Willpower requires the tenacity to resist and the power of a resolved mind, and Anushree from Jhargram, West Bengal, seems to be proving this. Despite being visually impaired, she has had a successful trail in mountaineering. This Republic Day, she was honoured with a special award for rock climbing by the Jhargram District Magistrate Rani A Ayesha.
Currently, in her final year of B.A. in Bengali (under the Netaji Subhash Open University), Anushree resides in Ward No. 11 of Old Jhargram. Anushree has been visually challenged from childhood, hence, high-powered glasses have always been her best friends. Right after her High School Pre-Test exams, she lost her eyesight completely. A number of doctors were consulted, eventually, Anushree was diagnosed with a rare opthalmic disease.
Her mother Anumita says, “Doctors said that the retina in her eye has a black spot which is an uncommon condition, seen only in one out of one lakh people. Yet, she can figure out the difference between brightness and darkness”.
Anushree, with her family’s support, did not allow this condition to hinder her studies or extra-curricular activities. She secured the first position in the recent Youth Festival in Jhargram in the Folk Song segment.
During a trip to Purulia this January, Anushree participated in a ‘Basic Rock Climbing Course’ from January 11-14. In this 4-day training, she learnt all the basics of mountaineering – setting up of self kitchen, use of safety belt, rock climbing techniques, rescue works, methods of tieing ropes etc. Now, she aspires to be a mountaineer in future.
In her ambitious words, “The next levels of training are yet to be finished. Earlier, I used to see mountains from a distance, but never thought of climbing them. My interest in mountaineering increased after touching them for the first time. In future I’ll try to win over the hills”.
