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Journey to the End of the Earth Author

Tishani Doshi is a writer and dancer of Welsh-Gujarati origin. She was born in Madras, India, in 1975. She studied Business Administration and Communications at Queens College, Charlotte, North Carolina and gained a Masters degree in the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. She moved to London in 1999, becoming assistant to the advertising department of Harper’s and Queen magazine. In 2001, she returned to India where she became a dancer with the choreographer Chandralekha. She also works as a freelance journalist, contributing to various newspapers such as The Guardian, The International Herald Tribune, The New Indian Express and The National. She has published six books of poetry and fiction. Her essays, poems and short stories have been widely anthologized. She currently lives on a beach between two fishing villages in Tamil Nadu with her husband and three dogs.

Text & Image reference: tishanidoshi.weebly.com

Journey to the End of the Earth Introduction

‘Journey to the End of the Earth’ is a travelogue. The narrator gives an account of her journey to Antarctica under the programme ‘Students on Ice’ led by Geoff Green in the Russian vessel ‘Academic Shokalskiy’. Under this programme, high school students are taken to the ends of the world and provided inspiring educational opportunities which will help them to encourage in developing a new understanding and respect for our planet. It provides students with an ample opportunity to understand how global temperature can be a big threat to human existence. It inculcates a new understanding of them. Geoff Green thinks that high school students are the future policymakers. He offers the future generations a life-changing experience at an age when they are ready to absorb, learn, and most importantly, act and can help in saving the earth from ecological dangers and the effects of global warming.

The narrator says if we want to understand the earth’s past, present and future, Antarctica is the place to go. The study of this region is useful to us because the world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica.

Journey to the End of the Earth Summary

The author started her journey in a Russian research vessel, ‘Akademik Shokalskiy’ bound for Antarctica. Her journey began 13.09 degrees north of the Equator in Madras. She travelled over 100 hours in a combination of car, aeroplane and ship before she set foot on the Antarctic continent.

The purpose of the visit was to know more about Antarctica. The author stayed there for two weeks. It is a place which stores 90 per cent of the Earth’s total ice volumes. It has no trees, billboards or buildings. The visual scene ranges from the microscopic to the mighty. Days go on and on in 24-hour austral summer light. Silence pervades everywhere. It is broken only by an avalanche or calving ice-sheet.

She wondered how there could have been a time when India and Antarctica were part of the same landmass. Geological phenomena help us to know about the history of humankind. Six hundred and fifty million years ago, a giant southern supercontinent—Gondwana—did exist. It was centred roughly around present-day Antarctica. The climate was much warmer then. There was a variety of flora and fauna. Humans had not arrived on the global scene yet. Gondwana thrived for 500 million years. Then came the time when the dinosaurs were wiped out and the age of mammals began. At that time, the landmass was forced to separate into countries, shaping the globe much as we know it today.

Climate change is one of the most hotly contested environmental debates of our time. The most hotly contested debate of our time is whether West Antarctica Ice sheets will melt entirely or not. If we want to study the earth’s past, present and future, Antarctica is the place to go as it holds half-million-year-old carbon records trapped in its layers of ice.

Antarctica has a simple eco-system and lacks biodiversity. It is the perfect place to study how little changes in the environment can have big repercussions. Scientists warn that a further depletion of the ozone layer will affect the lives of the sea animals and birds of the region. It will also affect the global carbon cycle. The burning of fossil fuels has polluted the atmosphere. It has created a blanket of carbon dioxide around the world. It is increasing the global temperature which is visible at Antarctica when we see icebergs melting away. It shows how minor changes in the atmosphere can cause a huge effect. If the global temperature keeps on increasing, the human race may be in peril.

The author gives us an example of phytoplankton to show how small changes in the atmosphere can be threatening. The microscopic phytoplankton is single-celled plants. They nourish the entire Southern Ocean’s food chain. They use the sun’s energy to assimilate carbon and supply oxygen. Any further depletion in the ozone layer may affect this functioning and indirectly affect the lives of all marine animals.

When the author returned, she was still wondering about the beauty of balance in play on our planet. Walk on the Ocean was the most thrilling experience of the visit. All the 52 persons on board put on breathable waterproof clothing and sun-glasses. They climbed down the gangplank and walked on the ocean. They were walking on a meter-thick ice-pack. Under the ice pack, there were 180 meters of living, breathing, saltwater. Seals were enjoying themselves in the sun on ice. The narrator was wondering about the beauty of the place. He wished it would become a warm place again as it used to be millions of years ago. If it happens, the results can be catastrophic.

Journey to the End of the Earth Summary in Hindi

लेखक ने अंटार्कटिका के लिए बाध्य एक रूसी अनुसंधान पोत, Sh अकादमिक शोकलस्की ’में अपनी यात्रा शुरू की। उसकी यात्रा मद्रास में भूमध्य रेखा के उत्तर में 13.09 डिग्री से शुरू हुई। अंटार्कटिक महाद्वीप पर पैर रखने से पहले उसने कार, हवाई जहाज और जहाज के संयोजन में 100 घंटे से अधिक की यात्रा की।

यात्रा का उद्देश्य अंटार्कटिका के बारे में अधिक जानना था। लेखक दो सप्ताह तक वहाँ रहे। यह एक ऐसा स्थान है जो पृथ्वी के कुल बर्फ संस्करणों के 90 प्रतिशत को संग्रहीत करता है। इसका कोई पेड़, होर्डिंग या इमारत नहीं है। दृश्य दृश्य सूक्ष्म से लेकर पराक्रमी तक होता है। दिन और 24-घंटे ऑस्ट्रल लाइट पर चलते हैं। सर्वत्र मौन व्याप्त है। यह केवल हिमस्खलन या बर्फ की चादर को शांत करने से टूट जाता है।

वह सोचती हैं कि एक समय ऐसा भी हो सकता है जब भारत और अंटार्कटिका एक ही भूभाग का हिस्सा थे। भूवैज्ञानिक घटनाएं हमें मानव जाति के इतिहास के बारे में जानने में मदद करती हैं। छह सौ पचास मिलियन साल पहले, एक विशाल दक्षिणी महामहिम गोंडवाना- मौजूद था। यह लगभग वर्तमान अंटार्कटिका के आसपास केंद्रित था। जलवायु तब बहुत गर्म थी। वनस्पतियों और जीवों की एक किस्म थी। वैश्विक परिदृश्य पर मनुष्य अभी तक नहीं पहुंचे थे। गोंडवाना 500 मिलियन वर्षों के लिए संपन्न हुआ। फिर वह समय आया जब डायनासोर का सफाया हो गया और स्तनधारियों की उम्र शुरू हो गई। उस समय, भूमध्यसागरीय देशों को अलग करने के लिए मजबूर किया गया था, ग्लोब को बहुत आकार देते हुए जैसा कि हम आज जानते हैं।

जलवायु परिवर्तन हमारे समय के सबसे अधिक गर्म पर्यावरणीय विवादों में से एक है। हमारे समय की सबसे गरमागरम बहस छिड़ी है कि क्या पश्चिम अंटार्कटिका की बर्फ की चादरें पूरी तरह से पिघलेंगी या नहीं। यदि हम पृथ्वी के भूत, वर्तमान और भविष्य का अध्ययन करना चाहते हैं, तो अंटार्कटिका जाने का स्थान है क्योंकि यह बर्फ की परतों में फंसे हुए आधे मिलियन वर्ष पुराने कार्बन रिकॉर्ड रखता है।

अंटार्कटिका में एक साधारण इको-सिस्टम है और इसमें जैव विविधता का अभाव है। यह अध्ययन करने के लिए एकदम सही जगह है कि पर्यावरण में थोड़े से बदलाव से बड़े नतीजे हो सकते हैं। वैज्ञानिकों ने चेतावनी दी है कि ओजोन परत का एक और क्षरण क्षेत्र के समुद्री जानवरों और पक्षियों के जीवन को प्रभावित करेगा। यह वैश्विक कार्बन चक्र को भी प्रभावित करेगा। जीवाश्म ईंधन के जलने से वातावरण प्रदूषित हो गया है। इसने दुनिया भर में कार्बन डाइऑक्साइड का एक कंबल बनाया है। यह वैश्विक तापमान को बढ़ा रहा है जो अंटार्कटिका में दिखाई देता है जब हम हिमखंडों को पिघलते हुए देखते हैं। यह दिखाता है कि वायुमंडल में मामूली बदलाव एक बड़े प्रभाव का कारण कैसे बन सकता है। यदि वैश्विक तापमान में वृद्धि जारी रहती है, तो मानव जाति संकट में पड़ सकती है।

लेखक हमें फाइटोप्लांकटन का एक उदाहरण देता है, यह दिखाने के लिए कि वायुमंडल में छोटे परिवर्तन कैसे खतरे में डाल सकते हैं। सूक्ष्म फाइटोप्लांकटन एकल कोशिका वाले पौधे हैं। वे पूरे दक्षिणी महासागर की खाद्य श्रृंखला का पोषण करते हैं। वे कार्बन को आत्मसात करने और ऑक्सीजन की आपूर्ति करने के लिए सूर्य की ऊर्जा का उपयोग करते हैं। ओजोन परत में कोई और कमी इस कार्य को प्रभावित कर सकती है और अप्रत्यक्ष रूप से सभी समुद्री जानवरों के जीवन को प्रभावित कर सकती है।

जब लेखक लौटा, तो वह अभी भी हमारे ग्रह पर खेलने में संतुलन की सुंदरता के बारे में सोच रहा था। ओशन ऑन द वॉक यात्रा का सबसे रोमांचकारी अनुभव था। बोर्ड पर सभी 52 व्यक्ति सांस के साथ जलरोधक कपड़े और धूप के चश्मे पर डालते हैं। वे गैंगप्लैंक पर चढ़ गए और समुद्र पर चले गए। वे एक मीटर मोटे आइस-पैक पर चल रहे थे। आइस पैक के तहत, 180 मीटर की दूरी पर रहने वाले, श्वास, खारे पानी थे। बर्फ पर धूप में बैठकर खुद का आनंद ले रहे थे। कथावाचक जगह की सुंदरता के बारे में सोच रहा था। उन्होंने चाहा कि यह फिर से एक गर्म स्थान बन जाए क्योंकि यह लाखों साल पहले हुआ करता था। यदि ऐसा होता है, तो परिणाम भयावह हो सकते हैं।

Translated by Google

Journey to the End of the Earth Textual Questions

Q1. ‘The world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica: How is the study of this region useful to us?

Ans. The study of this region gives us an insight into the world’s geological history. It shows that India and Antarctica were part of a supercontinent named Gondwana. This supercontinent exists 650 million years ago. The climate of Gondwana was much warmer. It fostered a huge variety of flora and fauna. Then about 150 million years ago, dinosaurs were wiped out. The age of mammals started. Gondwana was forced to separate into countries and continents. The globe was shaped much as we know it today. It shows how slight changes in the climate can change the shape of the region. It gives the explanation of how the climatic conditions of the earth were not favourable for life before and how slowly rising temperature made the earth a place to sustain life. All secrets are embedded in the layers of ice in the form of half million-year-old carbon records.

Q2. What are Geoff Green’s reasons for including high school students in the Students on Ice expedition?

Ans. Geoff Green took the high school students to one end of the world, to provide them with the opportunity to develop respect and understanding for the earth. He wanted to make the future policy-makers to experience how difficult it would have been for the earth to sustain life by raising its temperature. He wanted them to understand that any interference in nature can cause drastic mishappenings in the future when the students see the ice shelves melting and collapsing, they can estimate the kind of environmental troubles ahead in their future.

Q3. ‘Take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.’ What is the relevance of this statement in the context of the Antarctic environment?

Ans. Antarctica has a simple ecosystem and it lacks biodiversity. Due to these two factors, it is the perfect place to study how little changes in the environment can have big consequences. The author gives the example of very small, single-celled plants called phytoplankton. These grasses of the sea nourish and sustain the entire Southern Ocean’s food chain. The phytoplanktons use the sun’s energy to absorb carbon. They also synthesise various organic compounds through photosynthesis.

Scientists warn that a further depletion in the ozone layer will affect the activities of phytoplankton. It will have a chain-reaction. The lives of all the marine animals and birds of the region will be affected. The global carbon cycle will be disturbed. So if we want the world to go on properly we must take care of the small things. Then the big things will fall into place.

Q4. Why is Antarctica the place to go to, to understand the earth’s present, past and future?

Ans. Antarctica gives us an idea, how the earth would have been like millions of years ago and how it got divided into various earth masses. The melting and colliding ice masses also give us an insight into how our future is going to be if we continue with interference in the working of nature. Moreover, Antarctica holds into the depths of its ice half-million-year-old carbon records, which are helpful in understanding the past, present and future of the earth. Therefore, Antarctica is the place which reveals our past, shows our present and visualizes our future.

Journey to the End of the Earth Short Answer Type Questions

Q. What is ‘Students on Ice’ programme?

Ans. ‘Students on Ice’ is an educational journey to Antarctica. It takes high school students to show them the terrifying impacts of human activities in Antarctica so that, the students (future policymakers of the earth) will realize that the end of the earth is quite near and therefore something should be done to save the planet.

Q. What do you think is the reason behind the success of the programme ‘Students on Ice’?

Ans. When one goes near the South Pole, one can’t remain unaffected by it. When one sees polar icecaps melting, glaciers retreating and ice-shelves collapsing, one begins to realise that the threat of global warming is very real. Thus the trip to Antarctica provides a life-changing authentic experience. This is the reason for the success of this programme.

Q. What unique opportunities does the Antarctic environment provide to the scientists?

Ans. Antarctica is special in two respects. First, it has a simple ecosystem. Second, it lacks biodiversity. Due to these two factors, Antarctica is the perfect place to study how little changes in the environment can have big consequences.

Q. How is Antarctica significant in climatic debates?

Ans. Antarctica is a continent that has a landmass with miles-deep ice, layers over layers. In each of those layers lie millions of years old carbon records of the organisms that existed since the beginning of the earth. While pondering over the issue of the future of the earth, these carbon records will shed light on the past and enable the scientist to co-relate the past, present and future.

Q. What example does the author give to highlight the strangeness of the atmosphere in Antarctica?

Ans. The author compares her stay in Antarctica to walking into a giant ping-pong ball which has no human markers such as trees, buildings or billboards. One loses all earthly sense of perspective and time here. The visual scale ranges from the microscopic to the mighty— tiny insects like midges and mites on the one hand and vast whales or huge ice-bergs as big as Belgium on the other.

Q. How long have the human civilisations been around? What is the human impact on the earth and its resources?

Ans. Human civilisations have been around for only 12,000 years. It is a very small time on the geological clock. However, even during this short amount of time, man has created a commotion and left a mark of his dominance over nature. The increasing human population is competing with other species for limited resources. The burning of fossil fuels has led to the creation of a blanket of carbon dioxide around the world. Consequently, it has given rise to global warming.

Q. What did Geoff Green get tired of and why? What did he switch over to? How long has he been running this programme?

Ans. Geoff Green got tired of carrying celebrities and retired, rich curiosity-seekers because they could only ‘give’ back in a limited way. Now he has switched over to offering high school students a life-changing experience. He has been running this programme for six years.

Q. What do you understand by phytoplankton? What are their activities? How will a change in their activities affect other creatures and the environment?

Ans. Phytoplankton is microscopic, single-celled plants of the sea. These grasses of the sea use the sun’s energy to absorb carbon and synthesise organic compounds by photosynthesis. Thus they nourish and sustain the entire food-chain of the southern ocean. If there is a further depletion in the ozone layer the activities of phytoplankton will be affected. Then the lives of all the marine animals and birds of the region, as well as the global carbon cycle, will be affected.

Q. “My Antarctic experience was full of such epiphanies”, says Tishani Doshi. Which experience does she consider the best and why?

Ans. She considers the walk on the Antarctic Ocean as her best experience. They had a metre- thick ice pack under their feet. Below it there was 180 metres of living, breathing, saltwater. On the periphery, Crabeater seals were stretching and sunning themselves on sheets of floating ice. They seemed like stray dogs enjoying themselves in the shade of a banyan tree.

Q. What did the author keep wondering about after spending two weeks at Antarctica?

Ans. She kept wondering about the beauty of balance in play on earth. She also wondered how Antarctica would appear if it became a warm place again and whether the change would take place during our lifetime or we too would disappear like the dinosaurs, mammoths and woolly rhinos.

Journey to the End of the Earth Long Answer Type Questions

Q. Why does Tishani Doshi call her trip to Antarctica a ‘Journey to the end of the Earth’? How was she able to join this expedition?

Ans. Tishani Doshi’s journey began 13.09 degrees north of the Equator. She crossed nine time-zones, six checkpoints, three oceans and as many ecospheres before reaching the Antarctic continent. She had travelled over 100 hours in a combination of car, aeroplane and ship. Antarctica is a vast expanse of frozen ice isolated from other landmasses. She travelled up to the Antarctic Circle at 65.55 degrees south of the Equator. Thus she travelled quite close to the South Pole. She rightly calls it a ‘Journey to the end of the Earth’.

She was on this expedition under the ‘Students on Ice’ programme. Under this programme, high school students are taken to the end of the world. They are provided for inspiring educational opportunities and life-changing experience. They develop a new understanding and respect for the earth.

Q. “To visit Antarctica now is to be a part of that history; to get a grasp of where we’ve come from…” says Tishani Doshi. What light does the chapter ‘Journey to the end of the Earth’ throw on the ‘history of humankind’?

Ans. The chapter enlightens us about the history of humankind. Six hundred and fifty million years ago there existed a giant landmass known as Gondwana. It was composed of many countries as we know them today. This southern supercontinent centred roughly around present-day Antarctica.

Things were quite different then. Humans had not arrived on the global scene yet. The climate was much warmer. It nourished and sustained a huge variety of flora and fauna. Gondwana thrived for 500 million years. Then came the time when the dinosaurs were wiped out and the age of the mammals set in. At that time, the landmass of Gondwana was forced to separate into countries, shaping the globe much as we know it today.

It is mind-boggling to imagine what could happen in a million years. India pushed forcefully northwards against Asia and the Himalayas was formed. South America drifted off to join North America. The Drake Passage was opened up. It created a cold circumpolar current. This current kept Antarctica frigid, desolate and at the bottom of the world.

Q. How has the rapid increase in human population left its mark on nature and her resources? What are the indications for the future of humankind?

Ans. Human civilisations have been around for only 12,000 years. It is a very small time on the geological clock. However, even during this short period man has created quite a ruckus. He has left a mark of his dominance over nature in the form of villages, towns, cities and megacities. Humans are battling with other species for limited resources. The burning of fossil fuels has created a blanket of carbon dioxide around the world. Consequently, the average global temperature is increasing slowly but surely.

Climate change is one of the most hotly argued environmental debates of the time. It is asked whether the West Antarctic ice-sheet will melt entirely or the Gulf Stream Ocean current will be disrupted or if it will be the end of the world. There is no definite answer. Even little changes in the environment can have big repercussions. Scientists warn that a further depletion in the ozone layer will have far-reaching consequences on the food chain in the entire Southern Ocean. Even the global carbon cycle will be adversely affected. Thus the indications for the future of humankind are not very bright unless timely action is taken to maintain ecological balance.

Q. Why, according to the author, should one undertake a journey to the end of the Earth? How can it influence our thinking and feeling for the planet Earth?

Ans. The author thinks that the world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica. If you want to understand the earth’s present, past and future, Antarctica is the place to go to.

At present Antarctica is an expanse of white snow with no trees, animals or native human inhabitants. However, millions of years ago Antarctica had a far warmer climate and had a huge variety of flora and fauna. Due to some geological changes, the different parts that made Gondwana split apart.

Now Antarctica is a very cold, desolate and farthest place in the world. Antarctica holds in its ice-cores half-million-year-old carbon records trapped in its layers of ice. When we see glaciers retreating and ice-shelves collapsing, we realise that the threat of global warming is very real.

Antarctica is the perfect place to study how little changes in the environment can have big consequences. The example of the phytoplankton is quite relevant as it gives us a bit of sound advice: “take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves”. The experience of Antarctica helps in developing a new understanding and respect for the earth.

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