The family and neighbours of Ikramul Hasan Shakil, who set a world record by walking about 1,372 km from Cox's Bazar to conquer Everest, the world's highest peak, are overjoyed. He is the seventh Bangladeshi to climb Everest, and his area is awash with joy.

Since news of his success arrived, people from different areas have been crowding his village home in Kaliakair upazila of Gazipur, and his family is flooded with congratulations.

Not only his family but the whole area is proud of Shakil, the son of a farming family.

When news of his summit reached the area on Monday afternoon (19 May), neighbours and relatives crowded into his home, and ordinary people came from far and near to celebrate. With tears in her eyes, Shakil's mother told them stories about him.

Shakil, 31, was born and grew up in Bagchala village in Fulbaria union of Kaliakair upazila. He is the eldest child of farmer Khabir Uddin and housewife Shirina Begum, and has two brothers, Sajib Ahmed and Sakib Ahmed. After his father's death in 2019, his mother took charge of the family. His brother Sajib Ahmed farms the few bighas of land their father left, and his other brother Sakib works at a local factory.

The homestead has three houses on three sides. The house on the northern plot is dilapidated, the one on the southern plot is used for livestock, and Shakil's family lives in the house on the eastern side.

Shakil completed primary school at Bagchala Government Primary School and passed his SSC from Janata High School and his HSC from Pear Ali College. From a young age he was drawn to writing, reading and travel, and he has written six books on the Liberation War and travel so far.

Shakil's mother, Shirina Akter, said she last spoke to him on Friday night and had been very worried since. She had stopped eating for three days out of concern for her son, and prayed to Allah for his success and safe return. She broke into tears on hearing of his success.

Neighbour Arif Hossain said Shakil had been very bright since childhood and everyone was fond of him. "We got the news of his success just after noon. We are very happy and proud that a son of our Bagchala village has conquered Everest. Shakil from our village has flown Bangladesh's red and green flag on Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world," he said.

Neighbour Abdur Razzak said: "We could never have imagined that Shakil would climb so high from this broken house. Because of Shakil, people all over the world know our village today."

Kaliakair Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Kawsar Ahmed said he learned of Shakil's Everest success through local journalists. "We are happy and proud of this achievement. We are trying in various ways to get in touch with him," he said.

Shakil's walk began on 25 February from Inani beach in Cox's Bazar, with the goal of completing "Sea to Summit" within 90 days. Crossing about 1,372 km of difficult terrain in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, he climbed to Everest's 29,031-foot summit.

The Sea to Summit expedition was organised by the Bangla Mountaineering and Trekking Club, with leading industrial group PRAN as title sponsor. Associate sponsors were the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), snacks partner Mr Noodles, gear partner Maklu-e-Traders Nepal and oral health partner Systema toothbrush, with Jago News as news partner and Jago FM as radio partner.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.