Reach for the Top Class 9 Short Summary & Explanation in English

Santosh Yadav

Introduction

A village girl’s urge to do something had to collide with the stereotypes of a society. Who would win; the girl or the society? Read the whole summary to find out. 

An Unbreakable Will

Santosh Yadav, the woman who scaled Mt Everest twice, was born in a society where sons were preferred over daughters. She was born in Joniyawas, Haryana. A traveling holy man gave her his blessings. She had five brothers.

The literal meaning of Santosh’s name was contentment, but she was not entirely content with her place in society. She wanted to live her life in her way. Her parents were rich enough to send her to schools in New Delhi, but she had to study in the local village school. At the age of sixteen, most of the girls would get married in her village. She had been under constant pressure from her parents to get married.

The Bargain of her Life

She told her parents that she would marry after she was given better education. She got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi. She decided to earn money herself to pay for her education.

After passing high school, she joined Maharani College and got a room in Kasturba Hostel. Her hostel had a view of the Aravalli Hills. She used to watch the villagers climb the hill. She had this urge to climb the mountain.

A Self-made Woman

 She saved money and enrolled herself at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. After completing her semester, she went to the institute instead of home. Her skills developed significantly. At the tender age of twenty, she became the youngest woman to scale Mt Everest.

The Urge to Climb

She was a sought-after climber by fellow mountaineers and gave special care to a climber who had some problems. She saved Mohan Singh (a fellow climber) by sharing her oxygen cylinder. She scaled Mt Everest twice and was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian Government. She also collected and brought down 500 Kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.


Maria Sharapova

Introduction

A child Prodigy, Maria had to stay away from her mother to train herself. Read the summary to find out her success mantra.

The Train to the United States

On August 22, 2005, Maria Sharapova became the number one player in Women’s tennis. She just took four years in her professional career to achieve such a feat. However, such a prestigious position also came with nine years of constant hard work and struggle.

She was only nine when she was sent to a coaching institute in the United States. She also had to stay away from her mother for two years due to the latter’s visa restrictions. She missed her mom while being in the States. 

Dream over Money

Maria Sharapova was very determined. She knew that she had to endure such pain and misery to become a top star of her game. This determination led her to grab the Women’s Single Crown at Wimbledon in 2004. Her mantra for success is competitiveness and hard work.

Though she had trained in the United States, she considers Russia as his own country. She would love to represent Russia in the Olympics. She loved to read the novels of Arthur Conan Doyle. For her, money may be the motivation, but the dream of becoming successful kept her going.