Adieu Nepal, with memories of b’day celebrations & insect sting

NAGPUR: After almost a month and half in Nepal, the Fit@50 all-women trans-Himalayan trekking team entered Indian territory in the first week of June. They have been on the road for three months now. The gruelling trek through high altitudes in Nepal saw two team members celebrate their birthdays and even face a nasty skin reaction after an insect sting.
Somewhere up among the clouds on the scenic route in Nepal on May 23, group leader Padma Bhushan Bachendri Pal celebrated her birthday. Just a week later on June 1 another member, who now calls Vidarbha her home, Bimla Deoskar celebrated her birthday.
Her husband Avinash, who recently returned from a trek himself, said, “It must have been amazing for both of them to celebrate their birthdays in the place they love the most.”
And Bimla’s birthday celebration almost did not happen. Avinash jokingly said, “At first it skipped everyone’s mind because they were all too preoccupied. But then Bimla reminded them after which all of them had a small celebration with lots of cheering.”
Deoskar keeps getting updates from Bimla as and when there is network connectivity. Through most of the Nepal trek, their phones were unreachable because of the remote route they were on.
But the happy moments from birthday celebrations and breathtaking views were marred temporarily due to some uninvited guests. Some small insects stung quite a few members of the team resulting in a very strong skin reaction. Deoskar, said “Their faces had got all swollen up. And Bimla had the worst of the reaction to those stings.”
The weather-hardened members, with each having at least two decades of wilderness trek experience, self-medicated their way through the problem. “They dealt with that and now all of them are fine. Due to poor phone connectivity we were not able to get into a lot of details, as Bimla too wants to convey the important points first. But all is well and their schedule was not affected due to that,” said Deoskar.
While the most challenging part of the trek, the one through Nepal, is now over, the team looks forward to a ‘sentimental’ one in Uttarakhand.
Deoskar said, “Their trek route goes through Uttarkashi and both Bimla and Bachendri didi are from there. Bimla traces her roots to the town of Harsil there. So it will definitely be a sentimental one.”
The remaining part of the trek will be in Indian territory only. “They are going to trek through one of the most scenic trekking routes in India. Triyogi Narayan to Panwali Dhar has mesmerizing views and that has an amazing impact on those trekking through,” he added.