Malaysia's Everest Quest Two Hindus of the national team ascend
the world highest mountain Thank God! Thank God!' was the first
thing I said when I set my foot on the top of the world," gushed
M. Magendran. On May 23, he and N. Mohandass became the first
Malaysians (and likely the first Tamils) to reach the summit of
Mt. Everest, 8,848 meters high. "Aum Namasivaya was in my mind
all throughout my ascent," Magendran told Hinduism Today. "Once
on top, I prayed to all the Deities. I thought of our Prime
Minister, our Everest team, my friends and the people of
Malaysia who were praying for our success." Magendran, Mohandass
and their five Sherpa guides planted the Malaysian flag,
"shouted into the wind" and celebrated their victory--for ten
frozen-in-time minutes. The news was radioed down to the
Malaysian base camp and relayed on live TV to a jubilant
country. But the climbers knew the task was not over yet. Nearly
everyone who perishes on Everest dies on the way down, not up.
So they scrambled off the mountain