“The little mouse tells to the tall mountain!
Oh how tall you are! Reaching for the sky!
The mountain replied sadly!
Oh what I would not give to move like you, let alone fly!”
At one point in the world, Kangchenjunga, was the official tallest mountain of the world! At the height of 8,586 m, it stood kissing the skies!
I still remember the view of the majestic Himalayas from the flight on the way to Ladakh! Words can’t describe the view!
So coming to the tallest mountain!
In the 19th century the Great Trigonometric Survey of British India, identified “a stupendous snowy mass” through surveying instruments from above the hill resort of Darjeeling, over 140 miles away!
The peak was initially named “Gamma” and then subsequently changed to “peak b” in 1847; it was suspected that “peak b” also called “XV ” might be the highest mountain in the world!
During the time the mountain was allowed to be measured by the surveyor General of India who unfortunately was not Indian or Nepali! So in 1831, George Everest, the Surveyor General of India, was in the pursuit of a mathematician who had specialised in Spherical Trigonometry, so that they could be a part of the Great Trigonometric Survey which could calculate the actual height of this tall mountain and officially claim the feat to be the tallest in the world!
Everest had begun his search for a mathematician, and soon enough, John Tytler, a professor of Mathematics at the Hindu College, now known as the Presidency College, recommended his 19-year-old pupil, Radhanath Sikdar!
Radhanath, a student of the college since 1824, was one of the first two Indians to read Isaac Newton’s Principia and by 1832; he had studied Euclid’s Elements, Thomas Jephson’s Fluxion and Analytical Geometry and Astronomy by Windhouse!
Radhanath started measuring the height of mountains. The brilliant mathematician, who had perhaps never seen Mount Everest compiled data data about Mount Everest from six observations and he eventually came to the conclusion that it was the tallest in the world!
It was during the computations of the northeastern observations that Radhanath had calculated the height of Peak XV at exactly 29,000 ft (8839 m)! , but his senior Waugh added an arbitrary two feet because he was afraid that the Sikdar’s figure would be considered a rounded number rather than an accurate one!
He officially announced this finding in March 1856, and this remained the height of Mount Everest till an Indian survey re-calculated it to be 29,029 ft or 8848 m in 1955!
From the plains of India it is only one among many conspicuous peaks, and its distance from the Indian frontier across the whole width of Nepal often prevents its being seen at all. The first names proposed were the Nepalese names Devadhunga and Gaurisankar. The first, however, was found to be non-existent as a peak name in Nepal, and the second belongs to another peak. There was no entry of the surveyors into Tibet in those days, and, in the lack of Indian and Nepalese names, it was necessary to find a title for the peak.
In the early 20th century, the acclaimed Swedish explorer Sven Hedin uncovered the centuries-old Tibetan name of Cha-mo-lung-ma,” which in fact had been published on a map in Paris in 1733 by the geographer D’Anville! Therefore, the historic, local Tibetan name for Mount Everest is Chomolungma, also spelled Qomolangma, meaning “Goddess Mother of the World.” Chomolungma is pronounced “CHOH-moh-LUHNG-m?.”
The Nepali name for Mount Everest is Sagarmatha, meaning “Goddess of the Sky.” Some refer to the entire massif of peaks as Qomolangma (Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse), reserving the name Mount Everest for the highest peak!
The name “Mount Everest” nevertheless persists as the most universally recognized name throughout the world and of course it was done in 1865 by naming it after Sir George Everest, of the Trigonometrical Survey of India!
Now of course it feels bad that it was not given a local name and fame but it has been told that even Everest did not want the peak to be named after him but with a local name instead! Then again, the mountain is the tallest in the world, whatever you may call it! Sometimes fame does not even need or is not even dependent on a name! Some people though have fame which is as tall as the Everest and maybe more! One such is the birthday celebrity Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath known by his screen name Ambareesh!
Now start preparing for Sagarmatha or Everest base camp by sleeping well!
Shubh Ratri!
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