Life was tough for Kundu from a very young age. She lost her father at the age of 12 and along with her mother, sold milk to earn and provide for her two sisters and a brother. Recalling the challenges, she told PTI "He wanted to see me as a top sportsperson. With some support from my mother, I had to take care of my two sisters and brother. It was not easy to come out of the tragedy that had befallen the family, but my father's words gave me encouragement."
Despite all the hardship, she had the desire to do something different.
"My father used to say that whatever be the situation, you have to fight and take it as a challenge. Those words gave me the strength to go forward," she asserted.
Eventually, she developed an interest in adventure sports, though her father wanted her to become a boxer.
In 2008, Kundu joined the police service and expressed her desire to become a mountaineer to her senior officers. She got herself enrolled in advanced mountain climbing courses and underwent rigorous training for it.
"I climbed Mount Everest for the first time in 2013 from the Nepal side. In 2015, I had set out to scale the peak again, but due to an earthquake, had to return midway. In 2017, I scaled Everest from the China side and in 2019, as the leader of an expedition, I again summited Everest," the 33-year-old inspector said.
Kundu, who received the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award two years ago, said she has also scaled peaks in other continents. She was given the award in recognition of her unmatched dedication to land adventure.
President Droupadi Murmu, who was on a two-day visit to Haryana last month, had heaped praise on the daughters of the state for presenting the best examples of women empowerment to the entire country.
(With inputs from PTI)
