"Failure is not when we fall short of achieving our goals. It is when we don’t have goals worthy enough- Arunima Sinha"

We have all been through a phase where life throws us a curveball, when least anticipated. In 2011, Arunima Sinha was 24, she was thrown off a moving train in Delhi, by a gang of thugs, for refusing to part with her belongings. Despite several onlookers, young Arunima lay on the railways tracks for hours, unconscious, train after train running over her leg and eventually rodents feeding off it. An account of what followed will perhaps paint a more petrifying picture of what humanity has been reduced to.

An amputated left leg and a rod in the right leg was what remained after hours of enduring inexplicable pain and a significant loss of blood. What could be worse than having to experience a sudden, unjust turn of event? For Arunima, it was the exploitive victimization that followed. The News channels fed off the sensational story of her trauma and the country’s most honorable men poured in to offer their support. 

 Initially, this led to her transfer to a medical institution with better amenities, offering a relief to her grief-stricken families. However, in good time, the speculative theories as to whether she was attempting suicide or travelling without a ticket did the rounds.

The young woman had had enough! Lying there, the most vulnerable she ever was, Arunima Sinha decided to conquer a dream that seemed rather impossible. That was the day she decided that she would climb the Mt Everest! Despite severe discouragement from all corners, she walked merely two days after she was fitted with her prosthetic limbs and went straight to meet Bachendri Pal, the first woman to climb the Everest. 

Following a basic course in mountaineering and 18 months of rigorous training, Arunima was ready for dream to become a walking reality. The final 3500 feet to the summit is the most dangerous part to making the climb, not to mention that several climbers have lost their lives while attempting the final stretch. 

Ignoring the sharp pangs of fear and the advice against making the final climb, she went ahead and became the first female amputee and the first Indian amputee to scale the Everest, creating history in 2013.

In 2015, Arunima Sinha was awarded the Padma Shri, which is the fourth high civilian award in the country. Her book, ‘Born again on the Mountain’ was launched by the Prime Minister in December 2014. 

Currently, her goal is to scale the highest peaks in the world and she is in active pursuit of it. However, the dream this Nation level Volleyball player carries close to her heart is the Shahid Chandrashekhar Azad Khel Academy, a non-profit school for underprivileged handicapped children. She hopes that with adequate funding, she would someday be able to provide the best of facilities for these children and enable them to soar high.

Taking cue from Arunima’s life, it should be observed that despite the setbacks in life, the potency of the outcome is what we decide it to be. Overcoming drastic obstacles with stupendous courage and focus, this young woman from Ambedkar Nagar, is much akin to a Phoenix bird. There is nothing that can vanquish her or her dreams.

Related Link: http://gobeyondpink.com/blogdetail/sneha-kamath-inspiring-women-to-dare-to-drive.

Blog By Sunandhini Raj