In the beginning, the author talks about his journey to one of the coldest, driest and windiest continents

on Earth;
Antarctica. He went there on a Russian research vessel known as the Akademik Shokalskiy. The author is a South
Indian man who began his journey from Madras. On his voyage, he crossed nine time zones, six checkpoints, three
water bodies and just as many ecospheres.

It took him about 100 hours of combined travelling by car, aeroplane and then a ship to reach the continent. So,
when he first set his feet on the continent, he felt utmost relief for it was all white as far as the eyes could see. The
sight of the blue horizon was also very comforting. Next emotion that followed was that of wonderment. He was
astonished by the fact that there was once a time when India and Antarctica were geographically connected.

PART OF HISTORY

Millions of years ago, there was a supercontinent known as Gondwana, from which Antarctica and India are
supposed to have been parted off. The situation however was completely different from how it is right now. There
were no humans and the climate was warmer which gave rise to huge varieties of flora and fauna. Gondwana
flourished for 500 million years until dinosaurs got extinct and human beings came into existence. The huge
continent was then forced into segregation to form countries and the world as we know of it today.

According to the author, if one wants to have a glimpse of history and from where we have originated along with
where we are headed, Antarctica is the right place. It is the best place to research and understand about mountain
ranges and low elevation continents, ozone and carbon, evolution and extinction. It is capable of giving an insight of
the future and that can be really startling.

It was a very different experience for the narrator as being a South Inidan sun-worshipping man, it was hard for him
or anyone else to imagine living in a place where 90 percent of the Earth's total ice volumes are stored. Not only
biologically or physically difficult, but also for imagination. A place untouched by humans and their inventions, it
gives an experience that makes you forget about all the other things. From small creatures like midges and mites to
huge creatures like blue whales and icebergs as big as countries, everything can be found in Antarctica. Days are
never ending with sun light all the time falling on the Southern Hemisphere. It is such a quiet place interrupted only
by falling mass of snow rapidly down a mountain. It is a setting that forces you to ponder upon earth's geological
history and helps you foresee future which for humans, doesn't seem very pleasing.

HUMAN IMPACT

Human life on earth has been since petty 12,000 years which converts into a few seconds on the geological clock. In
merely this less time, humans have managed to exploit each and every resource, thereby creating a chaos in the
nature. The ever increasing human population is robbing other species of the necessities for survival. Not to forget
about the unlimited exploitation of fossil fuels that have created a blanket of carbon dioxide around our planet
which is further increasing the average global temperature, thus leading to global warming.

Global Warming and climate change are high priority concern these days. Questions like melting of Antarctic sheet,
disruption of Gulf Stream ocean and how the world will end still remains unanswered. Regardless, Antarctica
remains an important part, not only because it is untouched by humans, but also because of the ice cores half-
million-year-old carbon records trapped in its layers of ice. According to the author, if one wishes to study and
analyse Earth's past, present and future, Antarctica is the place to go.

The author has been in Antarctica on an expedition with 'Students on Ice', a programme that takes young minds to
the ends of the world which helps in inspiring them to work towards our planet. It was started with the vision of
providing life-changing experiences to 'the future generation of policy makers' to learn about the planet at a very
early age. The initiative was introduced by Geoff Green who got tired of his regular job once he got rich and wanted
to give it back in some way.

The programme has been immensely successful in implementing its vision by the way people get affected by seeing
the real scenario because it is very easy to sit at home and talk about real issues, but actually seeing glaciers
retreating and ice shelves collapsing, it gives you a glimpse into the future. It tells you that the very threat of global
warming is real.
It 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 these single-celled plants and affect the marine life
altogether. Thus, in this case, the saying comes true, "Take care of the small things and the big things will fall into
place."

WALK ON OCEAN

For all it took for him to travel from Madras to Antarctica, the nine time zones, checkpoints and various bodies of
water, the author pondered upon the capability of nature to maintain its balance. He wondered what it would be
like if Antarctica, the place that houses over 90 percent of world's ice, becomes warm again. He wonders if we will
be there to see it if it ever happens but who knows! Thus, by seeing the spirit of teenagers who still are left with the
courage to save the world, he talks about the uncertainty of events that can happen over a million years.