Pudota Neelima became the first woman from the newly formed Andhra Pradesh state to scale Mount Everest. Neelima, who survived the 2015 Nepal earthquake, reached the summit on Monday after beginning her ascent on April 20 from the Chinese side with six others. She was the only Indian in the batch.
Neelima’s parents, P Showraiah and Dr Kondaveeti Papa, recall that since childhood, she wanted to be different. “Her wish and courage to be different from others made her stand apart,” her parents said and added that her indomitable spirit drove her to achieve the feat. Neelima is a multi-talented girl. A professional Bharathanatyam dancer, Neelima has also trained in Kerala’s martial art form ‘Kalaripayattu’ and practises yoga. A B. Tech from MGIT (Hyderabad) in Mechotronics, Neelima gave up her job at Cognizant Technologies to pursue mountaineering, especially her dream of conquering Everest.
Neelima was at the Everest base camp in April, 2015 when the earthquake struck in Nepal. She did not let the traumatic events dampen her spirits and the sight of bodies and the injured (mainly sherpas), made her resolve to summit the Everest, her parents said. On reaching India with help from the Army, she declared her intention to scale the Everest provided someone sponsored her.
Published 24 May 2016, 19:45 IST