Introduction – Santosh Yadav
In this chapter, we learn about Santosh Yadav and Maria Sharapova’s lives. Both women show that if you are determined and work hard, you can get through anything and be successful. It’s about a mountain climber named Santosh Yadav who set a record. Santosh was born in Haryana, which was a very conservative place where girls had no freedom. But Santosh took charge of her life through her strong will and hard work. She was the first woman to climb Mount Everest twice. She is a great person, a great climber, and a true environmentalist.
Summary – Santosh Yadav
Santosh Yadav is the first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest twice. She was born into a culture where having a son was a blessing and having a daughter was not. Once, a holy man came to the family to bless Santosh’s mother with a son, but Santosh’s grandmother told him that they wanted a daughter. Santosh was born in a small village in Haryana called Joniyawas. She is the younger sister of five older brothers.
Santosh’s name means “satisfaction” or “contentment,” but she was never happy with the way people in her society lived. So, she began to live her life the way she wanted to. Santosh wore shorts, while the other girls wore traditional dresses. Santosh thought that if she did the right thing, everyone else would have to do the same. The parents of Santosh were wealthy landowners. They had enough money to send Santosh to one of Delhi’s best schools. But because it was family tradition, she went to a small village school while her brothers went to good schools. Santosh chose to go against this system.
Santosh’s parents wanted her to get married when she was 16 because most girls in her village got married at that age. Santosh didn’t want to get married, so she told her parents she wouldn’t get married until she got a good education. Santosh left her home and went to Delhi to start school. Her parents at first didn’t want to pay for her education, but when she told them she would work part time to pay for it, they agreed.
Santosh finished high school and was accepted into Jaipur’s Maharani college. She got a room at the Kasturba Hostel, which had a view of the Aravalli Hills. She used to see people from the village going up the hills and then not coming back. One day, Santosh looked to see where all the climbers were going. She found out that they were mountain climbers. They were what got Santosh interested in climbing. Santosh was a girl who never gave up. She went to Uttarkashi to study at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. After her class in Jaipur was over, she went straight to Uttarkashi. Santosh sent her father a letter in which she said she was sorry for going to Uttarkashi without his permission.
Every year, when he lived in Uttarkashi, Santosh went on an adventure. She learned how to climb and became amazingly resistant to cold and high altitude. As a mountain climber, she had a strong will, physical endurance, and mental toughness. Santosh worked hard and was determined, and in 1992 she reached the top of Mt. Everest, which is the highest peak in the world. She climbed Mount Everest when she was only 20 years old. She was the youngest woman ever to reach the top of Mt. Everest.
Santosh didn’t just impress her seniors with her mountaineering skills, but also with how kind she was. She was a unique person because she cared about other people and wanted to work as a team. In 1992, she took extra care of her teammate in South Col during the Everest mission. She was sorry, but she couldn’t save him. But she saved Mohan Singh, another climber, by giving him some of her oxygen.
After a year, Santosh joined an Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition and climbed Mt. Everest for the second time. She was the first woman to reach the top of Mt. Everest twice. Her accomplishments made her famous and gave India a special place in mountaineering. The Padma Shri was given to Santosh by the Indian government because of all she had done.
When Santosh climbed Mt. Everest, it was the best time of her life. She says that it didn’t seem real. When she put up the Indian flag, it made her feel proud. Santosh Yadav is a mountain climber, but she is also a person who cares about the environment. She went to the Himalayas and brought back 500 kg of trash.
