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A Tribute to Santosh Yadav
This is a tribute to the first woman in the World to scale the summit of Mt. Everest twice. The Padma Shri awardee was born in Rewari, Haryana as the only sister to 5 brothers.
Coming from a patriarchal society, her birth was surprisingly welcomed as her grandmother wanted a girl. However, her fight against gender bias was not over. Contrary to her name (satisfied), Santosh was not ready to settle with mediocrity and ordinary life.
She Tried to be Different
She always tried to be different and stand out like wearing skimpy dresses even in a conservative home. She assumed this to be the rational way to live
She went to the local village school until she turned 16. Unlike other girls of her age, she had other plans then marrying and settling. When her family disagreed, she warned them that she would leave home and self educate herself in Delhi. Apart from education, she would take up part-time vocations to earn enough to support herself. Alarmed, her parents conceded her wishes.
Interest in Mountaineering
After her school education got completed in Delhi, she went to Rajasthan for college studies. Here, she saw the Aravalli hills for the first time and fell in love with their majesty. She approached a few climbers and joined them on her journey of mountaineering.
For this, she enrolled in a mountaineering institute. Under proper training, she flourished. She developed great resistance and resilience to extreme climate. This hard work resulted in her maiden climb to Mt. Everest in 1992 at a tender age of 22. To make her feat even more impressive, she ended up saving the life of a fellow mountaineer along the way.
More Trips
Another year later, she accompanied a team of other women mountaineers and repeated the feat again. Never to settle for ordinary, on her way back, she returned with half a tonne of solid waste from the Himalayas.
Her exploits are shining examples for all the people especially young girls who feel that their lives are destined to end without brilliance. She is an inspiration for women all across the globe irrespective of their race, language and beliefs.
