By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 7: Sometimes, the call to serve doesn’t come from a government order or a rescue siren. It perhaps comes from something innate and divine.
For Sambor Surong, founder of the West Jaintia Hills District Adventure Mountaineering Club, it began with a simple, piercing truth. “My mom said, ‘Son, what’s the use of all your mountaineering if you can’t help now?’ And I believe that was God speaking through her,” Sambor told The Shillong Times. “That was my call.”
In the wake of the tragic disappearance of an Indore couple in Sohra, Sambor and his group of young mountaineers became an unheralded force on the ground.
Leaving behind the comfort of routine and the pull of anonymity, they joined the official search teams, trekking deep into hostile, unforgiving terrain shoulder to shoulder with trained professionals from the NDRF, SDRF, and the state police.
With no spotlight and no safety net, they risked their lives and limbs, confronting exhaustion, steep gorges, dense foliage, and the psychological weight of what they might find.
“This isn’t something you do for clicks or likes,” Sambor says. “We were climbing through ravines, slippery paths, and sharp drops. Every minute out there drains your body.
But if we can help bring someone home or give clarity to a grieving family, then it’s worth every bruise and blister.”
The group, formed out of a shared love for adventure, has become something more, a symbol of what it means to use one’s gifts in the service of others. “We couldn’t just sit behind screens and post comments on Instagram. We had to be there, on the ground, doing what we could. Because when people venture into our land and something goes wrong, it becomes our responsibility.”
Sambor also made a heartfelt appeal to tourists: “Please take a local guide. Whether you’re in Meghalaya or anywhere in the Northeast, locals know the story of the forest, the bends of the river, the silence of danger. When you walk alone into a place you don’t understand, it’s not just your life at risk it’s the burden you place on everyone who comes to find you.”
Despite the gruelling work, Sambor and his team found strength in the solidarity of those around them. “We were treated like family. SP Vivek (Syiem) Sir, OC Kongsit, the NDRF team they fed us, sheltered us, stood by us. We ate together, walked together. Exhausted, yes, but never alone.”
Yet the moment remains deeply personal for Sambor. “God sent me through my mother. That’s what I believe. I had no plan to be there, but something higher told me I had to go.”
In a world numbed by tragedy and noise, this group of young mountaineers chose the harder road, the steep one, the silent one, the dangerous one.
Their journey into the heart of Meghalaya’s forests was not just a physical act of courage, but a spiritual one. A reminder that even in our darkest moments, light walks quietly beside us through a mother’s wisdom, a God’s whisper, and the enduring power of humanity.