A Traveller, Sportsman, Musician, Adventure Tourist who also Performs Surgery!

It was about three and a half years ago that he arrived a little late at Parimal Garden Amdavad, where we meet every Sunday morning for our Mouth Organ practice. This was quite uncharacteristic of him as normally he is among the earliest ones to arrive. His face had turned almost pink when I looked at him. I asked if everything was alright. With a radiant smile, he replied, “Everything fine, it is just that I am arriving after having run a half Marathon!” A man of more than 45 yearsof age coming straight to play Mouth Organ after having run 21 kilometres is not a very common sight! All of us present there were surprised. My curiosity prompted me to ask if it was alright to run half a marathon at his age. His answer was very straight. He was building up his fitness as he was to scale Mountain Kilimanjaro in a few months to come. Now we were much more than surprised. It is believed to be among the toughest mountains to scale and this 45 plus fellow was preparing for that! That morning we were in for one surprise after another as next he told us that he had already done Kailas Mansarovar yatra and had also been to Everest base camp! In addition, he had done an advanced course in Scuba diving and had already dived in the fathoms of oceans in Goa, Mauritius, Thailand and to top them all, had also done the same in Great Barrier Reef of Australia. As if all this was not enough, the gentleman has to his credit, a cycle trip from Manali to Leh in August 2017!

If anybody thinks I am talking about a scion of a stinking rich family with nothing else to do except to nourish his adventurous hobbies, let me clarify.... He is deeply engrossed in his profession and works meticulously there too. This fellow is Dr. Himanshu Shah, M.S., M.Ch., a very successful Uro Surgeon, having a fully equipped hospital in the city of Amdavad. 

 When asked how does he manage to indulge into a rainbow of activities, he answers with a smile, “થઈ જાય છે.” i.e., ‘it just happens.’

On a serious note, he gives full credit to his life style.... simple food habits, sleep of a minimum of six hours, rising early, Yog, Pranayam, jogging and a game or two of Badminton on regular basis takes care of his fitness. Besides, no smoking, no hard drinks, no late nights(except when attending to a medical emergency) also helps. Intermittent participation in marathon/half marathon/cyclothon/walkathon keeps him in action. And yes, music! An ardent lover of instrumental music, he plays (and also learns fineries of playing) Mouth Organ and Electronic Keyboard Synthesizer. He is also planning to learn playing Guitar. “Playing an instrument is a great stress buster and a soother” says he. When I asked him if I can share his diverse experiences and some photographs of each, he agreed reluctantly on a condition that there will not be his personal glorifying. I agreed to that and then he agreed too. That is how this story of his expeditions both on the land and under the sea has developed. The photographs displayed here are essentially captured on his own camera, many of them by himself.

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Himanshu Shah was born in Mandavi, a small town in Kachchh district of Gujarat. Apart from being an extremely bright student, he was much above average in sports and athletics too. Mandavi being a coastal town, swimming came only too natural to him.  He studied there and finished an enviably luminous schooling career with a brilliant score in Higher Secondary Certificate examination. This lifted him straight to B.J.Medical College of Amdavad. Having acquired his M.B.B.S. degree from there, he earned his M.S. degree from N.H.L. Municipal Medical College of Amdavad and next went on to procure a super speciality degree of M.Ch. in Urology from B.J.Medical College. He also offered his services as Assistant Professor over there, at the same time working tirelessly in Civil hospital attached to it. All these years left him with no scope of thinking of anything about his childhood hobbies. Following the academic endeavour, the next target was to establish a successful practice. By the time all this was successfully realized and he made his identity clear, Dr. Himanshu had already crossed four decades of his life.

Now was the time to fulfil his long cherished dream of indulging into adventurous activities. Following is the account of his five different adventurous expeditions that he has undertaken in last eight to nine years. In addition to these, he has been travelling extensively both, for academic interest and for fulfilling his cherished hobby.

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1) Kailas Mansarovar....   

This was the beginning. He joined a group of amateur but enthusiastic trekkers in the month of August 2011. This was organised by a private operator. They flew up to Simikot via Nepalgunj. From there, the trek started. They covered about 120 kms. in seven days. People, who have done this trek, tell us how difficult it is. But Dr. Himanshu tells us that it was the easiest of the five different expeditions he has undertaken so far. Yes, there were a few unforeseen troubles popping up from nowhere but none of them lasted for very long. Dr. Himanshu says, “Despite the trek being extremely difficult, the weather remained ‘not very unfriendly’ on most of the days. Thus, it was almost a pleasure trip for us.” Following are some of the photographs captured during what he puts as a ‘pleasure trip’! Here are a few photographs.

Kailas in the
Early Morning

                                                     

Mansarovar

Kailas In  the Night

Track to Kailas

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2) Everest Base Camp....

 Dr. Himanshu joined a group of amateur mountaineers in an expedition to Mount Everest in September of the year 2014. There are four base camps en route out of which these enthusiasts were to go to the top one, about 18,500 feet above mean sea level. This was arguably the most challenging task he has undertaken so far. All of them had prepared themselves well to condition their minds and bodies to meet the oncoming challenges. While everything was falling in line, Dr, Himanshu could not manage to reach the ultimate point along with the fellow travellers. He is still not very happy talking about the aborted expedition....

“We started our expedition from Luk Laa Airport of Kathamandu. This airport has facility for takeoff or landing of only sixteen sitter mini planes. Out of the two planes, the one which was carrying a few members of the group, three guides and most importantly, medicines and still more importantly, Oxygen bottles could not land and had to fly back. Thus, we were stranded without essential commodities. The next day, we had to start our upward trip as per our schedule. Thus, as we started, we were without some essentialities.”

 “We made two wrong decisions which cost me dearly. One, we started our expedition a bit too early. We should have waited for two more weeks for the season to be a little friendlier. Second mistake we made was a deliberate attempt to take up a much tough route which hardly 3 – 5% of those who scale Mt. Everest take. Our logic was simple....since very few venture to take this route, it has remained almost virgin. The natural beauty is nothing short of a dream taking one to heaven, if there ever existed one. There is a breathtakingly beautiful landmark known as Lake Gokiyo. It is one among a chain of seven lakes and the route is named after it. Having said this much about the beauty of the route, let me tell you it is just tough, very tough and clearly the toughest route I have ever walked through.”   

“As we climbed higher, the thinning of the air due to high altitude coupled with the excessive tiring walkthrough started showing its effect on me. I could feel the signs of high altitude sickness like headache, shortage of breath and nausea. The Oxygen levels in the air were dropping on gradual basis. Loss of appetite is very common. Also, one loses the sense of thirst. But then I had known and had anticipated all this. As a matter of fact, we all had made provision to counter minor problems and even dire emergencies. On the second day, I was tempted by the chaste stream of a river that flowing parallel to the route. Knowing fully the undesirable consequences, I took a dive into the chilling waters and remained inside for more than five minutes. Those were probably the most costly five minutes of my life! Once out of the water, I developed hypothermia, a medical condition not very desirable! I continued to go further the discomfort. As if we did not have enough problems, the rain started. This only added to my discomfort.”

“As we reached our campsite for the night halt, I felt feverish. A little later, I started coughing badly. My Oxygen level was reduced to 66%. I knew this was a matter of concern. As the second plane that could not land contained most of the medical back up, there was little anybody could do to make me comfortable. Most importantly, all the Oxygen bottles were in that plane. Thus, I had to spend the night with whatever little medicine supply that I had carried myself. With administeration of that, I felt a little better and could sleep for a few hours of that night. One of the guides accompanying us was very badly worried about my health. My explanation to him that I was a qualified and experienced Medical Doctor did not console him. Without taking me in confidence, he called for a rescue helicopter. I was airlifted back to Kathmandu against my resisting efforts and arguments. So, this does not bring me exactly a very pleasant memory. I derive satisfaction from the fact that the successful trek up to Lake Gokiyo was in itself quite an adventure. Also, I believe in ‘There is always a tomorrow’. May be next time I will go there much more fit and equipped.”

Following are some of the photos of that trip.

En Route Everest

Everest in the Clouds

Everest in the Backdrop

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3) Mount Kilimanjaro....

Dr. Himanshu and a group of his friends scaled world’s tallest single mountain(19,000 feet), Kilimanjaro in February of the year 2016. It is the highest point of African subcontinent and also of entire equator belt. The peak of this mountain is known for being snow laden all 365 days of the year. This, despite the fact that it is a volcanic mountain. This is how Dr. Himanshu tells us the story of that trip:

“Among all the adventurous expeditions that I have undertaken, this one was the second easiest one after the Kailas – Mansarovar trip. Remember, when I say ‘easy’, what I mean is, it was the easiest of the tough expeditions of my life! The track is very well maintained. One starts the climb from the plaines and keeps gaining height gradually during 8.00 morning to 4.00 noon for a day or two. The track by itself is very beautiful. One has to pass across jungle, streams, thick vegetations and what not! Ultimately one reaches a campsite known as Barafoo. The real challenge begins from here. You have to start the journey to the peak by 11.00 in the night. If everything goes alright, one reaches the peak by early morning. The downward journey should be planned such that you return before 3.30 - 4.00 in the noon. This schedule is to be strictly adhered to as there is a probability of heavy rains in the late afternoon almost every day.”

"Keeping this in mind, we reached Barafoo base camp by 4.00 in the noon. Abiding by the time table as provided by the accompanying authorities, we started our climb exactly at 11.00 in the night. We were advised to protect ourselves well against chilling cold, windstorms and rains. Thus, I was equipped with a five layer cloth cover on the upper half of my body, while the lower half was secured with a three layer attire! Three high quality woollen caps were protecting my Head. This was certainly not comfortable during the climb but as we reached the top, we realized the worth of such ‘heavy protection’. The wind was blowing at about 80 kms./Hr. The ambient temperature was minus 14. The view from the top cannot be described by words. One has to be there in person to feel it. All of us were so elated at the successful scaling of this peak and at the unimaginable view from the top, that we started jumping and jumping, conveniently ignoring the exhaustive fatigue and also our age!”
    A few photos of that memorable trip can be seen here:

Dr. Himanshu at Campsite

Jungle on the trek to Kilimanjaro

Jumping in Joy at the Peak

Mt. Kilimanjaro

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4) Manali to Leh Cycling....

In August of the year 2017, this ever enterprising ‘Young Fellow’ took up yet another expedition. He decided to travel from Manali a popular tourist destination to Leh a popular but little challenging tourist spot. So, what about it? There are quite a few who go to these places. Well, the catch is, he was to travel this distance of about 500 kilo meters, covering almost 6000 feet rise, in the company of a few friends, each one riding a bicycle! Let us know the breakup of that distance by considering a few landmarks. The group members began their cycle ride from Manali and went up to Khardungla Pass, Leh.

From Manali                      to     Rohtang Pass          (13,044 feet)       54 kms.

”                                         to     Nakila Pass             (14,000 feet)       75 kms.

”                                         to     Bara Lacha              (16,043 feet)       189 kms.

”                                         to     La Chung La Pass   (16,613 feet)       276 kms.

”                                         to     Taag Lang La Pass   (17,582 feet)      365 kms.

”                                         to     Khardung La Pass    (18,ooo feet)       500 kms.

This expedition takes a minimum of ten days. The two main factors affecting a smooth climb by cycling adversely are the climate at the high altitude mountain terrains and poor condition of the roads at intermittent patches. But Dr. Himanshu and his friends were well equipped with provision to counter every probable problem that may pop up during the entire trip. The local support staff including the guide, cook and porters travelled along with the cyclists in a jeep.

Here are some photos of that trip.

Curveterous Road to Leh

The 'Cycle Gang'

Lifting Cycle at the Plateau

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5) Scuba Diving....  

In his childhood days in Mandavi, his hometown, there was no luxury of having water supplied at home through pipeline. Entire water need was to be satisfied by fetching it from far away or by paying for it. Thus it was quite a routine practice for the gent members of the family to go to the seashore for a bath. This made him water friendly from early childhood. In those days, he was often wondering about the unseen part of the earth which was occupying two third of the total earth area. The creatures he encountered during his daily visits to the sea triggered a deep curiosity in him about what was the aquatic life all about. He knew he had to wait before he could explore what he wanted to. Wait he did. And then finally came a time when he made up his mind to go ahead. He decided to go ahead with Scuba Diving.

First, he took a beginner’s crash course at a training centre at Goa. Scuba diving is an art of balancing one’s buoyancy in deep waters by managing the respiration, positioning of the body with reference to the depth of water and also by help of Scuba gears. Following the primary training, he dived into the deep ocean waters of Goa and the waters of islands of Murudeshwar as well as Port Blair. The amazing experience prompted Dr. Himanshu to take up an advanced training session which made him much more efficient and also added to his already above average confidence. As he rose to the next level of expertise in Scuba diving, he took up expeditions under the ocean waters of Mauritious, Bali, Thiland and Great Barrier Reef. “It is a totally different feeling.” Says Dr. Himanshu. “ One goes into the state of trance. You get to see the forms of life much much beyond your imagination. You get to hear strange sounds but can not trace the direction of the origin of those sounds. In short, thrill, thrill and thrill, nothing else!”
Let us look at some of the wonderful photos of his underwater wandering.

Scuba Gears

Looking for Corals in Deep Waters

Rare Fish Seen at Depth

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As if all these activities are not enough, he has already trained himself for skiing. He is waiting for an opportunity to go and indulge into one more ‘adventure sport’. “Very soon, hopefully!” he says. Yes, very soon, we hope too, Himanshubhai!

With all these fun/adventure filled activities, he relaxes by listening to and playing Music. He ranks among the most sincere members of our ‘Harmonica Club of Gujarat’ and attends our meets religiously with sincerity of a teenager. His willingness to learn is comparable to that of a teenager. Apart from Harmonica, he has also developed his hand upon Electronic Keyboard Synthesizer. Here is a Video of him rendering a song using both, Harmonica and Synthesizer intermittently.

I am not allowed by him to talk about medicinal and surgical expertise but take liberty to put my claim that he is in the possession of head of a multitalented individual, hands and fingers equipped with delicate expertise of a Surgeon as well as that of a musician and heart of a noble as well as a humble human being.

As I am publishing this Blog post today(15/07/2019), by a pleasant coincidence, Dr. Himanshu completes 50 years of his life. Let us all wish him the other half of his life filled with more success, more music, more fun and yes, more and more adventurous expeditions!