When the Mountains Call Us Back

In 1996, twenty-two young girls set out for a Pachmarhi and Himalayan adventure. There were no mobile phones, no constant communication, no way for parents to know what was happening every moment. There was only trust.

Parents trusted the organisers. Organisers trusted the girls. And the girls slowly learned to trust themselves.

The mountains became their classroom. Forest trails taught perseverance, difficult moments taught ownership, and living together taught them integrity, punctuality, gratitude and care for one another.

And now, after all these years, we are returning.

As we walk those familiar trails again, perhaps the mountains will return more than memories. A forgotten laugh may suddenly come alive. A face from 1996 may appear in the morning mist. A difficult climb may remind us of a young girl who refused to give up. Somewhere between the old trails and new footsteps, we may rediscover dreams we had forgotten, promises we never spoke aloud, and treasures that time had quietly hidden within us.

There will be nostalgia, certainly. But there will also be immense pride.

Those twenty-two girls are no longer girls. They have carried forward the values, the courage and the trust that were nurtured then. And today, they stand as proof that when we invest our time, belief and love in young people, it never goes to waste.

What we give comes back.

Sometimes as memories.
Sometimes as relationships.
And sometimes, most beautifully, as the people they become.

Perhaps that is the mountain's greatest echo:

Trust. Belonging. Giving.

And today, as we meet again, the mountains seem to whisper—

Lead us.