JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE EARTH

TISHANI DOSHI

Tishani Doshi(born December 9,1975) is a

Indian poet, journalist and dancer based in
Chennai. She was born in Madras, India, to a
Welsh mother and Gujrati father. She
completed her graduation from Queen’s
College, North Carolina. She graduated with
a master’s degree in creative writing from
the John Hopkins University. In 2006 she
won the Forward Prize for her debut poetry
book ‘Countries of the Body’.

Universal Theme: Earth’s polar regions are incredible

platforms for global education and windows to
comprehend innumerable global phenomenon which are
significantly entwined with human existence. They are
rich in history, flora and fauna , international
cooperation , culture, mystery, thus are great
classrooms of the earth.

Subjective Theme : Antarctica is an amazing and

incredible continent both austere and inhospitable land
which is home to extraordinary biodiversity. It is a desert
with vaulting mountains, immense glaciers, active
volcanoes and inspiring vistas. The whole concept of
continental drift is made more fascinating by study of
this land of extremes.

Purpose of writer’s visit to Antarctica:

1. To acquire first hand experience of the coldest, driest
and the windiest continent in the world.
2.To perceive the glaciers retreating and ice shelves
collapsing which she had often heard about.
3.To comprehend how real was the threat of global
warming and depletion of ozone layer was.

Journey begins:
1.The author started her journey in Russian research
vessel, Akademik Shokalskiy bound for Antarctica.
2.Her journey began 13.09 degrees North of the equator
in Madras.
3.The geographical frontiers she crossed were nine time
zones, six checkpoints, three bodies of water and
innumerable ecospheres.
4. She travelled over 100 hours in combination of car,
aeroplane and ship before she set foot on the Antarctic
Continent.

Symbolic significance of her journey:

The perennial desire of mankind to comprehend
unknown territories in a quest to establish it’s
supremacy as the superior creation of Lord Almighty.

Emotions of Tishani Doshi on reaching Antarctica:

1.Relief after a long travel of 100 hours.

2.Relief was followed by an immediate and profound
wonder.
3. The vast and immense landscape dazzled her eyes.
4. A sense of mystery was created by its vastness and
isolation.

Geological phenomenon enable us to comprehend

about the history of mankind:

1. Before human evolution, Antarctica was a part of

huge tropical landmass called Gondwana land, which
flourished 500 million years ago.

2.The geological phenomenon of separating various

continents and water bodies from one compact
landmass advance the history of the existence of human
race.
3.Six hundred and fifty million years ago, human race
did not exist because the environment was not
conducive.

4.Biological, geological and geographical changes

occurred and Antarctica separated evolving into what it
is today.

5.When the dinosaurs were wiped out, the mammals

started existing and after the separation of landmass,
the human race started flourishing on the earth.

Gondwanaland: The continent Gondwana was named

by Austrian Scientist Eduard Suess, after the
Gondwana, region of Central India which is
derived from Sanskrit for ‘ forest of the Gonds’.
The term Gondwanaland is preferred by some scientists
in order to make a clear distinction between the region
and the southern supercontinent. Gondwanaland
existed from the Neoproterozoic ( about 550 million
years ago) until the Jurassic ( about 180 million years
ago) .

Between about 170 million and 180 million years ago,

Gondwana began its own split, with Africa and South
America breaking apart from the other half of
Gondwana. About 140 million years ago, South America
and Africa split, opening up the South Atlantic Ocean
between them. Meanwhile, on the eastern half of the
once-supercontinent, Madagascar made a break from
India and both moved away from Australia and
Antarctica.

The remnants of Gondwanaland make up about two –

thirds of today’s continental area, including South
America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Indian
Subcontinent and Arabia.

Antarctica helps us to understand:

1.Significance of Cordilleran folds

2.Significance of Pre- Cambrian granite shield.
3.Ozone and carbon
4.Evolution and extinction

Cordilleran folds: A cordillera is an extensive chain of

mountains or mountain ranges. Cordilleran Folds are
formed by system or group of parallel mountain ranges
together with intervening plateaus and other features.

Pre Cambrian : They are granite shields formed

approximately 4.5 billion years ago until the start of
Cambrian Age approximately 54 million years ago.
Drake Passage: 180 KM wide passage to create a cold
current that kept Antarctica very cold, uninhabited and
at the bottom of the world.

Antarctica circumpolar current : It is an ocean current

that flows from West to East around Antarctica.

It’s like walking into a giant ping- pong ball: The

imposing simile brings to fore the writer’s fascination at
the sight of vast expanse of ice covered Antarctica .
Ice covered pits resembled a white ping pong hollow ball
used for playing tennis. Moreover, the awe inspiring
sight was significant as it overrode her consciousness of
temporal existence.

Antarctica is the last bastion of nature:

1.90% of earth’s total ice volumes are stored.

2.Antarctica is free of such markers as towers of iron,
pyramids, trees.
3.It inspires human beings to contemplate about Earth’s
Genesis.
4.The largest recorded mammal peacefully coexists with
a tiny mite.
5.In summers, the sun does not set for six months,
hence the days are never ending.
6.The place seems to be sanctified by an omnipresent
silence, which is seldom interrupted by an avalanche.
7. The captivating sight of Antarctica forces people to
place themselves in the perspective of the earth’s
geological history.

Prognosis isn’t good for mankind:

1.Burgeoning population
2. Catalogued and uncatalogued species are battling for
limited resources.
3.Unmitigated burning of fossil fuels has now created a
blanket of CO2 around the world, which is slowly but
steadily increasing average global temperature.
4.Climate change is another aspect to worry.

Tishani Doshi’s realization:

1.A visit to Antarctica advanced a deeper understanding

of fold mountains, the history, ecology and
environment.
2.The writer felt unsettled in two weeks’ time not only
because she came from a hotter place but also because
all features of human civilization were absent from an
already desolate landscape.
3.The long summers, the silence broken occasionally by
cracking ice sheets and avalanches, the blue whales and
ice bergs, all contribute to an ecological implication that
the future for humans isn’t good.

We’ve managed to create quite a ruckus: The

gargantuan greed and egocentric thoughts of mankind
has plundered the eternal manifestation of the Almighty-
nature. The paramount threats related to the profoundly
altering environmental landscape and the declining
health of our planet continues to hold relevance. Over
utilization of natural resources, incessant burning of
fossil fuels, population explosion, destruction of
ecosystems, extinction of wildlife , depletion of ozone
layer bear a clear testimony to environmental
degradation.

Environmental enrichment is the panacea to this

burgeoning environmental decimation. Environmental
reconstruction and sustainable development can
salvage humanity during this cataclysmic circumstance
. As the stewards of this planet , it is our ethical
obligation to devise strategies which would emerge as
strong bulwarks against environmental degradation.

Antarctica is the most important point of an active

debate:
1.Ideally and relatively pristine.
2.Contains half million year old carbon records.
3.Earth’s past, present and future are hidden in its fold.

Climate Change: Climate change refers to the change in

environmental conditions of earth. It is a result of
external and internal factors. The climate change is a
byproduct of nefarious human activities, but we came to
know about it in the last century. Research on climate
change led mankind to decipher the phenomenon called
Greenhouse Effect. The natural reasons for Climate
Change include volcanic eruption, solar radiation,
tectonic plate movement and orbital variations. Human
activities that harm the climate include deforestation,
burning fossil fuels, pollution and dumping industrial
waste.
The climate changes have negative impact on the
environment. The ocean level is rising, glaciers are
melting, CO2 is increasing, forest and wildlife are
declining, aquatic life is disturbed, depletion of ozone
layer and global warming.

Past: Carbon records are trapped

Present : Polar ice caps are melting and glaciers

retreating.
This provides a direct impact of the effect of global
warming.

Future: Unless human beings amend their ways, shed

their exploitative behaviour, survival prospects become
endangered. It hints at a bleak future.

Antarctica is the best place to visit to study the Earth’s

present, past and future:

1.Antarctica is unaffected by human population and

their activities, so it is in its pristine state which is
favourable to study earth’s genesis.
2.There may be some clues about past in the Antarctica
region concealed under the folds of ice.

3. One can wonder how the sheets of thick ice suddenly

break and collapse indicating the perils of global
warming and it’s cataclysmic impact on the
environment.

4.The serene and tranquil Antarctica indicates the

primitive state of our Earth.

Why are carbon records important?

1.Ecological scientists claim that it helps to understand
how ecosystems function.
2.They contain fossil fuel records.
3. It helps to comprehend the evolution of mankind.

Geoff Green:
He is an educator, social entrepreneur and a global
leader in polar education and youth engagement. He is
the founder and President of the Award winning
programme that has taken more than 2500 youth,
educators and scientists around the world on
educational journeys to the Arctic and Antarctica. He has
accomplished over 120 expeditions in a span of 23
years. Globe and Mail called Geoff, “ The man who
revolutionized polar and environmental education.
Geoff Green realised that there was no point in
organising an expedition for the celebrities because they
would not go an extra mile to contribute for
environmental enrichment. The expedition would only
remain a pleasure trip for them.

Inclusion of high school students for the Students on

Ice Expedition:
1.To provide the students with an inspiring educational
opportunity to explore the polar regions of the earth.
2.To foster a new understanding and respect for our
planet.
3.Youngsters are referred to as future policy makers.
4.They can steer govt. machinery.
5.They can create awareness about the geological
history of the planet.
6.They can formulate effective strategies and policies for
environment enrichment.
7.Students are ready to absorb, learn and act.
8.They can ‘ give back’ to humanity quantitatively,
religiously and whole heartedly.
9.The students still have the idealism to save the world.

Phytoplankton: They are microscopic marine algae that

live in aquatic environment. They are single celled
organisms which take up CO2, make carbohydrates,
using light energy and release energy. They are the
primary producers of the ocean – the base of food chain.

Necessity of Phytoplanktons:

1.For the survival of Antarctica’s biodiversity.

2.It nourishes and sustains entire southern food chain.
3. It is responsible for the lives of aquatic plants, birds
4. It is important of global carbon cycle.

Take care of small things and the big things will take
care of themselves:
1.This maxim advances a warning to mankind to
maintain ecological balance.
2.It also petitions humanity to pledge allegiance to the
precept of peaceful coexistence.
3.Miniscule alterations in environment can lead to
catastrophic consequences.
4.Phytoplanktons which nourish and sustain the entire
Southern Ocean’s food chain, use solar energy and
assimilate carbon.
5.Further depletion of ozone layer can vastly affect the
activities of Phytoplankton.
6.Since Phytoplankton are the primary producers of the
ocean and the base of food chain, a minute disturbance
might create havoc in marine ecosystem.
7. It cannot be negated that the entire global Carbon
cycle will collapse.
8.With deforestation, different kind of rare species are
on the threshold of extinction and ecological balance is
under a turmoil.
9.The danger of global warming starts from small things
like burning fossil fuels.

Epiphany: A moment of sudden or great realization.

You should take the first meaning into
consideration. The second one is for your
knowledge.
Epiphany: Bliblical reference. It is a Christian festival
held on Jan 6 , in memory of the time when the Magi
came to see baby Jesus at Bethlehem.

Tishani Doshi’s epiphanies:

1.India and Antarctica were part of the same landmass.
2.Antarctica helps one to understand our evolution and
our lumbering towards extinction.
3. Antarctica is the last bastion of nature.
4.Human beings have created quite a ruckus on this
planet in a short amount of time.
5.She realised that the threat of global warming is real
when she saw glaciers retreating and ice shelves
collapsing.
6.Take care of small things and big things will fall into
place.
7.Our temporal existence is indeed connected and
beauty of balance is in play.

Most exquisite epiphany- Crab eater seals basking on

ice floes.

Beauty of balance: Crab eater seals having sun bath on

ice floes just like stray dogs resting under the shade of
a banyan tree. While polar animals prefer a bit of
warmth, the tropical ones desire chill. The earth
balances climatic variations and Doshi believes that after
millions of years, polar regions will once again become
warmer and the tropical region would cool down.

Implicit Message of the chapter:

1.Minor environmental changes have colossal

repercussions.
2.Depletion of ozone layer is catastrophic to humanity
3.Photosynthesis is a paramount process which should
be regarded by all.
4.Maintaining ecological balance is the prerogative of
mankind.
5 . Environmental degradation should be taken seriously
and activities pertaining to environmental enrichment
should be propagated.

Pun on the word end in the title:

End refers to the writers visit to one of the polar regions
of the earth- Antarctica, which is considered the last
bastion of the earth. However, end is significant because
environmental scientists continuously warn us against
catastrophic effects of the excessive depletion of ozone
layer, population boom, ever increasing CO2, global
warming, melting ice caps. All these indications sharply
point towards our Apocalypse. If stringent steps are not
taken to averse the situation, the consequences would
be dire, leading us towards our ‘end’.
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
SATQ’s
1.What journey did the writer Antarctica? How did she
reach her destination?
2.What was her first impression after reaching
Antarctica?
3.What did Gondwana look like? For how long did it
flourish?
4.What were the things in Antarctica which the writer
found disconcerting?
5.Why does the writer spell a warning to humans?
6.What could be impact of Global Warming on
Antarctica?
7.Who is Geoff Green? Why does he prefer taking
students?
8.What is the purpose of Students on Ice Expedition?
9.What is the writer’s indirect message?
10.What geographical frontier did the author travel
through to reach her destination?
11.What is the human impact on global temperature?
12.Why is Antarctica a crucial element in environmental
debate?

LATQ’s
1.Justify the title.
2.Antarctica seems distant and cut off. How does the
writer underline this fact?
3.How has man decimated the ecological health of our
planet?
4.Antarctica is a perfect place to study the repercussion
of environment and is also the last bastion of nature.
Elaborate.
5.Explain the parable of the Phytoplankton.
6.Delineate Tishani Doshi’s epiphanies.
7.Geoff Green’s initiative is commendable. Validate.