The Summit Within
by

About Author
Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia was a member of the first
successful Indian expedition to Mount Everest in
1965. He climbed the Mount Everest on 29 May
1965 along with his friends Rawat and Phu Dorji. In
the Indo- Pakistan war of 1965, he was injured and
confined to a wheelchair.
He is the recipient of several awards like
Padma Bhushan, Arjun Award, the National Award
for the best work done in the field of Disability. He
won the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award
for lifetime achievement on August 29, 2009.
He has written several books like ‘Higher than
Everest, ‘Beyond the Himalayas’ and ‘Everest is
within You’

Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia was born on
6 November 1936 and brought up
in Shimla along with his two sisters
and two younger brothers. His father
was employed as a Civil Engineer in
the Central Public Works Department.

Mountaineering career
 Ahluwalia has also been the President of Indian Mountaineering
Foundation and Delhi Mountaineering Association. He was also the
Chairman of Special Ability Trust (created to assist young achievers
with disabilities with fellowships and scholarships), Youth Exploring
Society (with its chapter in Ireland, West Germany and Italy),
Rehabilitation Council of India (a Statutory Body under the Ministry of
Social Justice & Empowerment), Chairman of Planning Committee of
Persons with Disability of 12-year plan and Chairman of the
Committee of Drafting Country Report.
Expeditions and adventures
 After treatment at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, he continued to pursue his
love for adventure by organising pioneering events such as the first Ski
Expedition to Mt. Trisul, the first Trans-Himalaya Motor Expedition (1983),
and the Central Asia Cultural Expedition (1994) following the Silk & Marco
Polo's Route through Uzbekistan, Kirghistan, Kazaghistan entering China
in Asian City of Kashgar, Yarkhand and returned via Tibet and
Khathmandu.

National Awards
Arjuna Award-1965

MOUNT EVEREST:
HISTORY AND FACTS
 It was first identified by a British survey team
lead by Sir George Everest in 1841.
In 1865, it was named Mount Everest, after Sir
George Everest.
Everest is 29,035 feet or 8848 meters high.
Everest is called Chomolungma in Tibet. It means
mother Goddess of the universe. Everest is called
Sagarmatha in Nepal. It means Goddess of the
sky.
The first woman to summit Everest was Junko
Tabei of Japan in 1975.

Key points
 Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia was a member of the first
successful expedition to Mount Everest in 1965.
 The author H.P.S. Ahluwalia has narrated his
experience of climbing the summit of Everest.
 As the author stood on the summit many emotions
surged through him.
 Of all the emotions, the dominant one was humility.
 Climbing the summit of Everest provides a deep
sense of joy which lasts a lifetime and changes the
climber completely.
 According to the author, there is another summit- the
summit of mind that is more difficult to climb.
 After getting down from the summit, the author
questioned himself as to why people climb
mountains.
 The mountain presents great difficulties.
 Man takes delight in overcoming obstacles.

Summary
‘The Summit Within’ is a story of
experiences of Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia, a
member of the first successful Indian
expedition to Mount Everest. Ahluwalia was
full of humility when he stood on the
summit of Everest. He thanked God for his
physical success. It was the highest of the
goals for him.While getting down from the
Summit he asked himself why he climbed
Everest and what made him to do so. The
people climb mountains because they
present great difficulties. Man takes delight
in overcoming obstacles. A climb to a
summit means the demonstration of
climber’s endurance, Persistence and will
power. Since childhood, the narrator has
been attracted by mountains.

For him mountains are nature at its best. They have a
challenging beauty and majesty. They are a means of
communion with God.Everest is the highest and the
mightiest and has defied many previous attempts. On
climbing its summit, one has the sense of victory and of
happiness. Its view brings a spiritual change in his mind.
It poses a challenge before him which was difficult to
resist. One feels connected with the supernatural
element on reaching the Summit. One becomes
conscious of his own smallness in this large Universe. It
provides physical, emotional and spiritual fulfilment.
Climbing a mountain is a highly risky job and needs
others’ help also. The fellow climbers prove to be a
source of inspiration. They remember their Gods to feel
confident. It is far more difficult to climb the summit
within oneself than to climb the summit of a mountain.
One can get a fuller knowledge of oneself merely by
climbing one’s personal and internal mountain peak.

MADE BY – Deepak upadhyay