FLAGS ATOP MOUNT EVEREST

National Flags Atop Mt. Everest

Tenzing Norgay holds his ice-axe aloft Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali) bearing flags of the United Nations, Great Britain, Nepal and India for the first time on 29 May 1953, signaling the Conquest of Mt. Everest.  Edmond Hillary took this photograph using a Kodak Retina compact camera loaded with Kodachrome colour film.

In the spring of 1953, the ninth British Everest Expedition led by Col. John Hunt made the first ascent of the summit of  Mt. Everest on 29 May 1953 with its two members, Tenzing Norgay - a Nepalese born Indian from Darjeeling and Edmond Hillary - a New Zealander.

 The Indian National flag that was flown for the first time on the Mt. Everest on 29th May 1953 is now preserved in the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum , New Delhi.

 

Tenzing Norgay "The Conqurer of the Earth", stamp released from North Korea in 1980

25th anniversary of the Conquest of Mt Everest 

 40th anniversary of the Conquest of Mt Everest 

 50th. Anniversary Year of Conquest of Mt. Everest
Special post-mark issued from Darjeeling on 29 May 2004  

50th anniversary of the conquest of Mt. Everest.

 The Mt. Everest (Tibetan: ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ, Chomolungma^[ or Qomolangma /ˈtʃoʊmoʊˌlɑːŋmə/ CHOH-moh-LAHNG-mə, "Holy Mother"; Chinese: 珠穆朗玛峰; Pinyin: Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng; Nepali: सगरमाथा, Sagarmāthā) is the earth's highest mountain, with a peak at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level. (source ; Wikipedia)

 Marshal Islands commemorates their achievements considered far beyond personal ones – but an achievement of the entire humankind. 

Nepal 1963 Everest Fiscal stamps

 While Sherpas of Nepalese origin retained their dominance on Mt. Everest, after them, Americans, British and Indians had the highest number of summiteers on the Everest. 
 

1924 British Mount Everest Expedition led by Lieut. Col. Norton. The Label showing Mt. Everest with base camp with marginal inscriptions  TIBET - NEPAL - SIKKIM and with Swastika in the four corners symbilising good luck for the expedition. The stamps were used on mail from base camp to nearest Indian P.O.

In fact, Indians have emerged as the third highest conquerors of Mt Everest among foreign climbers. successfully climbing the world's highest peak.
 The Indian Mt. Everest Expedition -1965. Nine men reached the 29,028 ft.  high summit of the Everest in four successive  attempts in May 1965

 The stamp shows Capt. Aluwallia and Phu Dorji on the summit of Mt. Everest on 29 May 1965. The facsimile of the picture was taken by one of the summit parties. The photo was taken at 10.30 a.m. when a high speed westerly wind of over 75 km per hour made the Tri-colour flutter against the deep blue sky.
Indian Army added another feather to its cap in May 2001, when its mountaineers successfully scaled Mt. Everest and put a record eight members and seven Sherpas on the summit.

 The FDC depicts ‘The dreaded Khambu Icefall’ in the background, along with a photograph of jubilant summiteers of the Indian Army Expedition 2001, atop Mount Everest in May, 2001.

 

 Several countries came out with beautiful stamps to announce and record the success of their mountaineers' great achievements.

 The illustrations above are not a comprehensive and complete one.

 Some exhibit frames depicting Flags atop Himalayan peaks in the "FLAGS - Short Hand of History" - exhibition on the Indian National flag presented by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), curated by Sekhar Chakrabarti, in August 2014 at Kolkata (Calcutta).

FLAGs in National Anthems and Patriotic Songs, Part- VI

Today, I shall discuss the reference of 'Flag' in the anthems of Ireland, Jordon, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon, the famous popular song dedicated to the flag of Japan, "Hi No Maru" and a prophetic song which predicted the Jews colours long before even State of Israel came into being.

                 

IRELAND

  "Amhrán na bhFiann" (The Soldiers' Song) is the national anthem of Ireland. The music was written in 1907 by Peadar Kearney, who also composed the music with Patric Heeney. but the song was formally adopted as National Anthem in 1926 displacing the earlier Fenian anthem 'God save Ireland'.

"Sinne Fianna Fáil..."

Soldiers are we...

In valley green, on towering craig,

Our fathers fought before us

And conquered ’neath the same old flag

That’s proudly floating o’er us

 ISRAEL

Hatikvah  (The Hope) is the national anthem of Israel. The anthem's theme revolves around the nearly 2000-year-old hope of the Jewish people to be a free and sovereign people in the Land of Israel, a national dream that would eventually be realized with the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948

Interestingly, more than three decades before the First Zionist Congress, in 1864 the Bohemian-Austrian poet Ludwig August Ritter von Frankl , a Jewish himself published a poem titled Juda’s Farben (Judah’s Colors). 

Frankl was the first person in modern times who voiced the idea that ‘Blue and White’ as the national flag colours of the Jewish people. His visionary (prophetic) poem was translated into flowery Hebrew entitled Hahavatzelet (The rose of Sharon) and was first published in 1878.

 “When sublime feelings his heart fill,

He is mantled in the colours of his country

He stands in prayer, wrapped

In a sparkling robe of white.

The hems of the white robe

Are crowned with broad stripes of blue;

Like the robe of the High Priest,

Adorned with bands of blue threads.

These are the colours of the beloved country,

Blue and white are the borders of Judah;

White is the radiance of the priesthood,

And blue, the splendors of the firmament.”

JAPAN

Hinomaru (The Rising Sun) is the name of Japanese national flag and also the popular Japanese patriotic 'Flag Song' penned by Taisuyuki Takano and the  Music was composed by Teiichi Okano.

  Red on white
Flag is dyed
Oh beautiful
Japanese flag .

and goes on;

Sky High
Japanese flag raised
Oh beautiful
Japanese flag

JORDON

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Al Mamlaka Al Urduniyya Al Haschimiyya). The Royal anthem of Jordan “Al-Salam al-Mamlaki al-Urduni” was adopted in 1946. The lyrics were written by Abdul Monem Al-Refai. The music was composed by Abdul Qader al-Taneer.

"Long live the King!

His position is sublime,

His banners waving in glory supreme".

KYRGYZSTAN

The National Anthem of the Kyrgyz was adopted on 18 December 1992. The music was composed by Nasyr Davlesov and Kalyi Moldobasanov, and the words were written by Djamil Sadykov and Eshmambet Kuluev

                                "Dreams of the people came true,

And the flag of liberty is over us.

The heritage of our fathers we will

           Pass to our sons for the benefit of people".

LEBANON

The Lebanese National Anthem “Al –Lahan al-Watani al-Lubani” was written by Rashid Nakhle and composed by Wadih Sabra. It was adopted on July 12, 1927. 

   The anthem begins “All of us! For the country, for our Flag and Glory !” And continues :

The Cedars are his pride, his immortality's symbol.

All of us! For our Country, for our Glory and Flag!

(Note;  Cedar tree is the chief emblem of Lebanese Flag)

 ^{(to be continued)}