Journey to the End of the Earth — Class 12 English

Written by Tishani Doshi, this travelogue records the author's expedition to Antarctica aboard the Russian research vessel 'Akademik Shokalskiy' and reflects on the planet's past, present and future. Her journey from Madras, crossing nine time zones, six checkpoints and three bodies of water, fills her with wonder at Antarctica's vast, white, isolated landscape and at the thought that India and Antarctica were once part of the same landmass — the giant southern supercontinent Gondwana, which existed 650 million years ago. She explains how, around the time the dinosaurs were wiped out, this landmass broke apart to form the continents we know today, and how visiting Antarctica helps us understand where we have come from and where we may be heading — the significance of geological phenomena, ozone, carbon, evolution and extinction. She reflects on human impact: human civilisations have existed for only about 12,000 years — a few seconds on the geological clock — yet have created havoc, with burning fossil fuels forming a blanket of carbon dioxide that raises global temperatures. Antarctica, never sustaining a human population, holds half-million-year-old carbon records in its ice cores, making it the ideal place to study Earth's history and climate change. She describes the 'Students on Ice' programme, led by Geoff Green, which takes high-school students to the poles to inspire respect for the planet. Using the parable of the tiny phytoplankton that sustain the ocean's food chain, she concludes that taking care of the small things ensures the big things fall into place, and marvels at the delicate balance of life on Earth.