Express News Service
Hyderabad: Malavath Poorna of Nizambad district and Anand Kumar of Khammam, who returned recently after scaling the Mt Everest successfully, were felicitated at a function here Wednesday.
While Poorna made her mark as the youngest girl to have conquered the highest peak in the world and found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, for 18-year-old Anand Kumar, it was an equally glorious moment in his life.
The Centre for Dalit Students and the Telangana Union of Working Journalists felicitated the duo at the Basheerbagh Press Club. However, what made the event rather special was the opportunity for citizens also to congratulate the two Everest conquerors. Poorna and Anand were swamped with praise from at least 500 strangers who turned up at the event. Responding to the immense love and appreciation that she received, Poorna said, “I will be eternally grateful to IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar, my parents and the government of Telangana for motivating me. I never thought I would scale those heights if it were not for the encouragement that I have received.” Coming from a Dalit background, Poorna believed she wouldn’t have the opportunity to do many things, let alone climb the Mt Everest. “I never thought I would even step into a train, which I did now, and I can’t believe that I stepped on the Everest. For a girl like me who belongs to the Dalit community and a poor family, Everest was not even close to my dreams. I would like to tell all the students to not give up, never fear the unknown and strive to achieve what they dream of.” For his part Anand, said, “The first thing we did was to place Dr BR Ambedkar’s picture and Telangana’s flag on the peak of Mt Everest. Surviving the odds that my family has gone through has made me strong and given me the strength to achieve what I did. I would like to thank my coach Shekhar Babu to have helped and trained me to climb not only the mountains but also greater heights in life.” Anand added,“We were trained to survive at minus 50 degree celsius. On our way to the summit, we found a number of dead bodies and feared for our lives. But the commandments given to us by our gurus which say ‘never give up’ helped me reach the pinnacle.”
The programme was attended by women’s activists who hailed Poorna for proving that even women can achieve anything they want. Kaki Madhav Rao, ex-chief secretary, said, “It’s not only the kids but also the entire state of Telangana that takes pride in her achievement.”