India's first father-daughter duo to scale Everest has a special message on girl child

Kathmandu (Nepal): Ajeet Bajaj and Deeya Bajaj, India's first father-daughter duo to conquer Mount Everest, have recently returned back to Nepal's capital here with a special message about girl child.

The 53-year-old Ajeet advised parents that they should love girl child and allow them to follow their dreams.

"The girl child is very-very special, take care of them, look after them, love them, and let them follow their dreams," Ajeet told ANI after meeting the Indian ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri in the embassy here.

The father-daughter, who made atop of the world's highest peak from the Tibetan side on May 16 and came back to the Nepali capital on Saturday, were welcomed by Puri in the embassy on Sunday.

His daughter, Deeya, is nothing but grateful to have parents with such outlook.

"I am very lucky to have parents who always have supported me in everything I do. I think girls in India aren't often given the same opportunities as boys and especially in something like adventure tourism," the 24-year-old Deeya said.

Deeya, who had also skied across the Greenland Ice along with his father, also said the adventure sports should not be considered a boy's or man's field and thanked her parents for standing behind her in her pursuance of such adrenaline-gushing adventure activities.

"I am very very excited and lucky to have been given those opportunities," Deeya, who made to the top about 15 minutes before her father while scaling the highest peak.

Deeya reached the summit at 4:30 am on May 16 and her father caught her about 15 minutes later after fixing an oxygen mask-related problem.

The father-daughter duo has always been adventure enthusiasts and had previously made various records.

The 53-year-old Ajeet, a Padma Shree Awardee, is the first Indian to have skied to the North Pole, the South Pole and across the Greenland Ice Cap.