Category Archives: Will Power

Round The World in 60 Seconds

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When we went to North Pole 90°N in 2009, I was told that we would be spending almost 24 hours at the extreme northern point of earth’s axis. Obviously, there would be no shelter.  To the contrary, it would be a trip full of hassles, especially if we encountered heavy rain or snow.  I wondered if I’d get totally bored of spending a full day there, with nothing to do.

Once we reached, it all proved to be interesting.

If one has to travel around the world, one could do it near the equator or the Tropic of Capricorn or Cancer or any latitude.  Which basically means you have to go around the axis of the earth.  90°N is also a point on the axis of the earth.  At this point of North Pole, it would take the shortest time to travel round the world.

Keeping this concept in mind, a beautiful event was arranged, “going round the World in 60 seconds”.  A flag pole painted ‘North Pole’ in red and white was fixed on the sheet of ice on the land’s surface at 90°N.  All the guests and crew formed a circle around the pole.  The circle was about 200 feet in diameter.

Then, every one sang and danced while going around in a circle.  About 105 guests from 24 nationalities.  While moving in the circle, we were waving the Indian national flag, which we had carried with us. We were one of the very few who carried our national flag with us, as can be seen from the picture.

It was symbolic of going around the globe.  At North Pole, going round the point of North Pole 90° North, is same as going round the world from any other degree of latitude.  This could be done in shortest time, even less than 60 seconds!  

We felt pride as we went around the world waving our national flag.  The captain prayed for universal harmony and suggested that we all accept the challenge to spread world peace.  The event was appropriately named ‘around the world in 60 seconds”

Round the world in 60 secondsat North Pole 90°

Round the world in 60 secondsat North Pole 90°

Another thrilling event was the Polar Plunge, which I have written about.

Also, for the first time in my life, I had barbeque, wine and dine on a large sheet of Ice.   No structures around for handreds of kilometers/  On the ice, chairs and dining tables were laid, the barbeque was cooked and served hot.  We spent the entire day at the North Pole leisurely.  I didn’t want to leave the place when we were told that it was time for us to sail back.

Amazing and absorbing events at oddest of odd places in the world.

It made me realise, wherever and in whatever condition one might be, with proper imagination and planning, one could still wholesomely enjoy life.

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa

Edited By : Meeta Kabra

Polar Plunge

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 We were certified as have done an “act of indubitable courage as well as extraordinary incomparable foolishness” and that we had “temporary loss of common sense…….”.  This was when my wife, Pushpa and me tried to exhibit a brave act.

Our expedition cruise, “50 years of Victory” was anchored at The North Pole. Yes, at 90 degrees North.    The guests were given a crazy offer. They could take a “Polar Plunge”.   The organisers cleared an area of about 15 feet by 15 feet on the icy surface of the ocean. The melted ice formed a pool of polar ice water.  The water was surrounded by thick wall of ice all around.  The temperature was about minus 20-25 degrees centigrade at surface. One could see the water as it was freezing.  Even so, the passengers came out of their cabins to take a plunge.  A different type of adventure.

We were told it could be fatal to be in that water for more than one and half minutes.  To ensure the survival of the people who take the dip, they were tied to a rope before the dive.  The rope would be used to pull a person out, in case they fainted or wasn’t able to come out at the stroke of 90 seconds.   Once the swimmer was out, he was immediately made warm by towels and rum if one desired.  Then you could go to your cabin and have a hot shower and relax for a while, till the blood pressure got back to normal.

I was not confident of taking the plunge.  Not too many from our crew dared had opted for it – only about 10%.  I gave an excuse to myself, “I am from a warm place like Mumbai. We were not exposed to extreme cold.  No… no… no… not safe.”   I told Pushpa too.   But she had different ideas.

l was still considering the matter when Pushpa threw a surprise at me. She said she wanted to go for the plunge.    I thought she was joking.  Nope, she wasn’t.  For such crazy activities, usually I persuade her to join me.  This time she beat me.

It so turns out that before we left for the trip, Pushpa in a casual conversation had mentioned the Polar plunge to our daughter, Meeta.   Meeta suggested, “If you get a chance, do it!  Why do you want to miss it?  Unlikely that you will be going there again.” I wasn’t aware of this conversation.

Pushpa was determined.   And she did it too – without any fuss! To survive she had to return within one and a half minutes.  She was pulled back after a minute or so.  They offered her vodka to keep her warm after the plunge.  But being a teetotaler, she refused to take the drink and survived comfortably.

Pushpa’s plunge inspired me.   After watching her doing the feat so comfortably, I had to do it too! I went to the cabin, changed into swimwear and took the plunge. I’m not sure I’d have taken the plunge if it weren’t for Pushpa.

After the plunge I realised it was one of the most exciting, adventurous and crazy events of my life.

 _NT_7780

We were given certificates from the organisers for the brave act.  The certificate also stated that we “did an act of indubitable courage, as well as extraordinary, incomparable foolishness… “   It further said that Ship’s Doctor had confirmed that it was an act of absurd heroism and we had “temporary loss of common sense”!

Having the plunge at 90 degrees North was a life time opportunity and achievement.  Having done something that not many would do and being the first Indians to do that, we were extremely happy to have accomplished the feat and fully satisfied with our efforts to go on this expedition.

This incident further confirmed my belief that if in doubt, ask yourself, “If others can do it, why can’t I?”

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa
Edited By : Meeta Kabra

My First Midnight-Sun Venture

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 “It must be a fairy tale” I thought, when our Geography teacher in school said “North Pole and South Pole have 6 months day light and are dark for 6 months.  I wanted to experience it before I believed it.

I planned my first overseas vacation with my wife in 1983, when I was in Dubai. First thing which came to mind was to visit the Arctic region in North Pole where the sun shines at midnight.

There was no internet and WWWs at that time.  None of the travel agents, either in Dubai or India, had any clue as to where and how to reach the place.  I decided to plan my trip by myself. I was reasonably sure that the midnight sun could be experienced from one of the locations in the northern part of the Arctic region.

By the time I reached Oslo on 23 July 1983, I was pretty sure that my best shot was from a place called North Cape in Norway.   It was the northern most tip of Norway,  a distance of about 2,000 kms to the North of Oslo.  Out of this, a distance of 1,200 kms up to Narvik was accessible by train.   The rest had to be covered by road.

We hired a car to start our journey from Narvik to North Cape.  I guessed, at the average European highway speed, it would take about 7-8 hours to cover the distance of 800 km.  I was shocked and was not prepared to believe when the rental car agent said it would take us 2-3 days to reach. I was determined to visit North Cape to fulfill my childhood ambition.

The road was very narrow, just about 7-8 feet wide for two way traffic.  If there was even a small car approaching from the opposite side, one of the cars had to back up to a point where overtaking was possible. The winter snow fall made the road rough and worn out.  The drive had to be as slow as 10-20 kms per hour most of the time compared to the average 160 in Europe

There were innumerable large lakes on the way.  Since there were no bridges,  at times, we had to drive around the lake for a long distance of about 20-25 km – a distance which would otherwise have been just half a km if there was an accessible road/bridge.

The drive though had a unique scenic beauty about it.  It ran along the coast of the Norwegian Sea. On one side, just at the edge of the road, the land had suddenly sliced down, at timed as deep as 200ft.  At the bottom of the sliced land, there was frozen seashore and then a vast view of the sea and horizon with a rare view of ice slates at the sea shore.  On the very edge of the top of the sliced land, was the narrow road we were driving on.  On the other side of the road there were a series of high mountains or valleys with unique views at every turn.  A drive of a lifetime, indeed.

To save time, we had pre-packed lunch and dinner in the car itself, instead of taking stops.   A cup of coffee with khakras, chips and similar snacks kept us going.   We had tea/coffee at the gas stations whenever we stopped for gas.

 We finally reached North Cape on the afternoon of 25 July 1983.  That was my life’s longest continuous drive, a non-stop drive of 46 hours without rest or sleep.

We spent watching the sun through the night. The temperature was around freezing point

North Cape was a totally isolated place.  We could see the sun moving from one place to another in a circle, all the time right on our head. It was a slightly hazy day, but we were lucky to have occasional clear sky. It was bright white till the evening.  In the evening it started turning a little yellow.  At midnight, it was bright orange with multi-coloured clouds – a mesmerizing view.

Midnight Sun at North Cape 11 pm to 1 am

Midnight Sun at North Cape 11pm to 1am2015-03-20 11.54.00

At the observation point, there was a post office and 3 telephone booths. We purchased a few post cards from the post office and posted them to the dear ones.  They had a machine which stamped our passport “North Cape – July 26, 1983 00:55”.

We were quite excited and thought of calling dear ones from there. The tariff was very high and there were no cell phones at that time.  We decided to restrict calls to our parents and children to inform them that we have ultimately reached the place where we planned to be.

 We inserted Kroner in the first booth, but the credit failed to appear on the screen.  We realised it was not working.  We tried at the second booth.  This machine also swallowed a Kroner without giving any service.  Unfortunate.

We still tried phone at the third and last of the booths.   As we inserted a Kroner, there was no response.  Disappointed, I banged the box.    Surprise! I saw quite a few Kroners coming out of the machine!  I collected all of them, and dialed our landline in Dubai.  As it was ringing, I inserted a coin, the coin came out but I could here the voice on the other side.  Eureka!

We took complete undue advantage of the free calls.  Hoping for further gain, I banged the first two machines, they were dead.  They did not throw out any coins like the third darling.

Overall, we were richer by a few Kroners by the time we forced ourselves to leave the place! It is true the sun shines at midnight!

 

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa

Edited By : Meeta Kabra

 

 

I Almost Gave Up My Childhood Dream, But ……

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My target was trekking to the Mt Everest base camp.  It was the sixth day of an 18-day expedition. I was on my way to Dabuche.   Instead of the norm of going with a group of 8-10 people, I decided to experience the journey by myself, with a sherpa to help and guide me.

I had already had enough of the bitter cold. I was weak from a day’s worth of upset stomach to go with the steep climbs.  I had seen injured people being carried back and heard of quite a few who were being flown back due to severe altitude sickness. Along the way. I had seen too many bodies of trekkers who died in their attempt to complete the trek.

I almost gave up.

Usually, trekkers from both directions assemble in the evening at the dining area of tea shops at their night halt points.  Most people prefer to hang around closer to kitchen ovens because it is slightly warmer compared to the sleeping cabins.

Keep Climbing

Keep Climbing

At the end of that day, I was too tired and feeling depressed.  That evening, I heard terrible stories about the trekkers who had gone ahead. I was scared, worried and tense.  For the first time in the trip, I wondered seriously why I had left the comforts of home food, bathing and toilet luxuries, my own bedroom with controlled temperature and the great evening walks with my wife. Doubts started creeping in.

Things were likely to be tougher since the path ahead was more isolated.  Maybe, it was wrong to have come for such a tough trek.  I thought it wasn’t too late to go back home instead of facing the risk ahead. I considered telling the sherpa that we ought to return.  But I could wait till the morning.

I wasn’t hungry, I just had a bowl of soup with bread and stretched for a while on the bed.  It was already dark.  I felt slightly relaxed and positive.  I picked up the torch which was always handy.  I looked for the folder with the travel documents.  In the folder, I found two sheets of printed stuff.  I had carried with me some of the interesting and encouraging messages sent by friends and family, before I left.  I put on my glasses, held the torch in one hand and started reading them.  Each of the messages made my nerves tingle with positivity.

  • “you are an inspiration”,
  • “you are different”,
  • “with your energy, you can give people half of your age a run for their money”,
  • “nothing is impossible for you”,
  • “you convert ideas into realities”,
  • “you convert hopes into accomplishments”,
  • “You overcome fear into self confidence”,
  • “You are definitely one of those handful few”,
  • “You are equipped with spiritual health and strong will power”,
  • “Not many can visualize a dream and achieve it also”,
  • “I would have the privilege to tell to my friends, that a personal friend of mine has done this”,
  • “We are proud of you”,
  • “it is tough, but cake walk for you”,
  • “Fantastic, what a way to do the things man”,
  • “It is honour to know someone like you to look upto” etc.
  • One also read: “Height may make you feel a bit shaky at times, but I know you can reach the top!  With your courage and determination, you can go past all obstacles coming your way, you can do it, you can do it!”

  • Another:

    “Follow your dream…..

    Take one step at a time and don’t settle for less…

    Just continue to climb….

    If you stumble, don’t stop, don’t lose sight of your goal…

    Press to the top, as at the top, we can have a vision to see something new….

    Press on, follow your dream, follow your dream”

These really boosted my spirits, when I needed them the most.  I regained my confidence.  It reminded me of my philosophy which, for a short while I had forgotten, ‘If others can do it, why can’t I”.  These well wishers saved my day and enabled me to move forward with full vigour to make my 50 years old childhood dream come true!

Therefore, let us put in inspiring words wherever possible. Let us not under-estimate the power of our positive words.   They work wonders!!

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa

Edited By : Meeta Kabra

God, The Jugaad Master !

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I was stuck at an altitude of about 11,000 ft above sea level with my imported Honda Civic. The car had stalled.

 It was 1988, a time when a Maruti 800 was considered a novelty on the roads. We were on a road trip from Bombay – my wife, the three kids (ages 9-14). We were headed to Badrinath Temple, abode of Lord Vishnu in the Himalayas.

The nearest city which could service imported cars, was Delhi, over 550 kms away, passing through dangerous single lane ghats full of sharp turns and twists.

The traditional route to Badrinath was via Rishikesh. I was told that drivers needed special hill-driving endorsement on their licence to drive after Rishikesh.  I did not have the endorsement and hence was not eligible to drive to that part of the Himalayas. But I still wanted to pursue my crazy idea of driving from sea level all the way to the top of Badrinath and to the base of Kedarnath at 12,000 ft above sea level.

If I drove through the traditional route, I had to pass through many check posts. Without a hill-driving endorsement I would have been forced to engage a professional certified driver.  But, I wanted to experience the thrill of making those sharp and dangerous turns myself.

I changed the route.  Instead of going through the traditional route via Rishikesh, I deviated from Gwalior to drive through Nainital and Almora and joined the traditional route at Karna Prayag.

There were no check posts on this road. Understandable because there were not many vehicles who’d dare to use this route. Over a length of 300 kms after Nainital, the alternative route was steep, full of sharp turns, single, 4ft wide and had a deep valley on one side. A stretch of about 200 kms to Karna Prayag, was completely isolated.  I saw only 3-4 trucks in a drive of about 8 hours.

I did not know that roads could be so dangerous!  We prayed for our lives. We made a promise to God that once we reached Badrinath we’d visit the temple in the evening and again the next day morning, irrespective of how crowded it would be.

We reached Badrinath late in the afternoon, checked-in to whatever accommodation we got, dipped in the holy hot water spring and paid our respects to the Lord. We then decided that we could move on to the next destination immediately, instead of staying till the next morning, which would save us a day.

We checked out of the rooms, packed our baggage back into the car and settled in the car to leave.  When I tried to ignite the engine, the car refused to start!  It was in perfect working condition when I had switched it off last.  Try as I might, the engine cranked but refused to start.

Of course, there was no garage around and the one for this type of a car was far away in Delhi.  The other option was to tow the car.  But towing through a ghat stretch of sharp turns was not safe at all.  We were stuck.

The car was in an open parking ground.  There were quite a few cars and trucks around.  I checked under the hood and apparently nothing was wrong.  The battery was going weak due to repeated attempts to start the car.

A truck driver was watching me struggle. He said, screwdriver in hand, that he knew the mechanism of the car and could help.  Another guy got interested too.  As I was talking to him, the driver with the screwdriver suddenly unscrewed the screw of the carburetor top, breaking the original seal exposing the inside throttle valve.  This valve is a vital part controlling the fuel and air supply to the engine and needs absolute accurate adjustment to run the car.

He proudly claimed that he broke open the seal. He did not realise the complication he had created! He tried to adjust the valve and screw it back but just couldn’t do it. The engine was now completely dead, no more cranking sounds either.

It was a much bigger problem now! The options we had were either to call a known mechanic from Bombay, a distance of 2000 km or an unknown mechanic from Delhi.  This also meant we were stuck in Badrinath, at sub-zero temperature for a few days.  Else we could tow the car through the sharp ghat curves at very high risk.

We were completely upset and worried. We just looked at each other and had no clue what to do. This is when we realised that we were in trouble because we tried to cheat the Almighty – you can call it belief or call it what you like.

Earlier while driving through the dangerous ghats, we prayed to stay at Badrinath atleast for a night and be in his audience the next day before we left.  Now just because we were in a hurry to reach the next destination, we conveniently forgot our promise to stay overnight.  We of course, decided to stay overnight.

We tried to forget the problem at hand and left it to the Lord to solve the problem.  Even so, it was an uncomfortable night.

Next morning, we offered our prayers to Lord Badrinath, apologized for our attempt to leave earlier than promised and slipped in a special request to solve our car problem.

I went to the car, right from the temple.  Yeah!  It cranked, at the very least.  The fuel though, was over-flowing heavily from the carburetor.  The leakage was heavy enough to empty a full tank in 5kms. Only a trained mechanic with garage facilities could fix it.

We gave up all hopes. I considered staying back with the car and send my wife and kids to Delhi in a cab.  I was leaning towards calling my trusted mechanic from Bombay. Heavy expenses aside, our vacation more or less ruined.

Just then, a guy approached me. He looked like he was about 30-35 years old.

He: I drive a private taxi for tourists. I think I can fix your car.

Me: Are you qualified and trained to repair imported cars?

He: No.  I am not a qualified mechanic. I am uneducated. But I worked at Gwalior palace for a couple of years, where the king of Gwalior owned a few imported cars.

Me: Look, yesterday, one guy with great confidence damaged the seal of the carburetor and created more problems. I don’t want another problem.

He: You have no options, Sir. In any case, you will have to leave the car here and go.  So there’s really no harm if I try, right?  Believe in Lord Badrinath.  Nothing worse can happen.

Me: Well. Ok, what will you do?

He: I will set the carburetor suspension mechanism right and start the car. I just need quick-stick-fast paste. I am here only for a couple more hours.

There were hardly any shops there, let alone one where I could get the required paste.  I started asking the drivers and travellers around.  One of the car drivers had one.  The Gwalior guy adjusted the valve, sealed it with the paste.  After 5 minutes, the engine cranked and started, but the fuel was overflowing, though in a manageable quantity. Some hopes from this Gwalior Prince!  He wanted another attempt and I agreed immediately.

He: I want a 25p coin!

Just 25p?  I managed to find one though 25p coins were rare during that time.  He adjusted the float once again, sealed the screw and fixed the coin on top of it with the glue.  After 10 minutes of waiting for the paste to dry, we tried the engine again.

Click started the car, but the fuel was still leaking.  Still, not good enough to drive in the steep valley.  Then our potential savior asked for a 10p coin and a metal wire.

Sure, why not?  He opened the carburetor screw, adjusted the floating valve once again, fixed the screw, fixed the 25p coin, then stuck the wider 10p coin over the 25p coin and tied the coins tightly over the top of the carburetor with the metal wire.  He ensured that the coins did not slip.

He confidently said,  “Relax, pack your bags in the car and be ready to leave in half an hour.  I will also be driving down the hill by that time and will follow your car, just in case there is more trouble.”  We went to the Temple once again, loaded our baggage in the car and were ready to leave.  We were not sure if it was just a dream!

Those 30 minutes were like 30 hours.  We started the car after 30-40 minutes.  The car at once started and no leakage!

There was nothing wrong with the car.  The misfunctioning carburetor was created by our screwdriver friend.  Why the car did not start on the previous day? God knows!

The Gwalior prince did not take a single paisa and said “Lord Badrinath who inspired me to help out.  Thank Him for that.  I assure you, you will have no problem till you reach a reliable garage in Delhi.  You can then, remove all my decorations to your carburetor and get it tuned.”  He was following us till we were through the most dangerous bits of our drive and then disappeared. His decorations of  25p, 10p and the wire remained on the carburetor for years and I had no ignition problems till I sold the car about 4-5 years after this  incident.

For us this gentleman from Gwalior was no less than a God-sent emissary.

What does it prove? Honour your commitment, even if it is to the unseen Almighty?  Or is it a marvel of the Indian Jugaad ?   🙂

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa

Edited By : Meeta Kabra

Unusual Activity Around Reveals Unusual Facts!

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At the Bank of Ganges.  On the afternoon of 1st April 2014.

It was very hot to linger at the banks of the river.  Other than the sleeveless t-shirt and shorts I was wearing, I just had a towel and a handkerchief with me. I wet them in the river and covered my legs to cool them down.  The wet handkerchief on my head was a much needed relief.

It was still not good enough.  I had to move away from the bank to a place just above the steps of the ghat.  There was a large shade built for multi-purposes for protecting the visitors when the Sun is too harsh; when the rain is at its best, pleasant mood; when the wind is in Tandav Nritya mode (playing havoc like a dancing Shiva) and when ladies need privacy. Yet, you have a full view of the lively Ganges.

A simple looking gentleman came under the shade too.  I noticed him sitting on the floor with a bag.  He was busy in his own way and I was with my laptop.  After an hour or so I looked at him.  He had a small hand operated heater, blower, scissor and some reshaped empty mineral water bottles.  His belongings made me curious.

I sat next to him and had to ask him what he was busy with.  He picked up the reshaped bottle and said, “look, I have made Lord Ganesh out of empty mineral bottles.” He had indeed impressively done that by reshaping two mineral bottles.

Then he showed me a paper roll and started blowing it from one end to make a pleasant sound.  It was made out of waste paper lying around.  He had made a lantern by blowing out of another mineral water bottle.   He had a nice strong shopping bag made out of multiple layers of raddi newspapers.  He had a tennis ball with an elastic string tied in such a way that you could play tennis by yourself, sitting anywhere, indoor or outdoor.    They were all biodegradable.  No pins, no chemical paste were used for these items.

It was all amazing.  I was curious to know who he was.  He was 73-year old Mr. Iyer from Santacruz, Mumbai.  He was tennis coach to National Champions like Gaurav Natekar and Asif Ismail.  He trained 21 State level tennis players, attended 30 training centers and converted ball pickers to coaches.

Not just that.  Mr. Iyer was a wizard in use of waste.  He was holder of Limca Book of Record 2004 as “Recycle Wizard”.  He was winner of national and international awards for import substitution.  He set up world’s first “Best from Waste” museum in Mumbai.    He has an exhibition hall where some of his artistic items are exhibited in Santa Cruz, Mumbai.

I thanked myself for having taken the initiative to inter-act with Mr. Iyer.  Had I not done that, I would have missed out on learning some amazing facts about a person, who otherwise would have been for me, one of those men passed by.   An extraordinary simple personality – Mr. Iyer.

A Lesson learnt.  Never miss out on getting the details if one finds someone involved in a “different” unusual activity. There is always something we don’t know and can learn.

Written: Badri Baldawa

Edited: Meeta Kabra

Will Power Assures Success

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Lower Spondylitis, three cervical slips and dislocation of a toe-joint were the health related issues I faced in 2008. Alongside I had syncope and chronic high blood pressure.  In normal course, with these issues, one might vehemently oppose the idea of even going for a simple walk.

I, however, wanted to trek to Mt. Everest base camp.  Age 64 years.  My spine questioned its importance, “how can you ignore me and put me under such strain?” The toe protested “after all it is me who’ll ensure you to do the trek. If I am not well, how will you trek?”  To me they sounded like kids making excuses to escape from home work.

But I was very clear.  Come what may, I have to go. I wasn’t convinced that these were adequate reasons to not to go or to postpone the Everest Trek, even by a day.  I had to convince my so-called problems.  To my cervical spine, I said “I will not strain you. I won’t carry baggage on my shoulders; I’ll have a porter to carry the weight”.  To the lower spine, I extended a carrot stick, “Don’t you worry.  I have a nice, imported waist-belt to support you; you would love its company”.

For the toe I had, “I will take you to an orthopedic doctor, feed you with appropriate energy so that you won’t feel the pain, atleast for a few weeks.”

The Doctor advised me to postpone the trek by a fortnight to give some provisional treatment.  When I refused and asked for a better option, he came up with a solution. He’d inject a medicine and within a week the toe would be good for the next 8 weeks at least.

Looking at my firm attitude, my good-old companions from birth, neck, spine and toe were convinced and happily made my trek to Everest possible.

We are faced with similar problems in other fields too, in day-to-day life.  If we permit them to dominate, they restrict our success.  If we have the will power to dominate these problems, success is assured.

Written: Badri Baldawa

Edited: Meeta Kabra