Bachendri pal-the woman on great heights
This article is about a famous personality of uttarakhand who not only accomplished her dream but also made the whole world proud of her. she is none other than bachendri pal- the first indian woman to climb mount everest. it includes her various achievements and awards also.
Bachendri pal
People come and go but some have the capability to think different and that is the reason they are called famous personalities. What is the use of living a life without any meaning, without any achievements? Life becomes meaningful only when one understands its meaning and works to achieve one's goal. One of the famous personalities of uttarakhand is bachendri pal. She is one of the most recognized women round the globe. She not only dreamt of doing something but worked day and night to accomplish her dream. In spite of many barriers in her way to achieve her dream, she continued to pursue her dream and hence achieved it.
Initially her parents also were against her studies but later they realized the importance of her dreams and interests. She is an idol for each and every Indian woman who does not even come out of their homes for the sake of their families. She taught a great lesson to the girls and their families to support them in whatever they want to do. She had the capability to something different, something unusual. As she was from a very small town so is was obviously very unusual to choose mountaineering as a sport and her carrier. The most unique thing about her was that she was not from a healthy background and had to struggle a lot to reach up to that level. However all these hurdles could not stop her from achieving her dreams? She made her way all through the thorns and difficulties to the better future.
This article contains
- Her early life
- Her various awards
-Her popular achievements
-Her personal experienceEARLY LIFE
Bachendri pal was born on 24 may 1954 in a small village known as nakuri in uttarkashi district of uttarakhand. She was the daughter of late sh. Kishan singh pal and smt. hansa devi. When she was 12 years old, she went to a picnic from the school with her friends. They climbed a peak which was almost 13,125 feet high but due to the darkness they could not climb further. This expedition left an imprint and could not get off her mind. She wanted to reach on the top of the world. She started dreaming of choosing mountaineering as her carrier. Her family was not very rich and flourishing; instead she was born in a very moderate and middle class family. From the childhood she loved the mountains and the beauty of nature. She completed her master's degree in Sanskrit and wanted to earn something for her family. But in the world of competition, she failed to get any decent job. So she started working towards her dream. Without any wastage of time, she joined the Nehru institute of mountaineering and in spite of many restrictions from her family; she became one of the best student of the institute. During her training in Nehru institute of mountaineering, she climbed gangotri 1 and radugaria which are almost 22,000 ft and 19,000 ft respectively. After that she also became the instructor of national adventure foundation.VARIOUS AWARDS
-In 1984, her first CSR gold medal.
-In 1984, she was honored with the national adventure award.
-In 1985, she got the padmashree award.
-In 1985. She was awarded with the national youth award.
-In 1985, she was given a gold medal by department of education of U.P.
-In 1985, she was awarded with Calcutta sports journalists' association award.
-In 1986, she was awarded with the arjuna award.
-In 1990, she was listed in the guiness book of world records.
-In 1990, she was awarded with fie foundation's national award.
-in 1995, she was given the yash bharti award by the government of u.p.
-In 1997, she was awarded 'people of the year' by the limca book of world records.
-In 1997, she got the mahila shiromani award.
- She was also awarded a gold medal for excellence in mountaineering by IMF.
-In 1997, she was honored with the hon. D. litt Award by the University of Garhwal.POPULAR ACHIEVEMENTS
-Her most popular achievement is that she was the first woman of India and the fifth woman of the world to climb Mount Everest. There were various other achievements which kept on increasing her confidence helped her through the tough times.
-She was the leader of the mountain Kedarnath dome expedition in 1986 which was approximately 6400 meters.
- In 1999, she was the leader of 'Vijay rally to kargil' which was a way to express solidarity. It was an expedition on motorbikes by the women mountaineers which was a tribute to all the brave soldiers.
-In 1986, she climbed mt. blanc which is said to be the highest peak of Europe and is approximately 15,782 ft. in height. She climbed many other mountains not only in india but across the world.
- She also participated in first women's international climbing seminar and study tour in u.k. in 1998.
- She was the only women who represented India in world eminent women mountaineering meet in France in the year 1986.
-She was the leader of the Indian women's Trans Himalayan journey in 1997. It was the first successful trekking effort by the women of any country. They completed their journey from arunachal Pradesh to siachen and then to the northern most tip of India which is indira col and is approximately 20,100 ft high. They covered more than 4500 km in almost 225 days including more than 40 high mountain passes.HER PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
In her book named "EVEREST: MY JOURNEY TO THE TOP", she mentioned that 'I was determined not to take a back seat in the pal family and not only do what boys did, but do it better'. The exposure to nature made her independent and fearless. She said, 'I was hit at the back of my head by something hard and simultaneously, I heard a very loud explosion. I thought it might be a burst oxygen cylinder we had kept outside the tent, but suddenly I felt that I am crushed under a very heavy load, so then I realized it is a big avalanche, and I was really waiting for my death. The climber who was with her come out somehow and then helped her to come out. Most of them were injured. She too had an injury at the back of her head. Most of the members stepped back due to their injuries but bachendri was elected to continue. At that time she realized the power, tolerance and patience of women. She continued with another group of climbers and when she was on the top, her hopes were getting a new meaning. Being an Indian girl she sat on her knees, touched the mountain with her head and placed an image of goddess Durga and a copy of hanuman chalisa in the snow. She proved that she was not only determined and optimistic but also a follower of the Hindu mythology.
