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                                           Major Ashok Kumar Singh,KC,SM,NAA

                                Born in an  Army family to Colonel Keshari Singh and Mrs Lalita Rani Singh, on 11th August 1954,schooled at the erstwhile Prince of Wales' Royal Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehra Dun;  A post graduate in Engineering from College of Military Engineering (CME) Pune, he has spared few honours and awards since his days at the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune, where he bagged the President's Gold Medal for topping his course and was best sportsman. He was commissioned into the King George the Vth’s own Bengal Sapper and Miners after training at the Indian Military Academy ,Dehra Dun  on 23rd December 1973,where he won the Sword of Honour for being adjudged the overall best Gentleman Cadet of his batch, and  the President's Gold Medal for best academic performance. Selected to represent India for Youth Olympics, at Kiel(Germany) for Yachting  during the Munich Olympics, during his   IInd term in NDA, he later sailed in an 18 footer drop-keel open, day-sailing boat from Bombay to Bandar Abbas(Iran) and back via Karachi in1977,covering 6000 nautical miles. He won several National and International positions in windsurfing as well as small Dinghy racing. He has windsurfed for the Asian, European & Nordic Championships, and the  Asian Games 1980.He enjoys coaching children on the water and was the National Coach for the International Optimist Class for several years. A man of varied interests, he played Polo for several events and he has been Instructor for Hang Gliding at CME from 1980-83.His daring plan to sail round the globe was backed by the Indian Army in 1984.

                                 Despite suffering several disablement rendering him over 100% disabled, he selected and fitted out the then 14 year old "GUINEVERE OF SUSSEX", later re-named "TRISHNA OF INDIA", for the Corp of Engineer's Sapper Adventure Foundation at Southampton on the southern coast of England. He sailed with a six-crew team from the United Kingdom to Bombay, a distance of over 5,000 nautical miles through terrible storms in the Bay of Biscay, prolonged rough weather in the Mediterranean Sea winter and treacherous reefs in the Red Sea. His dream to sail round the world was realized with the successful global circumnavigation by the 37 footer yacht "TRISHNA", when it reached Bombay on 10 Jan 1987, having set sail from there on 28th Sept.1985, covering over 30,000 nautical miles in over 15 months sailing, thereby he established a Word record of being the first physically handicapped Person to sail round the world. In his book "Trishna", Dom Moraes describes AK as "an enigmatic figure"---"a folk hero of sorts--"

                                    He was awarded India's second highest award for gallantry-the Kirti Chakra,  as well as the gallantry award of Sena Medal for showing courage in line of duty. He was also awarded India's highest award for adventure-the President's National Adventure Award in1994.

"YASH BHARTI SAMMAN " The highest Award by UP state -was awarded in March 2016 . 

 AUTHOR OF BOOK-   "BEYOND HORIZONS : Published by Rupa Publications