RAMNAGAR, Nepal: Relatives and neighbors gathered at the family home of mountaineer Nirmal Purja in Nepal this week to mourn the British-Nepali climbing legend, who was killed last week alongside nine others in an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak.
Purja’s death has prompted an outpouring of grief in Nepal, where he is widely regarded as a national hero.
On Monday, people assembled at Purja’s home in Ramnagar, in Nepal’s Chitwan district, as tributes continued to pour in for the 43-year-old, whose achievements made him one of the world’s most celebrated mountaineers.
“The whole of Ramnagar, where Nirmal’s house is, has cried,” neighbor Shanta Ghale said.
“This is Bharatpur-1, Ramnagar, where his home is. I am his neighbor, and ever since we heard about his death, our eyes have been filled with tears.”
Another neighbor, 71-year-old Mithu Bhatta, recalled Purja’s childhood in the community.
“My son Binod and Nirmal Purja attended the same school,” she said. “Binod and another friend, Arjun, also studied at the same school with Nirmal.”
Purja studied at Small Heaven School in Chitwan before joining the British Gurkhas and later becoming one of the world’s best-known mountaineers.
Resham Lal Shrestha, the founding principal of the school, remembered him as a diligent student.
“I have a memory of him studying at my school,” Shrestha said. “I remember him as a student who was honest, dedicated and hardworking.”
