EXCLUSIVE: Malaysian Mountaineers Outshines By Donning Indian Cultural Outfit At Mount Kinabalu

As the tallest peak between the Himalayas and New Guinea, Mount Kinabalu is the most impressive feature of Sabah, stands at a height of 4,095 metres (13,435 feet), which exudes an incredible and ethereal charm.

The courageous mountaineers have regarded this as an inspiration for the Indian community by upholding our cultural identity while climbing the steep, difficult mountain that many people are trying to reach.

Early in June, Sashi Kumar, a 45-year-old passionate hiker, and his team – Ravivarma Vasan, 39, Shanmugan Kumaravel, 39, Sasitharan, 38, Kalidasan Sivanasen, 40, and Sureshkhanna Selvam, 40, climbed the famed Mount Kinabalu.

The group of hikers, who are members of Hikers Buntal and My Mount Trekkers, set a record by dressing in traditional Indian attire (veshti and jippa) on the climb that took place between June 9 and 10, respectively.

The hiker shared his passion in mountaineering, the challenges he faced throughout this amazing adventure, and his future goals with Varnam MY.

Sashi Kumar disclosed that he started his hiking journey in 2018. Prior to that, he was a sports enthusiast who participated in a variety of activities, such as hockey, bowling, and many more. He then decided to take his sporting prowess to the next level and look for a new experience, which is why he choose the mountain climbing path.

Mountaineering puts both individual ability and team leadership to the test. – Sashi Kumar

For any hiker, climbing a mountain is a difficult task that requires a lot of experience. According to Sashi Kumar, the group of hikers spent more than six months preparing for the largest walk, which included scaling mountains in the peninsula that were higher than 2000 metres.

Generally speaking, hiking requires wearing proper clothing, such as a breathable t-shirts, long sleeve tops, long bottoms, and hiking boots. Wearing those are essential since it lets you to move and manoeuvre more comfortably, and lowering the risk of injury.

The hikers’ decision to dress in traditional South Indian clothing for their climb up is what strikes us as the most astonishing; it is also the first time that we have heard of someone donning traditional attire for such an activity.

However, the enthusiastic hiker claimed that the team was inspired by other hikers who were dressed differently, such as in traditional or labour uniforms.

“We have noticed a lot of hikers reaching the summit wearing their traditional clothing, work uniforms, etc, but we have no records of anyone wearing traditional South Indian clothing, That gave me the inspiration to do it”, stated the explorer.

Sasi Kumar had already hiked with the group in 2018 and 2019, making the journey up Mount Kinabalu his third. He claimed that the epidemic had a negative impact on their hike plans for 2020, but they persisted and, after two years of diligent training, were able to complete the hike in significantly less time.

“On the first day of the climb, it took us 4 hours to get from the Kinabalu base to Laban Rata. After that, it took us around 3 hours to reach the peak from Laban Rata”, the mountaineer said.

Bravo Sashi Kumar and team for finishing the climb while expressing your devotion for your culture.

This is not going to end here. As a member of the Hikers Buntal team, the enthusiastic hiker stated that their goal is to ascend other notable mountains in Malaysia before moving on to mountains in ASEAN countries.