She is the first woman with an amputated limb to climb the highest peak in the world and she is also the first Indian amputee to scale Mr. Everest. This is not the only reason that all of India respects and admires Arunima Sinha. Hers is a story of remarkable fortitude in the face of a calamitous situation, of achieving as a handicapped person what most of us only dream of. Arunima Sinha is one of the nation’s unsung heroes; her story is one that inspires millions.
She lost a leg resisting robbers on a train
Arunima hails from Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh and she was a national level football and volleyball player before tragedy struck. She boarded the train from Lucknow to travel to Delhi to attend the CIFS recruitment exam and was accosted by three men who attempted to rob her. Near Bareilly, she was pushed from the train by the three men and she fell on the tracks. An oncoming train crushed her leg. This happened in the middle of the night and she was shifted to hospital only by morning when the villagers found her. Her leg however had to be amputated in order to save her life.
She was inspired by Yuvraj Singh and trained by Bachendri Pal
Arunima was still undergoing treatment at AIIMS in Delhi when she decided that she would climb Mt Everest. At the time, cricketer Yuvraj Singh had emerged triumphant from a battle with cancer. She derived inspiration from his story and decided to “do something with her life”. With funds raised with the help of the Ramakrishna Mission in Baroda, she obtained a prosthetic leg and underwent a mountaineering course from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi which she aced. She then contacted the first Indian woman on Everest, Bachendri Pal and trained under her at the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) 2012.
Mt Everest and more
In May 2013, just a couple of years after her fateful accident, she managed to reach the peak of Mt Everest. Not one to rest on her laurels, Arunima then set her sights on the other iconic peaks in the world. She has also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa (the highest peak in Africa), Mt Elbrus in Europe (Europe’s highest peak) Kosizko in Australia and Aconcagua in Argentina (the highest mountain outside Asia). She has been awarded various honours including the Padma Shri and has written a book, Born Again on the Mountain, which was released by the Prime Minister of India. She now wants to open a free sports academy for the disabled and poor in the country.
Author – Reena Daruwalla
