what is summary of Ch Reach For the Top?
Answers
Reach for the Top divides into two parts where each part tells us about Santosh Yadav and Maria Sharapova respectively. The first part begins with Santosh. This story was written when Santosh was the only woman in the whole world to have scaled the Mt. Everest twice. It begins by telling that she was born in a society that considered girls to be a curse. We learn that Haryana is her birthplace and she defies the societal norms to own herself.
She suffered gender discrimination from an early age and then decided she would carve her own way. She went to get admission in Delhi and funded her education all by herself by working part-time jobs. After that, she went to stay in a hostel in Jaipur where life changed for her. She joined mountaineers in an expedition and there was no looking back then. She worked hard for it and took a professional course where she excelled.
Then, in 1992, she climbed Mount Everest just at the age of 20. She became the youngest woman to do so and even saved a fellow climber by sharing her oxygen. She made India proud by creating history and was awarded the Padmashri award by the government of India. After that, we have part II, which focuses on the famous tennis player, Maria Sharapova. We learn about her journey to become the number one women’s tennis. She became a top tennis player through hard labor, rigorous training and a lot of sacrifices.
The inside story of her life shows us that she started at an early age to become the top tennis player. She belongs to Siberia, Russia, and left her home only at the age of 9, to begin training for her dream. She had to separate from her mother at just 9 years old and move to Florida with her father. Her father worked hard to fund her training and even suffered bullying for being a foreigner. We learn about her hobbies of dancing, singing, and fashion. Finally, we learn that she believes while money does play a big part, she always aimed to become number one.
Reach for the Top Summary
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Part I. Santosh Yadav
Santosh’s family background and birth Santosh Yadav has twice climbed Mount Everest. She is the only woman in the world to do so. She was bom in a society where the birth of a son was regarded as a blessing. Daughter was not welcome. A “holy man’ blessed Santosh’s mother thinking that she wanted a son. But Santosh’s grandmother Haryana as the sixth child. She is a sister to five brothers.
Non-traditional Santosh
She was named ‘Santosh’ meaning contentment. Santosh began living life on her own terms. Other girls wore traditional Indian dresses. But she wore shorts. She said that she was determined to choose a correct path. Others were to change themselves, not she.
Santosh’s great desire for education
Santosh’s parents were rich landowners. They could send her for education to nearby Delhi, the Capital. But they sent her to the village school. Santosh decided to fight the system. When she turned sixteen, she refused to marry. Most of the girls in her village used to get married at that age. She warned her parents that she would never marry if she did not get a proper education.
Santosh in a Delhi school
So she got admission in a school in Delhi. Her parents refused to pay her fees. But she told them that she would work part time to earn money. They agreed to pay for her education.
Goes to college in Jaipur
Santosh passed the high school. She went to Jaipur to join Maharani College. She got a room in Kasturba Hostel. It faced the Aravalli Hills. She used to see the villagers going up the hill and disappearing.
Takes to climbing
One day she decided to check herself why the climbers disappeared. She went there. She found nobody except a few climbers. They encouraged her to take to climbing. Then there was no looking back.