<p>Adding another 86 cm to its height may not add much to the stature of the mountain which already rises far above everything terrestrial and standing. So the new revelation that Everest stands at 8,848.86 metres instead of a rounded 8848 m may only be considered a matter of academic interest. The heights of mountains, the depths of oceans and the length of rivers are the stuff of school texts and general knowledge books. But the measurement is not as old as the hills and mountains, and came in vogue only recently. Even after the first calculations were made, not only were the techniques and devices revised and refined but the mountains themselves grew and the rivers became longer, giving new numbers. These numbers count more for Everest than for other peaks because it is the point where the earth ends and the sky starts and it presents the ultimate challenge to the body and the mind. </p>.<p>The Survey of India had measured the mountain at 8,848 m in 1954. Much snow has melted since then, and it has seen many men and women trekking all the metres up and down, stretching themselves to the limits. No one of course measured it by their steps, but some doubts had to be set at rest. One was whether the 2015 earthquake that shook Nepal whittled down the peak too. Many thought it shuddered and shrank a little, collapsing on itself. When the earth shifts, the seas and the mountains move. But the entire Himalayas, along with Everest, was also considered to be rising by an inch or two every year because of the collision between two tectonic plates that created the mountain in the first place. That is why the masters of the mountain decided to audit the give-and-take between the quake and the collision and settle the account with a new measurement. </p>.<p>Half of Everest is Nepal and the other half is China. Mountains are not real estate, and are made not just of mud and rock and but of myths and minds too. The Himalayas, the frozen mind of all countries around it, rises to the heavens in the ethereal beauty and splendour of Everest. Ironically, the tallest peak of the mountain that made the conquest of mind and ego the currency of all contemplation of life itself came to symbolise the vaunting national pride of its owners. Pride and egos are not measured by satellites and GPS, but they still can rise in centimetres. It will not create any last metre timidity to the climber two steps short of the summit, and the mountain, which famously is the measuring rod of the earth, won’t mind too. </p>
<p>Adding another 86 cm to its height may not add much to the stature of the mountain which already rises far above everything terrestrial and standing. So the new revelation that Everest stands at 8,848.86 metres instead of a rounded 8848 m may only be considered a matter of academic interest. The heights of mountains, the depths of oceans and the length of rivers are the stuff of school texts and general knowledge books. But the measurement is not as old as the hills and mountains, and came in vogue only recently. Even after the first calculations were made, not only were the techniques and devices revised and refined but the mountains themselves grew and the rivers became longer, giving new numbers. These numbers count more for Everest than for other peaks because it is the point where the earth ends and the sky starts and it presents the ultimate challenge to the body and the mind. </p>.<p>The Survey of India had measured the mountain at 8,848 m in 1954. Much snow has melted since then, and it has seen many men and women trekking all the metres up and down, stretching themselves to the limits. No one of course measured it by their steps, but some doubts had to be set at rest. One was whether the 2015 earthquake that shook Nepal whittled down the peak too. Many thought it shuddered and shrank a little, collapsing on itself. When the earth shifts, the seas and the mountains move. But the entire Himalayas, along with Everest, was also considered to be rising by an inch or two every year because of the collision between two tectonic plates that created the mountain in the first place. That is why the masters of the mountain decided to audit the give-and-take between the quake and the collision and settle the account with a new measurement. </p>.<p>Half of Everest is Nepal and the other half is China. Mountains are not real estate, and are made not just of mud and rock and but of myths and minds too. The Himalayas, the frozen mind of all countries around it, rises to the heavens in the ethereal beauty and splendour of Everest. Ironically, the tallest peak of the mountain that made the conquest of mind and ego the currency of all contemplation of life itself came to symbolise the vaunting national pride of its owners. Pride and egos are not measured by satellites and GPS, but they still can rise in centimetres. It will not create any last metre timidity to the climber two steps short of the summit, and the mountain, which famously is the measuring rod of the earth, won’t mind too. </p>
