Thiruvananthapuram: Shaikh Hassan, a government official from Kerala who finds time to pursue his love for mountaineering, is on a new mission - organising the world’s highest art exhibition at the Base Summit of Mount Everest!
Hassan, who completed his training under the Indian Mountaineering Association, has already conquered peaks such as Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. His next goal is Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak, and it is during this attempt that Hassan would be holding the art exhibition at an altitude of 26,000 feet above sea level.
At the exhibition, Hassan's plan is to display paintings by children belonging to Kerala, for which he has invited entries. As Hassan took the decision to conduct the exhibition as part of the seventy-fifth anniversary of Indian Independence, he is also considering a plan to unfurl an Indian Tricolour of 30 x 20 feet on Mount Everest. “The idea is to earn the Guinness Record for the biggest national flag to be unfurled on Mount Everest,” said Hassan.
Entries invited
Hassan would be exhibiting 15 paintings at Base Summit. While an art work each would be selected from the 14 districts of Kerala, one will be from outside the state. Creations of students up to Class 10 will be considered and topics are ’75 years of Independence’ and ‘India’s war heroes.’
Paintings should be of A3 size. They should be photographed and messaged directly to the Instagram page ‘itravel_iexist’ or the Facebook page ‘Shaikh Hassan Everest and Beyond’. A judging committee headed by artist C K Viswanathan will select 15 paintings from the entries for display.
Currently, Hassan has been assigned by the Kerala Government to assist the Ukraine evacuation mission. He had earlier worked on deputation at Kerala House in New Delhi. Attached to the Finance Department at Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, Hassan belongs to Poozhikkad in Pandalam.
