Madhya Pradesh’s Daughter Megha Parmar Became The First Woman From The State To Climb Mount Everest

05:00 am, May 22, 2019 was the historic time and date when Megha Parmar climbed the mighty Mount Everest and became the first woman from Madhya Pradesh to do so. Here’s her story. By Kumar Shree 

Meghna is the daughter of a lower-middle-class farmer hailing from the Bhoj Nagar village in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh. Her successful climb over the highest and the most daunting mountain peak in the world at 8,848 m has made not only her village and state, but the entire country proud. A news report in one of the local newspapers about two boys from Madhya Pradesh climbing the Mount Everest inspired her for taking on the challenge. The fact that no woman from her state had ever achieved the feat further motivated her.

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She underwent her basic mountaineering training at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering, and further went ahead to join The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling for advanced training. Being a woman trying to achieve something that generally only men are associated with, Megha had to face flaks from her villagers and neighbours; however, her family stood tight with her and pushed her to achieve her goal.

Her father even sold their farming land and requested donations from the villagers to acquire the sponsorship fee of 25 lakh required for taking on the Mount Everest. All this went in vain as Megha could not scale the summit in 2018, which was her first attempt. The downfall took toll on Megha’s mental and physical health, and the criticism from the villagers made matters even worse.

Megha did not lose hope though, and she trained again; this time with much higher determination, dedication, discipline, and focus. Her struggle, strength, determination, and the support of her family, all proved worthwhile, when Meghna Parmar, a girl from Madhya Pradesh, India, reached the top of Mount Everest and waved the Indian flag there. She truly made the entire country proud.

Related: Meet Entrepreneur Aditya Gupta Who Scaled Mt. Everest At Age 50!