With its annual festival that introduces Mumbaikars to talks, films and explorers under one roof, a 97-year-old mountaineering institution seeks to draw attention to responsible adventure
A moment from the club’s expedition to Thangman Lungpa in East Karakoram
If you had any thoughts of a Himalayan expedition being an extended version of Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone’s fluffy romance in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), Divyesh Muni, president of The Himalayan Club, is quick to dampen it. “You spend six months before the expedition studying, and then a couple of months after, writing reports,” Muni chuckles. Academic it might sound, but this is the soul of exploration that the mountaineer and his colleagues at The Himalayan Club seek to advocate with their Himalayan Adventure Festival 2025 in Dadar tomorrow.
ADVERTISEMENT
Historical origins
“The club is not a commercial mountaineering group. It is about exploring new valleys, finding smaller or technical peaks, discovering routes in the Himalayas. Above all else, we are a knowledge base,” shares Nandini Purandare, vice-president of the club and editor of the annual periodical, The Himalayan Journal.
Members of the expedition pose. Pics Courtesy/The Himalayan Club
In 1928, four years after the historic, and fatal, attempt by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine’s to summit Mount Everest, The Himalayan Club was founded in Calcutta. Purandare’s point emphasises the objectives laid down then — to assist exploration of the Himalayas, extend the knowledge of the Himalayan ranges through science, art, literature and sport.
Nandini Purandare at Sangla, Himachal Pradesh
With centres in Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata, the club often holds workshops, sessions and camps for avid explorers. But, Purandare points out that the club’s outreach extends beyond exploration. “We are also involved in discussions on policy making with the Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF), efforts to educate operators who undertake expeditions to the mountains, as well as highlighting culture, botany, geology and geography.”
Heart for adventure
There is a difference between heading to the mountains, and exploring them. The latter is an academic and logistical campaign, Muni points out. Yet, things can go bad just as quickly. “Therein lies the adventure,” he laughs.
Divyesh Muni
The results though, can be awe-inducing. In 2024, the club led by Muni attempted an expedition to the unexplored Thangman Lungpa valley in East Karakoram, north of Leh. “We were the first mountaineers to ever walk that path. We made three ascents — Dhashez Kangri, Manlung Kangri and Laknak Kangri — that could lay the roadmap for the future,” he says.
Yet, Purandare, who began trekking the Himalayas as a 20-year-old, observes that there is a disconnect with the current generation. In the age of Instagram FOMO (Feeling of Missing Out), the mountains have become easily accessible. “There is a risk of spoiling its pristine nature due to over-tourism,” she notes.
Urgency of conservation
This, in addition to climate change and modernisation, poses a risk. Some of the keynote addresses at the festival seek to emphasise this point. Among the speakers is Dr Sonam Wangchok, founder, Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation. Like his near-namesake, Dr Wangchok has spent the last two decades documenting and crusading for the conservation of tangible and intangible heritage of Ladakh.
Sonam Wangchok at a conservation site in Ladakh
Having documented over 400 sites of rare petroglyphs and rock art that are proof of civilisation in the mountains dating back to the Bronze Age, he says, “We face multiple challenges, from modernisation and climate change to rising tourism. We have documented over 400 sites in Ladakh along the Indus and Shyok River. We have already lost many owing to road widening and construction projects.” Even though exploration is inevitable, an understanding and appreciation of the culture, nature and its surroundings is necessary, Wangchok adds.
A petroglyph. Pics courtesy/Sonam Wangchok
On their Karakoram expedition, Muni observed bare glaciers bereft of snow cover and deep open crevasses. “These are glaciers no one has set foot on before us. Mountaineers like us bring back feedback of what the visible effect of global warming is. Otherwise, it is felt only when you step out of your AC rooms,” he says. This is where the festival seeks to lend a hand. As part of an outreach to a newer generation, the festival will also host several short films that offer a glimpse of the mountains and its wonders, Purandare shares. “Everybody needs to go to the mountains. But there is a way of doing it. Slowly, with respect and a curiosity for its treasures,” she adds.
A climber at Thangman Lungpa
On March 23; 10.30 am onwards
AT BN Vaidya Auditorium, Hindu Colony, Dadar East.
EMAIL office@himalayanclub.org
CALL 02249730738
COST Rs 350 (non-members, inclusive of lunch and high tea); Free (members)
Don’t miss
>> Heritage conservation and challenges in Ladakh Sonam Wangchok
TIME 11 am
>> Unfinished business: Thangman Lungpa exploration Divyesh Muni
TIME 11.30 am
Talk by Kaamya Karthikeyan
TIME 2.15 pm
>> The Sherpa Trail (book)
Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar
TIME 3 pm
FILMS (post tea)
>> Dirt Nuggets
Vinay Menon
>> Ganga Girls
Prashant Bhatt
>> Gaddi: The Himalayan Shepherd
Akshat Jain
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
