Jodhpur :

There definitely is no comparison between Mount Everest and the vast stretches of desert in Jaisalmer. Yet, both of these geographical highlights on Earth have been etched in the memory of Malavath Purna, who happens to be the youngest girl to scale the Mount Everest.

Talking to TOI here on the sidelines of 65th All India Police Games Volleyball cluster 2015-16, she said that she is equally impressed with the vastness and might of both the places, and is quite awed with the very feeling of being at the Indo-Pak border, which made her even more proud of her feat.

Many treks have been charted since the historic ascent of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norway scaling Mount Everest in 1953. However, scaling of this Himalayan peak by Malavath Purna on May 25, 2014 was an altogether different achievement. This has set a record of a ‘new age new scale’. Purna became the youngest girl (at a mere 13 years and 11 months) in the world to reach the pinnacle of the 8,848 metres high Mount Everest. Hailing from a small village ‘Pakala’ in Nizamabad district of Telangana, she is the younger child of the farm labourers Lakshmi and Devidas while her elder brother is pursuing an engineering degree.

However, this mountaineer who made headlines ever since her feat, is now focusing on her studies and wants to be an IPS officer just like her real life idol and motivation R S Praveen Kumar, secretary, Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society.

Candidly, she shared as to how her parents are now proud to flaunt their diligent daughter. Purna, while advocating following a strict discipline and cleanliness measures by mountaineers said that she took the Tiber North Col Route or the North Ridge which happens to be less crowded.

“I was fortunate enough to be allowed to scale the peak at that age since now both Nepal and China are enforcing the age limits for various reasons including those aimed at eliminating risks taken by the younger and less experienced enthusiasts and also to reduce the litter,” said Purna adding that she had undertaken enough trekking training in mountains of Ladakh and Darjeeling. However, nothing had actually prepared her for braving the minus 60 degree celsius temperature of Mount Everest.

Focusing on her own studies and motivating children to pursue hard work for achieving their goals at present, she recollects treading off the beaten path while being accompanied by Sandhana Palli Anand on that glorious day of May 25 when her 52-day-long expedition culminated in a world record at about 5.55 am. “We were amongst 150 children who were originally selected for adventure sports and 20 of us were sent to the premier Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling and the two of us with a higher endurance were sent for Mt Everest expedition in April that year,” she retraced.

It was the 10 commandment of ‘never give up’ recited in her school every day that made her continue climbing the peak despite the initial sight of six bodies of mountaineers shaking her very soul.”

Long trekking hours, acclimatization and then bad weather were all actually a motivation to not give up before hoisting the National Flag at Mt Everest and even offering a salute to B R Ambedkar,” said Purna even as she expressed her gratitude for all that Telangana showered upon her after her accomplishment.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Jaipur / by Jatinder Kaur Tur, TNN / March 27th, 2016