Vision lost, not courage
He has trekked on many dangerous routes, the recent one being an extremely treacherous 70-km Mangti-Adi Kailash (16,300 feet from the sea level) trek in Uttarakhand.
The 41-year-old Tata Steel executive completed this 14-day expedition virtually on his own, carrying luggage on his back as other hikers do.
Meet Atul Ranjan Sahay, the man in action who lost his vision, though not courage, when he was 23. The visually-challenged man from Jamshedpur, where he works as a senior manager in Tata Steel, says his Adi Kailash expedition has been “the most challenging one”.
“Adi Kailash was the most challenging expedition because it is at 16,300 feet above sea level. Other places I trekked on might be between 13,000-13,500 feet from the sea level.”
This avid trekker gets inspiration from the people like him who can’t see. “I undertake such trekking expeditions so that the visually-impaired people like me learn from me and get inspired,” Sahay told HT over telephone from Jamshedpur.
“I want them to live a life full of joy as I do,” said Sahay, who lost his vision due to some retina-related problem. “That was the time when I had not even completed my post- graduation.”
“The Adi Kailash expedition was the kind of expedition in which only professional mountaineers participated,” recalled Girdhar Manral, manager (adventure), Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN). “Besides, neither mules nor porters were part of this mission so all the trekkers, including Sahay, carried luggage on their backs.”
Hailing from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, Sahay undertook his first trekking expedition to Djongri-la (Sikkim) in 1991. This was followed by two other major trekking missions and now Adi Kailash. Besides, the differently-abled man has undertaken several minor trekking tours as well.
“It is because of my positive attitude that I seek no help from others even when I am travelling,” says the man who has so far visited as many as eight countries on his own.
Sahay enjoys throwing challenges to himself. “It is my way of inspiring the people to face challenges and not get bogged down by them.”
