Story of a young girl who showed possibilities

Poorna Malavath, the 13-year-old who climbed the Everest back in 2014 has been the youngest person to have ever done so. Her story is truly an inspiration to the young and old alike.

Aparna Thota, a well-known social worker and activist has brought Poorna's story to life, on paper in collaboration with Prism Publishers. A project that started in October of 2017 and took about 20 months to finish, the book 'Poorna' was released on July 25.

Thota says that her research for the book was as extensive as it would be, for any of the social projects she takes up. She travelled boundlessly and spoke to about 40 people in personal interviews to get the whole picture. She says that writing a biopic is vastly different from writing fiction because one does not have the same creative liberties in this case - staying authentic and true to the subject is of utmost importance, irrespective of personal opinions.

As a part of the research for the book, Thota says she spent months reading up on the geography, social and economic culture of rural India. She also states that she realised how mountaineering is a complicated profession and takes a significantly long time to master.

As she begins her career as an independent writer, Aparna stays grounded by delving into Telugu literature. One of her favourite books is Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone With The Wind'. "Classics are always magical and there's a humbling effect they have on you when you realise that we humans have emotional been the same, although time and tide change everything around us," she says.

This biography, rich in cultural heritage and the technicalities of mountaineering elucidates the social construct of underprivileged societies in our country while giving us a glance into Malavath's personal life, her tenacious nature, the people that supported her along the way and all the gruelling hours she spent to make her dreams come true.