Premlata Agrawal – Himalayan Paths

Premlata
Agrawal

“Padmashree” & “Tenzing National Adventure Award” Recipient

About her

Mrs. Premlata Agrawal, a native of Darjeeling, got married at the young age of 18 with a forgotten dream to achieve something phenomenal. It was later at the age of 35 that she was exposed to the world of adventure by her mentor, Ms. Bachendri Pal, and soon enough, she grasped the skills of mountaineering and being an adventurer. At the age of 48, Premlata Agarwal achieved her dream of climbing the majestic Mount Everest, becoming the first oldest Indian woman to have done so. From here onwards, there was no stopping for her. “Kar Vijay Har Shikhar” became the mission of her life. She went on to climb the seven highest peaks on all the continents between 2011 to 2013, earning herself the title of the first Indian woman mountaineer to climb the seven summits. Her feats of mountaineering prowess are the stuff of legends as she has braved treacherous terrains and extreme weather conditions to reach the summits of some of the most iconic peaks in the world. Her feats have also got listed in the Limca Book of Records.

Iron strong women of India

Being a true icon in the mountaineering community, Tata Steel retained her in the adventure sports department to further motivate future adventurists. With her unwavering commitment to the sport and unflinching courage, she infused her passion, grit, and determination of being an adventurer and a mountaineer to students, women, and the youth of the country by taking them on multiple treks and expeditions.

Her 20 years of dedication to mountaineering is a testament to the human spirit’s boundless potential for greatness, as she has shown time and again that with grit, determination, and a fierce will to succeed, anything is impossible. This has also won her multiple accolades over the years-

Never too old to chase your dreams

Today, after moving on from Tata Steel and with a heart full of passion and a soul that craves adventure, Padmashree Premlata Agrawal has devoted her life to the pursuit of mountaineering excellence. She has started her institution called Himalayan Paths with the vision of unleashing the untouched potential within the youth and women of our country.

We are sure to be left in awe of her remarkable feats, inspired by her indomitable spirit.

Impact Projects

Mission Ganga

Mission Gange was a month-long expedition led by the legendary Bachendri Pal, Mrs. Premlata Agarwal her mentee was part of the team. The team consisted of 40 self-assured individuals who traveled along the river using rafts and visited 7 different cities on the way, supported by Tata Steel Adventure Foundation and Namami Gange. This expedition aims to raise awareness among locals by cleaning the river and riverfronts and educating people about waste management.

The journey started in the city of temples, Haridwar, and continued down the river through cities such as Haridwar-Bijnor-Kanpur-PrayagRaj-Varanasi-Buxar, ending in Patna, Bihar.

Uttarakhand
flood project

During the Uttarakhand floods in 2013, a team of eight mountaineers, led by Bachendri Pal, used their climbing skills to provide relief to flood-ravaged villages. Mrs. Premlata Agarwal was part of this team. The Tata Relief Trust provided aid to about 400 families in six villages – New Didsari, Didsari, Pilang, Jadaou, Bayana, and Shyaba by partnering with a local charity to provide food and other items.

The access to the villages was the most difficult part of the relief operations as the roads had caved in. The team would travel by vehicles until the roads allowed and then would trekk rest of the way, giving real meaning to their climbing skills. Each morning they would pack at least 20-25 kg of relief items on their backpacks and would trek to the most remote villages without any medical aid in sight.

Thar Desert Expedition

In 2007, TSAF (Tata Steel Adventure Foundation) led an all-Indian Women’s First Desert Safari expedition into the unexplored terrain of the Rann of Kutch, Thar Desert, and Wagah Border in India. The team, comprising 12 diverse women from Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, confidently walked along the sands of Kutch with camels, a mode of transport that was extremely difficult and unruly, but representative of the culture of Gujarat. One of the women from the 12 was Mrs. Premlata Agrawal. The team then ventured to the Thar Desert, followed by the lush greenery of Punjab, where they experienced the rich culture of the region. The journey culminated at Wagah Border, a small village located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, which serves as a transit terminal between India and Pakistan. This expedition proved to the team that no obstacle is impossible. It was an unforgettable journey that taught the team the importance of experiences over the final destination, and will be remembered as one of TSAF’s most adventurous expeditions.