Santosh Yadav

Thinking about the Text

I. Answer these questions in one or two sentences each. (The paragraph numbers within brackets provide clues to the answers.)

Question 1. Why was the ‘holy man’ who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings surprised? (1)

Answer: The ‘holy man’ who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings was surprised because the unborn child’s grandmother, who was standing close by, told him that they wanted a daughter, contrary to the fact that the birth of a son was regarded as a blessing in their society.

Question 2. Give an example to show that even as a young girl, Santosh was not ready to accept anything unreasonable. (2)

Answer: Following are the examples that show that Santosh as a young girl was not ready to was not ready to accept anything unreasonable.

i. Santosh was not content with her place in the traditional way of life, and so she began living life on her own terms from the start.

ii. While other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred to wear shorts.

Question 3. Why was Santosh sent to the local school? (3)

Answer: Santosh was sent to the local village school because of the prevailing custom in the family although her parents were affluent landowners who could afford to send their children to the best schools, even to the country’s capital ,New Delhi.

Question 4. When did she leave home for Delhi, and why? (4)

Answer: She left home for Delhi and got herself enrolled in a school there when she was under pressure of getting married. She also threatened her parents that she would never marry if she didn’t get a proper education.

Question 5. Why did Santosh’s parents agree to pay for her schooling in Delhi? What mental qualities of Santosh are brought to light by this incident? (4)

Answer: Santosh’s parents agreed to pay for her schooling in Delhi when she politely informed them of her plans to earn money by working part-time to pay her school fees.

This incident shows that Santosh was a girl of firm determination.

II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words)

Question 1. How did Santosh begin to climb mountains?

Answer: Santosh began to climb mountains just after she joined Maharani College and got a room in Kasturba Hostel, which faced Aravalli hills. She used to watch villagers from her room, going up the hill and suddenly vanishing after a while. So she decided to check it out herself. She asked the villagers if she could join them. They answered in the affirmative and motivated her to take climbing.

Question 2. What incidents during the Everest expedition show Santosh’s concern for her team-mates?

Answer: The first incident that shows Santosh’s concern for her team-mates is that she provided special care to a climber who lay dying at South col during the 1992 Everest mission.

In the second incident, she was able to save another climber, Mohan Singh, who would have died if she had not shared her oxygen with him.

Question 3. What shows her concern for the environment?

Answer: Santosh collected and brought down 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas on her way back from the 1992 Everest expedition. This shows her concern for the environment.

Question 4. How does she describe her feelings at the summit of Everest?

Answer: Describing her feelings at the summit of the Everest, she says that it was a spiritual moment for her; that she felt proud as an Indian, as she unfurled the Indian tricolour and held it up high on the roof of the world; and that it took some time to realise that great moment.

She describes the feeling aroused by watching the Indian flag flying on the top of the world as indescribable.

Question 5. Santosh Yadav got into the record books both times she scaled Mt Everest. What were the reasons for this?

Answer: The two reasons for Santosh Yadav's name being included in the record book were :

i. After climbing the Everest only at the age of 20, she became the youngest woman in the world to achieve the feat.

ii. The second time, she set the record as the only woman to have scaled the Everest twice.