Gurdial Singh
Personal information
Main disciplineMountaineer
Born(1924-01-01)1 January 1924
Died30 May 2023(2023-05-30) (aged 99)
Chandigarh, India
NationalityIndian
Career
Notable ascents- Led the first Indian expedition to Trisul (1951)[1]
- First ascent of Mrigthuni (1958)[2]
- Member of the first Indian expedition to Mount Everest (1965)[3]
A colourised image of Gurdial Singh performing Shirshasana on the summit of Trisul in 1951. Mountaineer and chronicler Harish Kapadia has written in his book, Across Peaks & Passes in Garhwal Himalaya: "To my mind, it was when Gurdial Singh climbed Trisul in 1951 that was the beginning of the age of mountaineering for Indians."[4]
An acrostic, penned by renowned novelist and writer Vikram Seth (after Singh's death), dedicated to Gurdial Singh, who was Seth's housemaster at The Doon School in the late 1960s.

Gurdial Singh (1 January 1924 – 30 May 2023) was an Indian schoolteacher and mountaineer who led the first mountaineering expedition of independent India to Trisul (7,120 metres) in 1951. In 1958, he led the team that made the first ascent of Mrigthuni (6,855 metres).[5][6] [7] In 1965, he was a member of the first successful Indian expedition team to climb Mount Everest.[8][9][10]

Singh also led many expeditions at The Doon School, where he was a geography teacher, and along with other Doon masters and students was instrumental in establishing a mountaineering culture in post-Independence India.[11] Singh has been described as "the first true Indian mountaineer", and in 2020, the Himalayan Journal noted "Gurdial climbed for pleasure, to enjoy the mountains in the company of friends, to savour the beauty and grandeur of the high ranges, not to find fame or bag summits."[12]

Life and career

Gurdial Singh joined The Doon School in 1945 and it was here that he was influenced by Englishmen such as John Martyn, R.L. Holdsworth and Jack Gibson to take up mountaineering. The first headmaster of Doon Arthur Foot was a member of the Alpine Club.[13][14] Together, they scaled many peaks including Bandarpunch, Trisul, Kamet, Abi Gamin and Nanda Devi.[15][16] He was the first Indian member of the famed Alpine Club, which was "a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering".[15] In 1965, Singh climbed Mount Everest as a member of the first successful Indian expedition, led by Mohan Singh Kohli.

Singh remained unmarried throughout his life, and often said that he was "married to the mountains".[12][17] He died following complications due to a hip fracture and chikungunya at his home in Chandigarh, on 30 May 2023. Singh was 99.[17]

Awards

Apart from being the first Indian to be included in the Alpine Club, Singh was given the Arjuna Award in 1965 for his contributions towards Indian mountaineering. In 1967, Singh was awarded Padma Shri,[15][18] the fourth highest civilian award in India. In 2007, Gurdial Singh was given a Lifetime Achievement Award and the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award for his contributions towards Indian mountaineering.[19][20][21]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ "TRISUL, 1951 : Himalayan Journal vol.17/10". www.himalayanclub.org.
  2. ^ "MRIGTHUNI, 1958 : Himalayan Journal vol.21/9". www.himalayanclub.org.
  3. ^ Sengupta, Padmaparna Ghosh,Rudraneil (16 May 2015). "The first Indians on Everest". mint.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Kapadia, Harish. Across Peaks & Passes in Garhwal Himalaya (1999). Indus Publishing. p.15
  5. ^ site admin (31 October 1989). "New heights - Society & The Arts News - Issue Date: Oct 31, 1989". Indiatoday.in. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  6. ^ The Times, Wednesday, 4 July 1951; pg. 5; Issue 52044; col B
  7. ^ "Vertical limit - Travel". livemint.com. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  8. ^ "50 years later, it's happily Everest after | India News - Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  9. ^ Padmaparna Ghosh, Rudraneil Sengupta (16 May 2015). "The first Indians on Everest". Livemint.com. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  10. ^ "PM meets members of 1965 Everest Expedition on the golden jubilee of the occasion". Pib.gov.in. 20 May 1965. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  11. ^ Anderson, Richard (2001). "Climbing with Doon School" (PDF). Alpine Journal. London.
  12. ^ a b Himalayan Journal, Volume 75, This Is His Life: Gurdial Singh
  13. ^ http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_2001_files/AJ%202001%20197-201%20Anderson%20Doon%20School.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  14. ^ "Climb every mountain". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 24 February 2002. Archived from the original on 28 April 2002. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  15. ^ a b c "Early Years of Indian Mountaineering". Himalayan Club. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  16. ^ "The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum - Books". Tribuneindia.com. 3 February 2002. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  17. ^ a b "Legendary climber Gurdial dies at 99". The Tribune. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  18. ^ "National Portal of India". India.gov.in. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  19. ^ "'Olympic gold is my aim'". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007.
  20. ^ "City's old-but-young-at-heart citizens - Express India". Archived from the original on 22 January 2013.
  21. ^ "IMF: News: Basic Climbers Training Camp".
Bibliography
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