Before you read

1 Before you readMajor Ahluwalia was a member of the firstsuccessful Indian expedition to Mount Everest in did he feel when he stood on the highest point inthe world? Let us hear his story in his words climbing the summit and, then, the more difficult taskof climbing the summit all the emotions which surged through me as I stoodon the summit of Everest, looking over miles ofpanorama below us, the dominant one I think washumility. The physical in me seemed to say, ThankGod, it s all over! However, instead of being jubilant,there was a tinge of sadness. Was it because I had alreadydone the ultimate in climbing and there would benothing higher to climb and all roads hereafter wouldlead down?By climbing the summit of Everest you areoverwhelmed by a deep sense of joy and is a joy which lasts a lifetime. The experience changesyou completely.

2 The man who has been to the mountainsis never the same I look back at life after climbing Everest I cannothelp remarking about the other summit the summitof the mind no less formidable and no easier to :arosesuddenly andintenselypanorama:view of a wideareajubilant:very happybecause ofsuccesstinge:trace/shade2022-23 Honeydew7676767676 Even when getting down from the summit, once thephysical exhaustion had gone, I began asking myselfthe question why I had climbed Everest. Why did theact of reaching the summit have such a hold on myimagination? It was already a thing of the past,something done yesterday. With every passing day, itwould become more remote. And then what wouldremain? Would my memories fade slowly away?A ll these thoughts led me to question myself asto why people climb mountains. It is not easy toanswer the question. The simplest answer wouldbe, as others have said, Because it is there.

3 Itpresents great difficulties. Man takes delight inovercoming obstacles. The obstacles in climbing amountain are physical. A climb to a summit meansendurance, persistence and will power. Thedemonstration of these physical qualities is no doubtexhilarating, as it was for me have a more personal answer to the question. Frommy childhood I have been attracted by mountains. Ihad been miserable, lost, when away from mountains,in the plains. Mountains are nature at its best. Theirbeauty and majesty pose a great challenge, and likemany, I believe that mountains are a means ofcommunion with having granted this, the question remains: WhyEverest? Because it is the highest, the mightiest andhas defied many previous attempts. It takes the lastounce of one s energy. It is a brutal struggle with rockand ice. Once taken up, it cannot be given up halfwayeven when one s life is at stake.

4 The passage back is asdifficult as the passage onwards. And then, when thesummit is climbed, there is the exhilaration, the joy ofhaving done something, the sense of a battle foughtand won. There is a feeling of victory and of a peak in the distance, I get transportedto another world. I experience a change within myselfexhaustion:fatigue;tirednessexhila rating:very excitingcommunion:state or feelingof close rela-tionshipdefied:frustrated;resisted2 022-23 The Summit Within7777777777which can only be called mystical. By its beauty,aloofness, might, ruggedness, and the difficultiesencountered on the way, the peak draws me to it asEverest did. It is a challenge that is difficult to back I find that I have notyet fully explained why I climbedEverest. It is like answering a questionwhy you breathe. Why do you help yourneighbour? Why do you want to do goodacts? There is no final answer nd then there is the fact that Everestis not just a physical climb.

5 The man whohas been to the mountain-top becomesconscious in a special manner of his ownsmallness in this large physical conquest of a mountainis only one part of the is more to it than that. It isfollowed by a sense of fulfilment. Thereis the satisfaction of a deep urge to riseabove one s surroundings. It is theeternal love for adventure in man. The experience is notmerely physical. It is emotional. It is a typical climb, towards the summit on thelast heights. You are sharing a rope with anotherclimber. You firm in. He cuts the steps in the hard he belays and you inch your way up. The climb isgrim. You strain every nerve as you take every climbers have left records of the help given byothers. They have also recorded how they needed justthat help. Else they might have given up. Breathing isdifficult. You curse yourself for having let yourself in forthis.

6 You wonder why you ever undertook the are moments when you feel like going back. Itwould be sheer relief to go down, instead of up. Butalmost at once you snap out of that mood. There issomething in you that does not let you give up themystical:spiritualascent:climbfirm in:make yourselffirmbelays:fixes a rope2022-23 Honeydew7878787878struggle. And you go on. Your companion keeps up withyou. Just another fifty feet. Or a hundred, maybe. Youask yourself: Is there no end? You look at yourcompanion and he looks at you. You draw inspirationfrom each other. And then, without first being aware ofit, you are at the round from the summit you tell yourselfthat it was worthwhile. Other silvery peaks appearthrough the clouds. If you are lucky the sun may be onthem. The surrounding peaks look like a jewellednecklace around the neck of your summit.

7 Below, yousee vast valleys sloping into the distance. It is anennobling, enriching experience to just look down fromthe summit of a mountain. You bow down and makeyour obeisance to whichever God you left on Everest a picture of Guru Nanak. Rawat lefta picture of Goddess Durga. Phu Dorji left a relic of theBuddha. Edmund Hillary had buried a cross under acairn (a heap of rocks and stones) in the snow. Theseare not symbols of conquest but of experience of havingclimbed to the summitchanges you is is within yourself. It is inyour own mind. Each mancarries within himself hisown mountain peak. Hemust climb it to reach to afuller knowledge of is fearful, and cannot be climbed byanyone else. You yourselfhave to do it. The physicalact of climbing to thesummit of a mountainThe author and Phu-Dorji on thesummit of Mount Everestmake yourobeisance:show yourobedience orsubmission2022-23 The Summit Within7979797979outside is akin to the act of climbing the mountainwithin.

8 The effects of both the climbs are the the mountain you climb is physical oremotional and spiritual, the climb will certainly changeyou. It teaches you much about the world and venture to think that my experience as an Everesterhas provided me with the inspiration to face life s ordealsresolutely. Climbing the mountain was a worthwhileexperience. The conquest of the internal summit isequally worthwhile. The internal summits are, perhaps,higher than AHLUWALIAC omprehension on Everest, the writer was(i)overjoyed.(ii)very sad.(iii)jubilant and the right emotion that gripped him was one of(i)victory over hurdles.(ii)humility and a sense of smallness.(iii)greatness and self importance.(iv)joy of the right The summit of the mind refers to(i)great intellectual achievements.(ii)the process of maturing mentally and spiritually.(iii)overcoming personal ambition for common welfare.

9 (iv)living in the world of thought and imagination.(v)the triumph of mind over worldly pleasures for a noble cause.(vi)a fuller knowledge of the item(s) not :painfulexperiencesresolutely:withdeterm inationor the following questions.(i)What are the three qualities that played a major role in the author sclimb?(ii)Why is adventure, which is risky, also pleasurable?(iii)What was it about Mount Everest that the author found irresistible?(iv)One does not do it (climb a high peak) for fame alone. What does one doit for, really?(v) He becomes conscious in a special manner of his own smallness inthis large universe. This awareness defines an emotion mentioned inthe first paragraph. Which is the emotion?(vi)What were the symbols of reverence left by members of the team onEverest?(vii)What, according to the writer, did his experience as an Everester teachhim? a sentence against each of the following statements.

10 Your sentenceshould explain the statement. You can pick out sentences from the text andrewrite them. The first one has been done for you.(i)The experience changes you who has been to the mountains is never the same again.(ii)Man takes delight in overcoming (iii)Mountains are nature at its (iv)The going was difficult but the after-effects were (v)The physical conquest of a mountain is really a Summit at the italicised phrases and their meanings given in are nature(nature s best form and appearance)at its life is at risk.(in danger; you run the risk of losingyour life.)He was at his(it was his best/worst performance.)best/worst in thelast in the blanks in the following dialogues choosing suitable phrasesfrom those given in the handat onceat allat a low ebbat first sight(i)Teacher: You were away from school without permission. Go to theprincipal _____ and submit your : Yes, Madam.