Chapter 7: Reach for the Top

Part I: Santosh Yadav

Pioneer

Santosh Yadav is the only woman in the world to have scaled Mt. Everest twice. Born in a society where sons were preferred, she rebelled against tradition to follow her passion for mountaineering.

She refused to marry at sixteen, threatening her parents that she would work part-time to pay for her education in Delhi. Her journey from the Aravalli Hills to the summit of Everest is marked by her "iron will, physical endurance, and mental toughness."

Environmentalist: During her 1992 mission, she brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.

Part II: Maria Sharapova

Global Icon

A Russian girl who reached the world number one position in women's tennis at age eighteen. Her journey involved immense sacrifice, including a two-year separation from her mother at the age of nine.

Maria's "quiet determination and mental toughness" were forged in the competitive environment of Florida. She views her tennis excellence as a job and considers the sacrifices well worth the success.

Despite her American accent, she remains "totally Russian" at heart and expresses a desire to play for the Olympics under the Russian flag.

Poem: On Killing a Tree

It takes much time to kill a tree, Not a simple jab of the knife Will do it. It has grown Slowly consuming the earth, Rising out of it, feeding Upon its crust, absorbing Years of sunlight, air, water, And out of its leprous hide Sprouting leaves. No, The root is to be pulled out — Out of the anchoring earth...

By Gieve Patel

Theme: The strength of nature vs. human destruction.

Vocabulary

Affluent: Wealthy
Culmination: Highest point
Meteoric: Very rapid
Leprous hide: Discoloured bark

Key Learnings

  • True success requires unwavering determination and the readiness to make sacrifices.
  • Gender and cultural barriers can be overcome through individual will.
  • Nature possesses a deep-rooted resilience that is difficult to destroy completely.