Surviving on Chocolates, Studying with AI: Meet Telangana’s Bal Puraskar Winner

“I was happy that I got a better opportunity to inspire more people.” For him, the award isn’t just about a medal or a certificate. “Getting the Rashtriya Bal Shakti Puraskar will also give you recognition, which will help me reach more people and spread awareness about mountaineering.”

His story begins far from snowy summits. Growing up in Hyderabad, Karthikey was just a kid watching patriotic films, feeling a quiet urge to do something meaningful for the country. That feeling sharpened when his elder sister, Padaganti Vaishnavi, went on a climb to a mountain. “That’s how I got interested in mountaineering. I felt this was also a way to make our nation proud.”

His sister climbed with him on two expeditions, before she moved on to pursue her MBBS. Karthikey stayed with the mountains.

Behind every summit, though, was a routine that began well before sunrise. “My mother used to wake up at 4 am to take me to the gym for me to work out.” Diet, discipline, and mental strength became part of everyday life.

Of all the mountains he has climbed, Mount Everest stands apart. He summited it on May 27, 2025, completing the Seven Summits Challenge. But the climb tested him in ways nothing else had. “It was the lengthiest climb of mine spanning 50 days,” he says. “There was no contact or mobile network.”

The final stretch was brutal. Temperatures dropped to minus 40 degrees, winds were so strong he says he felt like he could fly away, and ladders stretched across deep crevasses. “Many people trembled while crossing it. But I was stable enough.”

Coming down was harder. Fatigue set in, his steps slowed, and the dry air left his throat so parched that he couldn’t speak for a week. “I had blood coughs,” he adds, almost matter-of-factly.

Then came the part that still makes people stare in disbelief. “The last five days, we didn’t have food,” he says. A communication error meant the team had no burners to cook meals. “So I survived on chocolates.”

Water ran out too. “The last three days, we didn’t have water,” he says. “So I survived on Coke.” Two bottles, to be precise. “My saliva became brown in colour. I usually use Coke for a stomach push to get an energy spike, but this time, I had no choice.”

Back home, it was time to focus on academics. “I never touch a book on the mountains. But after returning, I focus completely on studies.” Until Class 10, his school and friends helped him catch up. In Classes 11 and 12, he turned to YouTube and AI.

“I use Perplexity,” he says, explaining how it helped him prepare for his JEE Mains attempt. “It shortlisted important chapters, made an Excel sheet with very important, medium and less important topics, and even created question papers for physics, maths and chemistry.”

AI helped in unexpected ways too. “It helped me prepare a speech too.”

The Bal Puraskar, he believes, has opened new doors. “Getting connections,” he says, smiling. One such connection is with a group called Green Earth Guardians, through which he hopes to learn more about environmental awareness in the mountains. “Many people go to the mountains and spread garbage everywhere. I want to work on that.”

Meeting fellow awardees left a deep impression. “Some of them faced huge hardships. I even met parents of the brave children who were posthumously honoured.”

What’s next? If sponsorship comes through, Mount Lhotse is on the list, followed by Mount Manaslu and perhaps a few 6,000 or 7,000-metre peaks in between, he says, hopefully.

For now, though, Karthikey is still absorbing the moment—of standing on a national stage, of being heard, of knowing that a boy who once survived on chocolates at the top of the world has many more climbs ahead.