Chapter 3 - Journey to the End of the Earth

Journey to the end of the Earth is written by south Indian writer Tishani Doshi. The story narrates the author’s experience at Antarctica- which, according to her, is “the coldest, driest and windiest continent in the world”. She had travelled there as part of the ‘Students on Ice Programme’. This programme aims to take young students to the polar regions and educate them so that they have a better sense of understanding and respect for our planet Earth.

To read more, open Journey to the End of The Earth Class 12, here at UrbanPro.

Summary

According to the author, Antarctica is the place one should visit to have a proper understanding of the Earth’s past, present and future. It makes sense, with Antarctica being the only continent not inhabited by human beings since the beginning of time. Most people visit there for educational and research purposes. Cold and remote- even minute changes in the environment and ecosystem are observable.

We learn from the story that it takes around 100 hours of travel from Madras to Antarctica. The journey includes travelling by car, aeroplane, and ship. The author had to cross nine travel zones, six checkpoints, three water bodies and a large number of ecosystems. When she reached Antarctica, the emotions that ran through her were initially a relief, followed by amazement. She began to ponder over the fact that Antarctica and India were part of the same landmass some million years ago.

Gondwanaland was the name of the vast landmass that existed around 650 million years ago. It was an amalgamated supercontinent centred around modern-day Antarctica. The climate was warmer, and there was no advent of humans during that time. The landmass started to split into separate countries after the extinction of dinosaurs around 500 million years ago. Such a long period has not affected the conditions in Antarctica.

The author also talks about flora and fauna present in Antarctica. She mentions how, due to no human activity, even the smallest subtle differences in behavioural activities can be recorded and observed. It is one of the few places in the world which is still “pure”- unaffected by human industrial development.

One of her memorable incidents as a student of the On-Ice Program was walking over the meter or thick ice-sheets (or landmass) in Antarctica, above the living sea, filled with aquatic forms of life. Boarding down from her ship, the Akademik Shokalsky- she was among the 52 student travellers who had put on protective Goretex gear and walked over the landmass- watching seals stretching on the surface. They were a group of young people elected by the program- for having first-hand awareness of the impact of issues like climate change and global warming on Antarctica- a place with 90% the world’s ice reserves. It is believed that they would spread out and become worldwide proponents and advocates in the battle against climate change.

To know more about this story, refer to Class 12 Journey to the End of the Earth, only at UrbanPro.