Death of a mountaineer

She did not only dream to touch the sky, she actually did. She scaled a couple of mountains that pierced the sky. 

The dangerous crevasses hidden under the mountain snow could not take her, the avalanches coming down hard on the slopes sounding like thunderbolts could not bury her dreams. But a microbus plying on the flat surface of a Dhaka street could.

On Friday morning, Reshma Nahar Ratna, 33, a mountaineer, cyclist and marathoner, was killed in a road accident on the Lake Road adjacent to Chandrima Udyan in Dhaka.

Confirming the matter to The Business Standard, Sub-Inspector of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station Md Ibrahim said, "A microbus pushed her from behind while she was cycling in the morning near the Udyan. She may have died on the spot."

"Police took her to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital where the doctor declared her dead," he added.

Reshma started her mountaineering journey by climbing the peak of Keokradong in Bandarban in 2016.

In 2019, she successfully summited two mountains named Stok Kangri (6153 meter) on August 24 and Kang Yatse -2 (6250 meter) on August 30 in Ladakh, India.

In 2018, she also participated in the expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, and Mount Kenya, the second-highest of the continent.

Being an environmentally aware person, Reshma used to commute by a bicycle.

Mohammad Habibur Rahman, ‍a friend of Reshma who used to take part in cycling and marathon events with her, said that Reshma was working on her fitness as she was scheduled to go in a mountain expedition next December. 

"Reshma had been jogging regularly at Hatirjheel and Chandrima Udyan for the last one month. She used to ride to Hatirjheel on her bicycle, and after doing her practice, she rode back to her place at Mohammadpur."

Habibur and Reshma participated in Dhaka Half Marathon on February 28 this year together.

Also a book worm, Reshma was a member of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK). 

After her death, her friends from different communities- BSK, cycling, marathon and mountaineering - gathered at the hospital where Reshma's body was kept for autopsy. 

Mir Shamsul Alam Baboo, ‍a familiar face in Bangladesh's mountaineering community, was also there. 

He said, "After Wasfia Nazreen and Nishat Majumdar, a handful of female mountaineers looked promising, Reshma was one of them." 

The death of Reshma is a great loss for the mountaineering and outdoor community of the country, Baboo added.

Reshma did her Basic Mountaineering Training from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in 2017. 

Later in 2019, she did her Advance Mountaineering Training from the same institute along with Nishat Majumdar, Bangladesh's first woman to climb the Mount Everest.

Israt Jahan Etu, a friend of Reshma who herself is an avid trekker and adventurer, said, "Cyclists have been calling for separate bicycle lanes for a long time. If this is not materialised, valuable lives like that of Reshma will keep being wasted for nothing."

Reshma had a number of unfinished dreams.

She wanted to build artificial climbing walls for school children. She talked to higher government officials for that purpose.

Reshma Nahar Ratna was an assistant teacher at Ayub Ali Government Primary School in Dhaka.

She was pictured holding a logo of the Directorate of Primary Education along with Bangladesh's flag on both of the 6000 metre mountains she scaled.