Meet the first IPS officer to trek South Pole

Throwback to 2019 when IPS officer Aparna Kumar spelt her journey to the top and how she became the first civil servant to achieve the unthinkable.

Transcript

00:00I got the motivation to climb the world's highest mountains from UP for Advanced Mountaineering course.

00:11All the students who came there were small kids.

00:14I didn't tell anyone that I am an IPS officer.

00:17It would have been embarrassing if I couldn't complete the course.

00:22It would have been a shame if I couldn't complete the course as an IPS officer.

00:30In 2002, I was selected as an IPS officer.

00:49After that, I got an order from Uttar Pradesh.

00:53Uttar Pradesh is a state where it is very challenging to be a police officer.

01:03I am interested in Uttar Pradesh because of my experience in UP.

01:16I came to UP in 2004 and I have been working in every district of UP since 2014.

01:28I think climbing the world's highest mountains is a gift for me.

01:40I got the motivation to climb the world's highest mountains from UP for Advanced Mountaineering course.

01:46I give credit to UP for this.

01:50Yes, training is very important.

01:54In October 2013, I did a basic mountaineering course at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Manali.

02:06If you get an A grade in the basic course, you become eligible for the Advanced Mountaineering course.

02:14I did the Advanced Mountaineering course in June-July 2014.

02:18After that, I started my journey of climbing and mountaineering.

02:24I reached Manali and I saw that all the students who came there were small children.

02:29They were NCC students, college students, and engineering students.

02:33I was one of the oldest candidate students there.

02:40I did not tell anyone that I was an IPS officer.

02:43It was very embarrassing.

02:45If I could not complete the course, it would have been a big deal that I could not complete the course as an IPS officer.

02:55It was very difficult because there were around 120-125 people in the basic mountaineering course.

03:05Every week for 10 days, there were around 20-30 people who could not complete the course due to an injury.

03:14I was also counting my days to see when my turn would come.

03:18I had never seen snow, never done ice climbing, and I had never heard of equipment like ice axe, carabiners, and pittons.

03:28I was very curious and used to wake us up at 5 am.

03:33I was not allowed to go out.

03:38I had become a senior SSP by then.

03:42I had to go to the place where I was commanded and I had to listen to everything.

03:51I had to stand in line like other people in the mess.

03:59I was reminded of a normal student life.

04:03I would like to tell girls and women that we should do something challenging so that we can inspire other girls and women.

04:17So that they can also believe that this life is beautiful and we can make it beautiful.