Journey to the Top: An Enthralling Story of Arunima Sinha

When you get hit with bricks, build a castle to live on top of it. The proverb echoes the story of Arunima Sinha- The first Female amputee to scale Everest—an enthralling story of courage, determination, and steadfast resolution. At the young age of 24, while resisting a theft, she was thrown off a moving train and lost her left leg. Even in the dreaded hour, she never gave up. Instead of succumbing to fear and pain, she determined to be a mountaineer. Her steadfast dedication and ambition to prove her worth helped her to conquer many mountain peaks. 

She aims to scale the highest peaks of every continent, and to date, she has ascended Mount Everest (Asia), Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Elbrus (Europe), Mount Kosciuszko (Australia), Aconcagua (South America and Vinson Massif (Antarctica). In 2015, she was honored with the Padma Shri award, India’s fourth highest civilian award, and the Tenzing Norway’s Highest Mountaineering Award. She penned her inspiring tales of bravery in her autobiography, Born Again on the Mountain.

A Brief Overview of her Early Life

Early Life 

Arunima hails from Ambedkar Nagar, a small district in Uttar Pradesh 200 kilometers away from Lucknow. Her father served as an engineer in the Indian Army, and her mother was a supervisor in the health department. She has an elder sister and a younger brother. After her father’s demise, Arunima’s mother took care of the household. She was very athletic from childhood. In her school days, she played football; later in college, she played for the national volleyball team.

The Struggle of the Job Hunt

She left sports behind in the quest for a job. Her desperation led her to apply for a head constable’s post in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). All was going well when she noticed some errors in the date of birth in her documents. To take advantage of a great opportunity like this, she decided to travel to Delhi to rectify it. But who knew a tragedy was to occur?

The doom to a New Beginning

11 April, 2011

The saying goes, “You can curse the darkness or light a candle; the choice is yours.” Arunima chose to be the candle, lighting the whole world with courage. While she was on the train from Lucknow to Delhi, she was ambushed by a group of local robbers. They want to snatch the gold chain her mother gave her. Being athletic, she had learned never to give up before putting up a fight. In the train full of passengers, she was alone fighting as the group attacked her, but she was overpowered by them and was thrown out of the moving train. Unfortunately, a train was passing through the opposite track. She got hit, and the force threw her to another track; before gaining consciousness and removing her leg from the track, another train ran over her left leg.

After the Tragedy

As she lay there, bleeding and unconscious rodents would come and nibble on her wounded leg. Even though she was aware of her surroundings, she couldn’t do anything. The bashing of media and citizens was the beginning of the torture she had to face. In the morning, the villagers took her to the nearest hospital in Bareilly. She was losing blood alarmingly, but there was no blood or anesthesia in the hospital. In her critical situation, she gallantly told the doctors to amputee her leg. The doctor, witnessing such courage, decided to give her blood. Even her right leg wasn’t spared from the accident; they had to insert a rod in her leg, and she had multiple fractures in her spine.

Media And The National Outrage

The word spread like wildfire, and being a national-level player gave her some advantages in her treatment. Ajay Maken, the then sports minister, provided her compensation and offered her a job. She was transferred to AIIMs, Delhi, for further treatment. She was getting treated while the media and government pawned her story for public sympathy to gain votes. Fabricated stories were spawned, and false accusations were made against her. Some said she was traveling without a ticket, so she jumped off the train. At the same time, others claimed that she was attempting suicide. She was frustrated and wanted to scream her innocence. In a talk, she says, “It’s okay, today is your day. You can say how much and whatever you want. One day, it’ll be my turn. I’ll prove to everyone what I am and who I was.” She then and there decided to climb Everest and pursue mountaineering. 

The Pursuit to The Top

A Mentor to Look up

After she was discharged from the hospital, her first thought was to find a mentor and seek guidance. Bachendri Pal, the first woman to scale Mount Everest in 1984, was the perfect guide she needed. She was tired of explaining to others her desires and ambitions. Besides her family members, Pal was the only one who believed her and encouraged her to embark on this rigid journey. Despite the stitches still fresh, without any rest, she went to Jamshedpur to meet Bachendri Pal. Arunima recalls her first meeting with Bachendri Pal in a talk: “When she saw me in that condition, she had tears in her eyes. Ma’am told me that if you consider climbing Everest with these prosthetic legs, you have already conquered your inner Everest. You must climb the mountain to prove your worth to the world.” 

Strong Ambition and Rigid Training

Everyone was in shock when they heard about Arunima’s determination; they thought the trauma had driven her insane. Even with one prosthetic leg, one other leg with a rod implanted, and many fractured spines, no human would dare to climb Mount Everest. But she proved everyone wrong with her true dedication and persistence. After that, Arunima joined an introductory mountaineering course from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering and TATA Steel Adventure (TSAF) in Uttarkashi (India), and she was encouraged or motivated by her elder brother Omprakash to climb Mount Everest. After 18 months of rigorous training, she began to climb small mountains with some near-death experiences. She trained to carry weights as she had to carry her oxygen tank to the climb. After an arduous toil of 17 hours, Sinha reached the summit of Mount Everest at 10:55 am on 21 May 2013, as part of the Tata Group-sponsored Eco Everest Expedition, becoming the first female amputee to scale Everest. She took 52 days to reach the summit. Despite the arduous hurdles she never looked back on, her zeal to reach the top was so strong that even with low oxygen, she never gave up the idea of touching the peak.

The Peak

When recalling her adventure, Arunima says she never believed in luck and fate. But she always knew that God saved her from the tracks to make her stand on the peak; she was there to write history. The descent was much harsher on her; she dropped to the ground, suffocating because of no oxygen left in the tank. Suddenly, from nowhere, her sherpa found an abandoned oxygen tank and latched onto her. On the slippery ice, she was unable to balance her prosthetic leg. She never thought she would be able to return alive, so Arunima made a video to remind the youth of India that despite being a female with severe disability, with strong determination, she reached the peak of Mount Everest. So, there should be no excuse not to be able to do anything. 

Conclusion

Arunima’s captivating story showed us that no cause could prevent you from reaching the summit. Arunima has summited most of the summits of every continent, and her ambition to keep going never stops. After climbing Mount Everest, Arunima was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India, in 2015. She contributed all the donations she received to the welfare of society and disabled kids. Arunima started an academy for disabled kids to train them in sports. She gave them hope to achieve their dreams. 2018, Arunima received an honorary doctorate from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Britain. She runs a charitable organization called ‘Arunima Foundation‘ , which aims to empower women, especially abled people. 

She wrote a four liner in the face of struggle 

The actual flight of this hawk is impending.

Right now, the bird is yet to be tested.

Though I have leaped over the seas,

The sky is yet to be conquered.

Arunima’s journey is like the story of the impenetrable human spirit because it illustrates that nothing can stop persistence, resilience, and unwavering tenacity from turning adversity into excellence. Alongside the greatness of her deeds, this woman cannot only incite admiration and awe in us but also start the flame of hope, which points the way toward true dedication to inner and outer fulfillment in our lives. Arunima’s story is a beacon of light, urging us to never give up on our dreams and always strive for greatness, regardless of our challenges.