Staff Reporter
SHILLONG:
The body of Shillong-based mountaineer, Tiklu Jyrwa, reached Shillong on October 9 evening.
As soon as the body reached home, in a heart rending scene his wife cried inconsolably even as she hugged the casket where the body of Jyrwa was kept.
A large crowd of family and friends had gathered at his house since evening waiting for his mortal remains to reach.
His body reached Guwahati airport at around 4 pm and it was then brought by road to his residence at Upper Lumparing.
Officials from the government of Meghalaya received the body at the airport and a police escort was provided while it was being transported to Shillong.
His funeral will be held on October 11 at 1 pm at the Presbyterian Church cemetery Lumparing.
Speaking to media persons his brother-in-law Wallambok Lyngdoh, who had accompanied the body from Uttarakhand, said that the family was fortunate that Jyrwa’s body could be retrieved since in most cases when an avalanche hits mountaineers they remain untraced.
Lyngdoh said that the instructors of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) had appreciated the skills of Jyrwa.
Instructors told Lyngdoh that Jyrwa was declared as the best student of the course since out of the 122 trainees they said he was one of the best and the strongest.
He also said that the deceased on the fateful day had led the team when the avalanche struck.
He said that the advanced course that the deceased had gone for teaches how to survive in the mountains, how to navigate and help the team members and become a professional mountaineer.
Lyngdoh, an ace mountaineer himself, said that Jyrwa had told him that he went for the advanced training course since he wanted to become an instructor.
On October 4, Jyrwa who is a member of Meghalaya Sport Climbing & Mountaineering Association (MeSCMA), had gone for training in an advanced mountaineering course organised by the NIM.
As part of their course they had climbed the Mount Draupadi Ka Danda – II peak in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district when the avalanche hit the team while returning back.