They defied age to follow dreams

GURGAON: While kids their age are busy attending summer camps, young achievers in Gurgaon have gone a step ahead to pursue their hobbies.
Seventeen-year-old skier Diya Bajaj, who has just returned from an expedition in Greenland, is already planning her next trek in the Himalayas. A passionate trekker, Diya was introduced to skiing at a very early age.
I remember going to Rishikesh and Mussourie as a child with my father on simple trek routes. Gradually, I developed an interest in outdoor sports and learnt skiing, Bajaj said. She has traveled 600 km across the east and west coasts of Greenland over a span of 20 days. Bajaj used to ski 30 km on ice every day, enduring a temperature of minus-40 degrees. We would ski for eight hours everyday, she said.
Locals told her of that the temperature has risen by over 40 degrees F in the last decade. I was surprised to find mosquitoes on the coasts of Greenland. It is a different thing to read about it, but when you actually see the ground reality, you cant look away from it, she added.
Upon her return, Bajaj auctioned every kilometre she skied to fellow students in The Sri Ram School to raise money for building a girls orphanage in Hardwar. My friends had always been very encouraging and they wanted to help me with whatever they could, she said.
For Mansi Hitesh, a 13-year-old author of over 170 poems and a student of DPS Gurgaon, poetry is as important as science tuitions. I wrote my first poem at the age of 10 and it was a letter to God, said Hitesh, who aspires to be a lawyer but claims that she would never let go of her poetry.
She reads more short stories and novels than poems, and draws inspiration from her surroundings. I look at relationships, family, pets and even inanimate objects around for inspiration. At present, Im reading Battle for Bittora by Anuja Chouhan, she added.
Parents play a very important part in nurturing the childrens interests at this age, and therefore Jasdeep Hitesh, Mansis mother, has been constantly working towards her daughters growth as a poet.
Mansi displayed a keen interest in literature very early in life. When I realized that she loved reading, I encouraged her to write along, and she surprised me by creating these beautiful poems. I encouraged her to participate in school activities where she could use her writing skills, and shes been faring very well, said Jasdeep.