuram.
Ask him about the greatest moment of his life and he says, "When Tenzing Norgay and Junjo Tabi (the first man and woman respectively to climb the Mt. Everest) inaugurated my first photography exhibition!"
SAVITHA GAUTAM
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