I Never Met Sir Ed

For a young Sherpa boy in the sixties, steeped in the lore of Tenzing Norgay and his good friend Hillary, it was nothing short of a miraculous visitation, when my mother surprised me with “Hillary Saab and Agu Tenzing are coming to our house this afternoon, so don’t go off tramping around, and make sure you are here to greet them”. Those were the magical days of my childhood in Kalimpong, 40 years ago. We were not wanting of heroes then. We read Zane Grey westerns and watched Audie Murhpy fight off injuns at the Kanchan hall, read snippets about the wizard Pele who dribbled past eight players and scored goals at will. But Tenzing was our own, someone we knew proudly and boasted of to my friends as my Agu (Uncle). He and Hillary had conquered the insurmountable and in a post world war era, they were the beacons of hope. Tenzing was a frequent visitor to our house and a great friend of my parents. I knew of Edmund Hillary only through Tenzing’s biography and to me he was this distant white giant that somehow was irritatingly always spoken of in the same breath when one asked about who was the first to climb Everest. We all desperately wanted Tenzing to be the only one and it irked me that we Sherpas had to share our glory with someone else.

I asked Amala (mother) about Hillary and she admonished me gently that all Sherpas called him Hillary Saab and that he was kind and unassuming and a great friend of the Sherpas and very tall. She went about taking out our best silver ware, the famous blue willow tea set which I remember seeing in full regalia only that one time.

It was too much for me that here were two heroes, larger than life, descending on us. I became nervous and a bit scared of making a fool of myself. It suddenly occurred to me that I maybe asked too many questions by Hillary Saab and his entourage. And so I did the next best thing. I ran away that afternoon.

I am not sure if Amala ever scolded me for that faux pas, but I know that I will forever regret bitterly that I was not brave enough to meet Sir Ed. How I wish I could turn back that clock to just say I shook hands with the greatest Sherpa hero that ever walked over Chomolungma. For, to me and all of us Sherpas, there is no doubt in our souls that he was a Sherpa more than anyone one of us can hope to be.

In the ensuing years, I went to college, but always followed this great man’s journey, through the sporadic news that came from newspapers and personal encounters with those who had the good fortune to work with him. I read and heard with deep gratitude on his selfless mission to better the lives of those in the Khumbu valley. I could immediately sense the deep reverence that my cousins from Namche felt for Hillary Saab. The brilliant careers of many Sherpas today owe it to Sir Ed’s drive and committed compassion to bring education and health to the Sherpas. I felt deep sorrow at his great loss when his wife and daughter perished in a tragic plane accident and marveled at his fortitude when he led an expedition through the Ganges in the seventies.

And then one day I read he had been knighted by the Queen. About time I thought.
Next thing I knew, Sir Ed was New Zealand’s ambassador. I am sure the honor was New Zealand’s more than anything else. Nepal finally had the good sense to make him a honorary Nepali citizen in 2003. Such goodwill and honor can only come to those who seek it least.

We live in a cynical world of instant bombast and gratification. Here in the US, where I reside, we are constantly fed with a barrage of nonsensical sound bites glorifying the social stupidities of those who are famous for being famous. Very rarely do we get to enjoy genuine heroes. With Hillary Saab now gone from us, our world has lost a lot more than we will ever know.

- Tashi Sherpa, President and Founder of Sherpa Adventure Gear


Photos:
Upper right Copyright 2006 Graeme Mulholland
Lower left Copyright Royal Geographic Society