 Man of the mountains
 It would be an understatement to say that M Palayam is wedded to the
mountains.
After completing schooling in Don Bosco
(Broadway), Chennai, he joined a diploma course in mechanical engineering. Even while in school and college, he used to go on excursions to Madhavaram forests (those days it was dense) and other places. Travelling has been his passion from childhood. He joined the
IIT, Madras, and stayed there for eight years and then shifted to CSIR, Taramani, as a machine designer.
He had an opportunity to glance at photos of the Himalayas. Palayam was so enchanted with the photos that the urge to visit the mighty Himalayas loomed large in him. Subsequently, he wanted to join the NIM (National Institute of Mountaineering) course. Fortunately, his friends had a similar desire and thus they started on a trekking expedition to the
Himalayas - Gangotri - in 1976, which was his maiden trip.
The local tahsildar had to grant permission for their expedition. The mountain group had its base at Uttar Kashi and started trekking to the Gangotri glacier. The sight of the snow-capped mountains were exhilarating, quips
Palayam. Though it was snowing incessantly, they reached the Gangotri glacier within 3-5 days. But the trip lasted a fortnight. They had been truly bitten by the bug.
Palayam joined NIM for a one-month course. There he was taught the intricacies of trekking and mountaineering. He was exposed to all techniques of mountaineering. Becoming qualified to trek, he came back to Chennai and he and his friends started a club called
'Girivihari Mandal'. The club was to lead school and college students and even those who are employed.
Palayam has led school and college weekend trekking to nearby places. Gangotri glacier is his second home for he has led several expeditions to that 'bewitching land'.
As the secretary of 'Girivihari
Mandal' and a member of the 'Indian Mountaineering Foundation', he got corporate sponsorship for trekking. He wanted to explore the 'mystique' of the Himalayas for which money was required. Palayam has spent a sizeable amount of his savings on trekking and mountaineering.
 Every time he returned from the mountains he had a 'photographic exhibition' which attracted a lot of people. The 'call of the Himalayas' became his breath.
His expedition to Bhagirathi-II
(6,512 m) created waves in Chennai. It was successfully climbed by him. It attracted the
German consulate here and he presented slide shows. Satisfied with his presentation and potential, the German government sponsored him for a trekking, mountaineering course at the legendry Alps mountain.
Palayam's joy knew no bounds. He was in seventh heaven as he took off for Germany, Munich, to enrol himself for the course. The course, which consists of five modules, is a very exhaustive one. The various facets of mountaineering are dealt with and Palayam was one of the lucky few from India who has attended the course.
A mountain guide was appointed to tutor him. He had to scale different alpine peaks. There was a practical exam followed by a theoretical one. Naturally, one had to pass the exams! Learning advanced techniques is part of the curriculum. Glacier crossing, big peak climbing and riding in sledges in snow-filled areas were taught elaborately.
The orientation and re-orientation programmes lasted for almost four weeks. Alps peeps into five countries - France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria. 'Swiss Alps' is supposed to be a honeymooners paradise. Known for its picturesque landscape and scenic beauty, it captures the quintessence of the Alpine beauty.
After his successful training in the Alps, Palayam returned to India. In 1995, he headed an expedition to
Bhagirathi-II peak. As a member of the New Horizon Adventure Club, this trip was sponsored by
corporates. Trekking in heavy snow did not deter his spirits. The group set up tents and prepared its own food.
He cherishes most the trip to the Everest base camp, Kulu Manali and Leh in
Ladakh. Similarly, his visits to Muktinath and Jyothirla Pass are unforgettable, he says. Trekking to Muktinath needs a lot of courage and physical strength.
His most memorable expedition was the one to
Annapoorna. High altitude 'sickness' will be experienced by trekkers. As the oxygen supply to the brain is less, the trekkers will have hallucinations. They would be in a dream world. The approach to
'Gandaki' in Tibet is very hazardous but Palayam took the risk. When a major earthquake rocked the Garhwal Himalayas, which washed away the Malpa village en route to Kailash
Mansarovar, Palayam was in the Himalayas with a German troupe.
Besides his love for mountains he is also fond of walking on the seashore and trekking in forests and jungles and villages. His favourite haunts with school and
colleges students and office-goers are in the lush green Coorg - the mesmerising Wayanad and the wonderful Nagari and
Alamparai.
Palayam and his friends have started Base Camp Adventure Club in order to promote trekking and mountaineering. He wants to create an awakening among the people in that field. There is a difference between mountaineering and trekking, declares
Palayam.
 They propose to have slide snow presentations in educational institutions and corporate offices. The club wants to fix dates every month and the place of visit will be announced. This proposal will be beneficial to people of all walks of life. He wants to bring a cross-section of society under one umbrella. Age is not a hindrance to join the club. The monthly schedule will help the travellers to book in advance. A good combination of leisure and adventure holidays will help to rejuvenate a person.
Palayam desires to visit the greatest of mountains, the 'Everest'. But spending almost a crore of rupees cannot be done by an individual - it calls for sponsors. As the Everest 'base camp' is filthy and dirty because of the trekkers, an international expedition is doing 'operation cleaning'. What is worse, one has to book a decade in advance to set foot on Everest - all the same, we wish that Palayam's dream comes true.
Nature is his 'prana' in life. His meandering excursions in the Himalayas have made him a 'Man of the Mountains'. Makes you wonder if that is what the M in his name - M Palayam - stands for!
Palayam can be contacted through
palayam23@hotmail.com
Basecampch@yahoo.com
Usha Raja
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