- Tania Haldar
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
MY FIRST HPR FEATURE - FROM 2014 In Collaboration with HT Correspondent Debjeet Kundu
HPR FEATURE : CHHANDA GAYEN
A Dream Her Family Carried With Her…
Born in Kolkata, Chhanda Gayen was not meant—by circumstance—to become a mountaineer.
There were no mountains in her backyard. No roadmap. No financial cushion waiting to support a dream that, for most, would already feel out of reach.
But what she did have… was belief. And a family that chose to believe with her.
When Chhanda first began her journey into mountaineering, the costs were staggering—nearly $60,000 USD just to attempt her early climbs. For many, that number alone would have ended the dream before it even began. But her parents refused to let it end there.
Her mother sold her jewellery—piece by piece, letting go of what little she had—so her daughter could climb higher than she ever could. That kind of love doesn’t just support a dream.
It becomes the foundation of it.
The Girl Who Carried More Than Her Own Weight…
When I spoke to Chhanda, what stood out wasn’t just her achievements—it was her humility.
She didn’t speak like someone chasing records. She spoke like someone carrying responsibility.
For her family.For every young girl told “this isn’t for you.”For every dream that needed proof it could exist. She trained relentlessly, often relying on sponsorships, often navigating uncertainty—but never losing sight of why she started.
And step by step, climb by climb—she rose.
When One Summit Isn’t Enough…
In 2013, Chhanda stood at the top of the world—summiting Mount Everest. For many, that would have been the destination. For her, it was just the beginning. Within 22 hours, she went on to summit Lhotse—pushing her body and spirit beyond what most could comprehend.
It wasn’t about proving something to the world.
It was about answering something within herself.
A Spirit That Chose to Go Further…
In 2014, Chhanda returned to the Himalayas—this time to summit Kangchenjunga, one of the most dangerous peaks on Earth.
She made it.
She stood there—at yet another summit most will never see. And still… she chose to go further.
Toward Yalung Kang. Because that was who she was. Not someone who stopped at success—but someone who kept climbing toward possibility.
An Ending… That Became an Echo
It was during that final ascent that an avalanche struck. And Chhanda Gayen never came back.
But some lives do not end where we lose them. They continue—in the places they loved the most.
In the mountains she climbed, there is now something more than silence.
There is memory.There is courage.
There is her.
You Made a Nation Dream…
Chhanda, you made India proud.
But more than that—you made young girls believe.
You showed them that where you come from does not define how far you can go. That even the highest peaks are not out of reach when your spirit refuses to stay grounded.
Your journey did not end on that mountain.
It lives on—in every dream that dares to rise higher because of you.
And somewhere, in the stillness of those Himalayan peaks—
we hear your echoes.
The Power of a Dream That Refuses to Stop…
What does it take to keep going when everything says you shouldn’t?
What does it mean to carry not just your own dream—but the sacrifices of those who believed in you?
Chhanda’s story reminds us: Greatness is never achieved alone.
It is built—on love, on sacrifice, on quiet acts of belief that the world may never see.
And sometimes… the most powerful lives are not the longest— but the ones that move us to live more boldly because they existed.
Thank You…Thank you, Chhanda Gayen.
For your courage. For your humility. For carrying your family’s sacrifice to the highest places on Earth—and turning it into something the world will never forget.
You have helped us believe a little more deeply, dream a little more fearlessly, and look at our own mountains a little differently.
You are a real hero, in every way.
Inspired by Chhanda’s story? Share this story and pass on the hope.
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