Anand Mahindra quotes 'Sound of Music', lauds youngest female to summit 7 highest peaks

Anand Mahindra congratulated Kaamya Karthikeyan on her world-beating accomplishments.

Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra Group, recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to commend 17-year-old Kaamya Karthikeyan for her extraordinary mountaineering achievements. In his post, Mahindra drew inspiration from the musical "The Sound of Music," quoting:​

"Climb every mountain
Search high and low
Follow every highway
Every path you know
Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every rainbow
'Till you find your dream"​

He continued by congratulating Karthikeyan on her world-beating accomplishments, expressing immense pride. Mahindra also extended his admiration to her parents, highlighting their support for their daughter's ambitions:​ "But I also have to express my admiration for your parents. Because, as you so eloquently expressed, they were the ones who did not dismiss what most parents would see as a child's impractical whim."​

He further emphasised the importance of nurturing a child's own desires and ambitions:​ "What we can learn from them is that the way to make a child achieve great things is not through relentless pressure, but through quietly encouraging & facilitating children's OWN desires and ambitions 'until they find their dream.'"

Never thought I would quote a song from something as clichd as the musical The Sound of Music, but its what came into my head when I saw this video about the extraordinary story of Kaamya Karthikeyan.Climb every mountainSearch high and lowFollow every highwayEvery path pic.twitter.com/t4kqLiinLh
anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 22, 2025

Kaamya Karthikeyan, a Class 12 student at Navy Children School in Mumbai, has made history by becoming the youngest female to scale the highest peaks on all seven continents. Her mountaineering journey began at the age of seven, and by 16, she had summited Mount Everest. Her recent accomplishment was reaching the summit of Mount Vinson in Antarctica on December 24, 2024, completing the Seven Summits Challenge. ​

While accepting the Future Female Forward award, Kaarthikeyan revealed that her interest in mountains began when she was only three-years-old. She credited her parents for their unwavering support and encouragement, allowing her to pursue her passion from a young age. Her father, Commander S Karthikeyan, accompanied her on several expeditions, including the recent Antarctic climb. ​