Mulund Climber Saanika Shah Summits Mount Everest and Performs Dance at Base Camp

A 22-year-old climber from Mulund, Mumbai, successfully summited Mount Everest on May 20 after performing a traditional Bharatanatyam dance at the Everest Base Camp. Saanika Shah, a film school graduate who has trained in the classical dance form since the age of four, reached the 8,848.86-meter peak following years of rigorous physical preparation.

Before making her final summit push, Shah performed the dance at an altitude of over 5,300 meters. Despite the freezing winds and thin air that make even walking difficult, she donned a blue costume, gajra, and temple jewellery to perform on a mat laid out on the uneven, snowy ground. Shah described the performance as an emotional and spiritual offering to Sagarmatha, the Nepali name for the mountain.

Shah, an alumnus of Whistling Woods International, first manifested her dream of climbing Everest when she was 17 years old, writing the goal down in her journal. Her interest in mountaineering was sparked during the 2020 lockdown after she watched the 2015 film "Everest."

To prepare for the grueling climb, Shah balanced her film school studies, acting, and dance rehearsals with intense physical training. She woke up at 3 a.m. on Sundays to train, which included sprinting up staircases and hauling herself up hills in the Western Ghats. She trained under Parth Upadhyaya, a mountain fitness coach who previously summited Everest from the Tibet side in 2019.

The expedition was funded by Shah's parents and cost well over Rs 50 lakh, a price that rose after Nepal increased its Everest permit fees. During her final climb, Shah had to navigate a traffic jam of climbers near the peak. Despite the obstacle, she successfully reached the summit, where she planted a flag and took selfies to mark the milestone.