University Maharani College, Jaipur Alumni Network

Santosh Yadav, an alumna of University Maharani College became the first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest twice.

University Maharani College, a constituent college of the University of Rajasthan, has been a major centre for female education in the state. Stating that, it is not surprising to see a long list of successful alumnae, who have been representing not just the college but the entire state all around the world, in several different fields. From Modelling to Mountaineering, there is barely any area of activity, where University Maharani College alumnae have not made their presence count. A number of these former students have, on different occasions blessed the college with their presence and enlightened the students while encouraging them to follow their dreams.  

List of Notable Alumnae

Santosh Yadav: Santosh Yadav became the first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest twice and the first woman to climb Mount Everest from Kangshurg Face. She also became the youngest woman to summit Mount Everest, at the age of twenty, however, the record was later broken. According to her, watching mountaineers climb the Aravalli Range from her hostel room at University Maharani College was what inspired her to attend a mountaineering institute in Uttarkashi. Mrs Santosh Yadav was also awarded the National Adventure Award in 1994 and Padma Shri in 2000. 

Sadhika Randhawa: Sadhika Randhawa is an Indian Movie and television actress. Besides Hindi films, Sadhika Randhawa has appeared in regional films like Gujrati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bhojpuri. She has played the lead in female-centric movies like the Punjabi film Simran and Hindi movies Rivaaz, Chand Ke Pare and Bhanwari Ka Jaal.  

Kamla Beniwal: Kamla Beniwal is a politician and the former governor of Gujrat. She was a senior member of the Indian National Congress party. She became the first woman minister in Rajasthan in 1954 at the age of 25. She served as a Minister and Deputy Chief Minister during her time in Rajasthan. Later she continued as the Governor of different Indian states including Tripura, Mizoram and Gujarat between 2009 and 2014. She was the first ever female governor for any northeastern state in India. She was awarded Tamrapatra by the former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, for her contribution in the freedom struggle. She also had a major role in the establishment of the National Institute of Ayurveda and Sanskrit University in Jaipur.  

Shireen Mirza: Shireen Mirza, born and brought up in Jaipur, is an Indian Television Actress. Shireen is most popularly known for her role as the character 'Simmi Bhalla' in the famous Star Plus show 'Ye Hai Mohabbatein'. She has also worked in a Netflix original web series called “Dharamkshetra”. Shireen majored in English and Dramatics from University Maharani College, Jaipur. She is also known for her other works on television such as Dhhai Kilo Prem, 24 and films like Main Nahin Anna, Not Today and Vartamaan. She has also hosted as well as participated as a contestant in several Indian reality shows.  

Old Students' Association (OSA)

Old Students' Association or OSA is an organisation, as the name suggests, consisting of former students of the University Maharani College, Jaipur. The association is created and run by alumnae themselves, to provide a platform for old students to conduct different beneficial activities. There are more than 300 former students of the college, in this association at the moment. The members of the OSA meet at least once every year on August 1, as it is the foundation day of University Maharani College. Elections for the executive of OSA are conducted every 3 years. 

Current Office Bearer of OSA

According to data provided by the college on the official website: 

All the former principals and the present principal of University Maharani College are invited to the annual gathering, where they get to meet and celebrate the foundation day with the members of the OSA. Several games are organized alongside the main cultural event. The annual membership fee for the OSA is INR 100 and for a lifetime membership, the fee is INR 500.

About The Author

Manisha Jethwani is an English major student at the University of Rajasthan, based in Jaipur. Apart from being an active part of the literary society Eclectics and a published writer at People's Reflection live, she is also the winner of IIT Kharagpur's '22 poetry slam competition and Readathon at IEEE Modi University.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha.