JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE EARTH

~Tishani Doshi
 Index
The journey to the end of the Earth!

6.Summary
4. Human Impact
2. Before you read

1. About the Author 3. part of history

5. walk on the ocean

~ L@xm! S!lv! H@rsh@l

bit about the author…..
Tishani doshi is an Indian poet, journalist and dancer.
She has published 6 books of poetry and fiction. Her
essays poems and short stories have been widely
appreciated. Tishani’s debut novel “the pleasure seekers”
was shortlisted for the Hindu Literary Prize. Her passion
for dance made her lead dancer in the Chanderlekha
troupe and toured many countries performing on stages.
She had travelled a lot and her most exciting travels
include travel to Antarctica, Italy, Bhuan,Ethiopia,
Mexico and Tanzania. she currently contributes to an
interview series for the Hindu and Open Magazine.
Let’s
 At 14.0 million square km, about 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice
that averages at least 1.6 kilometres in thickness. Antarctica, on
average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the
highest average elevation of all the continents.
There are no permanent human residents, but anywhere from 1,000
to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations
scattered across the continent.Only cold-adapted plants and
animals survive there, including penguins, seals, nematodes,
tardigrades, mites, many types of algae and other microorganisms,
and tundra vegetation.
Antarctica has no government, although various countries claim
sovereignty in certain regions. While a few of these countries have
mutually recognised each other's claims, the validity of these claims
is generally not recognised universally
New claims on Antarctica have been suspended since 1959 and the
continent is considered politically neutral. Its political status is
regulated by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and other related agreements,
collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System.The Protocol on
Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed October
4, 1991 and entered into force January 14, 1998.This agreement
prevents development and provides for the protection of the
Antarctic environment through five specific annexes on marine
pollution, fauna and flora, environmental impact assessments,
waste management, and protected areas.
It prohibits all activities relating to mineral resources except
scientific.
A sixth annex — on liability arising from environmental
emergencies was adopted in 2005 but is yet to enter into force.
From the text
 the explanation
The writer Tishani Doshi is on a ship i.e a Russian research vessel - "the

Akademik Shokalskiy". She is on her journey to the coldest, driest and

the windiest continent of the world : Antarctica. It's a long journey and she
has travelled over 100 hours in a combination of car, aeroplane and then the ship.

She had started her journey from 13.09° N of equator in Madras and from then she had come
across 9 time zones, 6 checkpoints, 3 water bodies, namely indian ocean, Pacific Ocean and
the Atlantic Ocean (together called the Southern Ocean).

After such a long journey she got a relief on getting onto the expansive, white landscape and
the blue horizon of Antarctica. The relief was followed by a profound wonder, suprise at its
immensity and isolation.
 the jargons
● Aboard - on a board like ship, train ,etc.
● Akademik Shokalskiy - is an Akademik
Shuleykin-class ice-strengthened ship, built in
Finland in 1982 and originally used for
oceanographic research.
● checkpoints - place where the people or vehicles are
to be checked.
● Ecosphere - biosphere where interaction between
living or non-living is emphasized
● Profound wonder - an emotion very great or intense.
To a bit of history….
 The explanaion
Gondwana started seperating out into what we know today

The narrator takes the reader back to six hundred

and fifty million years. At that time, Antarctica was a
part of a giant amalgamated Southern supercontinent
called Gondwana. At that time humans had not
arrived. The climate was warm and there was a huge
variety of flora and fauna. For around 500 million
years Gondwana existed. Eventually the landmass
broke up and was forced to separate into countries.
This shaped our present globe.
The narrator’s story
Belonging to a relatively warm country, the narrator who is a South Indian
is shocked to be in place where 90% of the Earth's total ice volumes are stored!
She feels she's walking into a giant ping-pong ball. There is no human life
there and nothing to show that human life exists on this planet. She is
surrounded by midges, mites, blue whales and limitless expanse of huge
icebergs. The surreal 24 hours summer lights and eerie silence that is
interupted only by the breaking of an iceberg, is mind-boggling
 the jargons
● Amalgamated- combine or unite to form one structure
● Supercontinent- a former large continent from which other continents are held to have
broken off and drifted away
● Thrived- prosper; flourish
● Cordilleran folds- an extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges
● Pre-cambrian granite shields- large areas of relatively low elevation that forms part
of continental masses
● Mind-boggling- overwhelming; startling
● Frigid- very cold in temperature
● Desolate- (of a place) uninhabited and giving an impression of bleak emptiness
● Surreal- unusual; bizzare
● Austral- relating to the Southern Hemisphere
● Ubiquitous- everywhere; pervasive
● Avalanche- snowslide
● Calving- split and shed
● Consecrates- make or declare sacred
● Immersion- submerge
● Prognosis- a forecast of the likely outcome of a situation
From the text
The explanation
The jargons
students on Ice Programme- 21 Aug 2020, 21:09 (2 days ago)

The programme aims at studying ecological processes in Antarctica.The narrator works

on this project on board 'Akademik Shokolskiy'.It takes school students on the trip of
Antarctica.The visit aims at generating a new awareness and respect for our planet in
young, impressionable minds.

The programme has been in operation for six years.It is headed by a Canadian,Geoff
Green.Earlier he used to take celebrities, retired rich and curiosity seekers to Antarctica
for money.Gradually he got sick of those people who gave nothing to the earth in
return.So,he decided to take school students there.It was his firm belief that young mind
could learn and act better about the potential hazards regarding the environment which
our Earth faces.

The programme was a success because children could see with their own eyes collapsing
ice shelves and retreating glaciers.They realised that the threat of global warming was
real.
 Meaning-

Blasé-unimpressed with or indifferent to something because one has experienced or

seen it so often before.

Simplicity of Antarctica-

Antarctica is one of those places with limited biodiversity and thus, has a less
complicated ecosystem.As a result,little changes in its environment can have
drastic effects.For instance,the microscopic phytoplankton are grasses of the sea
that sustains the entire Southern Ocean's food chain.Now,it has been recently
concluded by scientists that a further depletion in the ozone layer can affect the
activities of the single-celled plants and affect the marine life altogether.

Meaning-

Repercussions-an unpleasant effect

Phytoplankton-microscopic organisms that live in watery environments