Monday, July 25, 2011

An Indian who stormed through the poles–Mr.Ajeet Bajaj

 

 Ajeet Bajaj at North Pole

                                  Ajeet becomes the first person from India to ski to the North Pole.

Ajeet Bajaj and his daughter Deeya stand with the tricolour

The father-daughter duo braved the storms and blizzards to unfurl the tricolour in foreign land. And they are the only Indians to have successfully done so on the treacherous Trans-Greenland terrain. The agenda for the expedition was to draw focus on global warming as Greenland is considered by many as the ground zero for the climate crisis.

Ajeet  Bajaj  is the only Indian to have completed the Polar trilogy, which comprises the North Pole, South Pole and crossing the Greenland Icecap expeditions. And with that, he has finally fulfilled his dream.

Kanika Johri, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, June 10, 2011

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Dreams....we all have aspirations and dreams but there are very few and fortunate who actually work towards realizing them. What goads them? Is it destiny or is it their sheer determination to achieve? I feel if one is driven by passion and desire to pursue his dreams everything just falls into shape and he emerges a winner. The 25th morning at Oakridge saw one such man with indomitable courage who had been on intimidating missions from a very young age and is happy today about realizing his dreams. That's Mr.Ajeet Bajaj, an adventure enthusiast who shared his travel experiences with the students at Oakridge. He has the distinction of being the first Indian to have skied to the North Pole and the South Pole. He has many achievements to his credit the most recent being the Trans Greenland Ski Expedition where he also had his daughter Ms.Deeya Bajaj with him.

Sharing his experiences Mr.Ajeet Bajaj spoke about the inhospitable weather conditions they went through as a team and how it was sheer perseverance on his part that kept him moving on his expedition. It was a proud moment he recalled and something he cherished when he actually got to unfurl the national flag at the end of his journey.

Speaking on the issue of global warming he said his experiences brought him closer to reality on the importance of preserving our planet. He also spoke about protecting wildlife in particular the Royal Bengal Tiger which is slowly but surely turning into an endangered species.

Mr.Ajeet also spoke about the arduous preparations that go with an expedition.

PODS he said is his mantra for success where P entails planning, O stands for organizing in a very meticulous manner, D to deliberate an action that any situation may demand in an expedition like theirs and S for being super safe in the sense of taking care of all impending dangers.

Hearing him I could guess how motivated one has to keep himself to face challenges in undertaking an expedition like that. He urged the students to dream high, remain focused and do everything possible to realize their dreams. The short interaction I am sure must have motivated many as it did me. Life does have a lot of challenges to offer and one has to believe in himself and rely on his strengths to face any situation. I am reminded of a very popular quote of Iqbal ' Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqdeer se pehle, Khuda bande se ye pooche bata teri raza kya hai. .......

Ms.Mohseena Hussain

Activity Coordinator

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