But the human spirit refuses to be cowed down before tragedies and calamities of any magnitude, though we cannot perhaps prevent them from happening to us, or from leaving their marks on our bodies and minds. History unfolds before us hundreds of such stories of human courage, determination and bravery.

The Teenager Today brings you, this month, one such unparalleled story of a courageous young girl (born on July 20, 1989), Arunima Sinha from Uttar Pradesh, who has shown the world that most tragedies can be turned into blessings, and disabilities, inborn or otherwise, can be turned into abilities. All what is needed, she says, is “a strong will-power and the determination to go on despite the obstacles we face on our way.”

It was April 11, 2011. Arunima, then a volleyball player of national stature, was travelling from Lucknow to New Delhi by Padmavati Express for an interview called by the Indian Army. Halfway through the journey, robbers entered the train and attacked the passengers. Their eyes fell on the necklace Arunima wore, and they tried to snatch it from her. She resisted, but they overpowered her and pushed her out of the running train. She fell onto the adjacent track, and before she could even breathe, an incoming train ran over her and crushed her left leg. The doctors had to amputate it to save her life, and gave her a set of crutches to walk on for life, which ended her dreams of an Army job and a possible volleyball captaincy!

But Arunima was not prepared to give up. Remaining in her hospital bed she began dreaming of climbing Everest, the highest Himalayan peak. Once out of the hospital, much against the advice of her doctors, she put aside her crutches and began to walk free in pursuance of her new dream, which came true on May 12, 2013, when she reached Everest, becoming the first Indian amputee to climb Mount Everest!

There is so much more to the Arunima story; do turn to page 12, and convince yourself that nothing is impossible for the one with a steely determination and indomitable courage!

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Meet Arunima Sinha, the mountaineer whose determination can only be gauged as higher than Mount Everest. Her hair-raising story is not just a story of determination of the highest level but one of a sublime level which may serve as an inspiration for all and yet may be impossible to emulate.

Determination must have been in her blood as Arunima was born in the family of an Army engineer on 20 July 1989. I guess her early life must have been one of hardships and struggles as she lost her father at a very young age, and the family consisted of four children. Being a resident of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Arunima had her schooling in the Government Girls’ Inter College of her hometown. Her hobbies were gardening, sketching, yoga, travelling and listening to music. She also liked football, while distinguishing herself as a national level volleyball player. She has participated in the Nationals, seven times.

Aspiring to join one of the para-military forces, on 12 April 2011, Arunima Sinha boarded the Padmavati Express on her way to Delhi to appear for her CISF examination. Little did she then know that her life was about to take a turn for something that neither she nor anyone could have ever foreseen. A gang of robbers tried to rob the passengers of the General Compartment in which Arunima was travelling. Arunima resisted when the hooligans tried to snatch her necklace but she was outnumbered and was pushed out of the train. She fell on the rail tracks and was unable to move and all that she remembers is that another train on the adjoining track ran over her left leg. She recalls: “I resisted the robbers, but they pushed me out of the train. I could not move. I only remember another train coming towards me. I tried getting up. But by then, the train had run over my leg. I don’t remember anything after that.”

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