Ex wrestler

Sadanand Joshi, aka Sada - our ex-wrestler. Look how he sits proud and unaffected by the weight of two heavy duty trainers on his lap.

Jaywant Joshi

Mr Jaywant Joshi. Another mountaineer friend. Very fit, an excellent artist. He has an enormous appetite - we have nicknamed Jewan (meal). This is Manoj "Mogli" Kadam's special friend.

Again Mr Buddhya. He needs a helmet to play chess. Go figure.

Our guesses on why this is so:

1. Chess is a high risk adventure activity
2. To shield the world from the lethal radiation from his brain when he is thinking
3. To use as weapon in an emergency if he is losing.
4. As a precaution in case there is a bird flying above.......
5. Oonche log oonchi pasand

Standard disclaimer: we keep making fun of each other, and Buddhya is in reality an excellent mountaineer and a highly respected outdoor professional.

Biggest monkey in the world

This is my teacher in mountaineering - Shirish Sahastrabuddhe aka Buddhya. He gave me a lot of exposure to the world of pinnacle climbing. Not just mountaineering, this guy is a guru of many things - jokes, playing cards, playing pranks and generally fooling people, teasing people and making faces, laughing in a whole range of voices, handling poisonous snakes (ask him about it :P) etc.