Imprints On Ice

The Home of the Rhododendrons

2011-05-27T23:55:00.003+05:30

The Yumthang valley awaited us. This was a very green drive. Not that Gurudongmar or any other drive wasn't green, but this was a very photogenic drive. Green forests, snow-capped mountains, clear blue skies with scattered clouds…. Picture perfect. The road was fantastic, which was a relief after the previous day's roller coaster. Numerous streams crossed the road. We entered the Rhododendron sanctuary. This place is in its full bloom from February to April. Mid May is the fag end of the rhododendron season. But even now, rhododendrons could be seen in a variety of colours and sizes. I am not well informed enough to identify the various species, but it was a colourful sight. We stopped every now and then to take close up photographs of the flowers. The road meandered into a coniferous forest, where it was lined by numerous dhabas. We halted for breakfast here. The rhododendron sanctuary ended here. Some distance down the road, we came to a wide valley along the river Lachung. This was a beautiful sight, somewhat similar to a huge meadow with yaks grazing all around. This is the venue for skiing in the winters. But presently it was devoid of snow. We did not stop here, and headed to Zero Point, in Yumsedong near the China border. That was again at 14000 ft. The terrain was rocky, devoid of vegetation. Gradually, we ascended to above the snow line. We stopped at a bridge over the Lachung river, beyond which civilian vehicles were not allowed. Bengali tourists could be seen frolicking around in slushy snow. Obviously, they had never before seen snow in their lives. We spent some time at Zero Point, then returned to Gangtok the same day. The end of a lovely, but cramped tour.

Zero Point

The Roof of the World

2011-05-21T23:15:00.002+05:30

This was the most eagerly awaited trip since I came to Gangtok. Not because it is difficult to visit, but because Gurudongmar lake has a very exotic sounding name, is located in one of the remotest regions in India, and yet it is so easily accessible by road; just hire a cab, dish out a bit of cash, andvoila… in 2 days one is in one of the most pristine environments on earth

So that's what we did during a prolonged weekend- planned a trip to Gurudongmar lake and the Yumthang valley. We booked seats in a shared taxi, along with 8 strangers and a driver. This is what is known as travelling cattle class- 11 people packed into an SUV. A never-again way to travel, but definitely a must-visit place. We proceeded on the Nathula highway, till Tashi view point and then took the North Sikkim highway (NSH) to Chungthang. Initially the road looked promising, but that was deceptive. As the journey progressed, the road condition varied from very good to non existent. This was on account of the work being carried out by Border Roads Organisation (BRO), for the widening of the highway. . The road passed through tiny hamlets and small towns like Phenegla, Phodong, Kabi, Mangan etc. What struck me about the route was the greenery all around. Except for the road, the entire mountainscape was lush green with dense vegetation and colourful flowers. Waterfalls were all over the place, with even running across the road. This was quite a contrast to the western Himalayas, where the hills have been stripped off the green cover. Population was sparse. The NSH ran along the river Teesta. In fact, we were retracing the Teesta almost upto its origin from Tso Lamu lake and Tista khiangte glacier, near Gurudongmar lake (some day I hope to trek there). In about 4 hours, we reached Chungthang, a small, but important town in North Sikkim, located in a valley and the site of a major hydroelectric power project. The rivers Lachung & Lachen meet here to form the Teesta. Thereon, we took the road to Lachen, the last major town before the China border. It was night by this time. The road ran along the river Lachen. We halted for the night in Lachen, at 9000ft. The next morning, we left for Gurudongmar lake. Beyond Lachen, the Indian army had taken over the entire region. It was heavily guarded. We crossed numerous military stations, and bunkers.

Military Bunkers

Soldiers could be seen proceeding for training, with heavy guns, rocket launchers and Schwarzenegger type paraphernalia. This was a high altitude drive. The vegetation and terrain changed rapidly. From the thickly forested slopes, we graduated to alpine vegetation, grassland and finally, desert-like terrain where only few scrubs could be seen. The last halt was at Thangu, at 14000ft. The air was already thin. Herds and herds of yaks could be seen. They were deft climbers, belied by their dimensions and appeared like cows wearing a thick fur jacket. They could be seen lolling around on snow, and bathing in ice cold rivers as if they were on a tropical beach. Now began the last stretch of our journey. Very soon, the terrain became increasingly rocky and devoid of vegetation. Snow smattered peaks appeared everywhere. Suddenly there were no more huge mountains to be seen. We were driving through a vast, barren, undulating landscape dotted with small hillocks.

I realized that we were on the Tibetan plateau. I now knew why its called the roof of the world. The mountains had not disappeared; we were riding on top of them. The road was non existent. One could drive anywhere and everywhere. The only signs of civilization here were the electric poles running right upto the China border. Yaks could be seen at these altitudes as well, grazing on whatever dry grass they could find. The driver informed us that the place hardly received any precipitation.

We then saw a small structure on top of a hillock. We drove towards it. That was the sarv dharm sthal near the Gurudongmar lake. We got out of our vehicles to be greeted by a signboard that read "Gurudongmar lake: 17100ft". Finally, we were there. Just below us was a massive, pristine blue, absolutely still water body, half frozen in the month of May.

The sun was beating down hard and bright. But failed to beat the chill. The sky was a darkest shade of blue. Clouds appeared like huge fluffs of cotton hugging the snowy hillocks around. We moved about slowly. Slightest of exertion left us breathless. The sarv dharm sthal was essentially a sikh religious place; Guru Nanak is said to have visited the place. It was constructed by the Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army. We chatted up a soldier on duty there. He showed us the China border that lay just half a km from where we were. He told us that they have to spend an year here, with 3 months leave. It took an army soldier 20 days to reach this region, taking time for acclimatization enroute.

I then descended to the lake taking a steep flight of stairs. Soldiers were taking a dip in the holy waters, some were filling up their canisters as well. Truckloads of soldiers had descended here. I took a short walk around the lake, then went up again. A short climb left me panting and with a throbbing headache. All our copassengers were unwell. It was best to leave now and descend to lower altitudes. So we started the drive back through the spectacular lunar landscape, back through lachen, on towards our next destination, Lachen enroute to the Yumthang valley.

Nathula Pass

2011-05-08T23:38:00.007+05:30

The long awaited day was finally here. I made my first foray out of Gangtok, to explore Sikkim. My mom is visiting me, so I we decided to visit Nathula pass today. Nathula is about 55 km away from Gangtok, and can be easily covered in a day. So we hired a taxi from Gangtok and left at around 9 am. It’s a rather late hour to leave for a high altitude area, but the taxi people have to arrange for passes. So its usually that late by the time taxis leave. Scores and scores of taxis with hundreds of tourists left one after the other.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, with bits of clouds hovering around. Nothing really threatening. It promised to be a great day. So we started out. The highway does not have a great reputation. That was evident right from the moment we drove into the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, the highway from Gangtok to Nathula. It was narrow and in tatters. We crossed the 3rd mile police checkpost that led us out into the great Himalayan wilderness. The Himalayan landscape spread out before us in all its splendour. Unlike the western Himalayas, it was well forested and with hardly any civilization, except for military stations along the highway. This was probably necessary, given the security concerns in these parts. The mountainside was lush green. In the distance, the clouds played hide and seek with the hills; sometimes enveloping them, then revealing them. It was as if a magician was performing the disappear/ reappear trick. The highway was in a very bad shape owing to the road widening work being carried out by the Border Roads Organisation. The road was completely washed away in long stretches, replaced by slush and loose rocks. It was treacherous to drive in such conditions. An ordinary car could never survive such conditions. The terrain gradually changed from lush green, subtropical to tundra type, consisting of only shrubs. The mountainscape was extremely rocky and steep as in really, unimaginably steep. We came across innumerable waterfalls on the way. A number of streams ran across the road. It was a miracle that a road actually existed under such conditions. In the distance, the road appeared to cling like a thin thread to the mountainside, as if for dear life. On one side was a sheer drop, and on the other was a steep, rocky mountainside. It was a welcome sign of habitation in an otherwise bleak, inhospitable landscape. One by one the military stations rolled past us. 5th mile, 7th mile, 10th mile, 15th mile, 17th mile and so on. As we gained altitude, it became colder and colder. It became more and more difficult to keep the window open, but I had to in order to take photographs. But I loved the cold wind against my face.

The only town we crossed was Kyongnosla, at 10000 ft. Thereon, the terrain changed drastically to a rocky one. We crossed the snow line. The snow lay in bits and pieces along the road, and the pieces grew bigger as we climbed. The slopes on the nearby hills were covered with dirty snow. Immediately after Kyongnosla, we crossed Tsomgo lake at 12000ft. This was one of the tourists spots that we were to cover on the way back. It was a huge glacial lake with crystal clear water. Numerous yaks lazed by the banks. These were decorated and meant for yak rides. We gradually reached almost the same height as the nearby peaks, a sign that Nathula was nearby. 6 km before Nathula, was a town called Sherathang. This was a cross border trading town. Merchants from China crossed the Nathula for cross border trade. Today, the town appeared to be shut. Thereon, I craned my neck to catch any signs of Nathula.

Nathula

Finally, a bright red coloured building drew into sight. Our taxi stopped near a stairway that passed through a gate leading to the red building. We had reached Nathula. We climbed the stairs to reach the red coloured building. The red building was our border post. Right behind the red building was an equally impressive Chinese border post. A barbed wire separated the 2 buildings. We could walk right upto the barbed wire. Across the wire lay China. 3 chinese soldiers guarded their post. The Indian army soldiers kept a strict watch on the teaming crowds, warning everyone to stay away from the wire. The entire place was covered by a thick layer of snow. One slip here and we would fall inside Chinese territory. On one side of the building was the border gate opening into Tibet. The gate was shut, and deserted. Unlike our side of the border, the Chinese side was quiet and deserted. No tourists there. At other places, a huge wall separated Chinese territory from India. A lot of photographs jostling with the teeming Bengali hordes later, we left Nathula.

China

Baba Mandir

The next destination was Baba Mandir. Baba Harbhajan Singh, an Indian army soldier lost his life while leading a mule column in these parts in the 1960s by drowning in a nullah. He was 22. Legend has it that baba effected a few miracles that saved lives of many army personnel immediately following his death. He appeared in the dreams of one of his colleagues and demanded that a Samadhi be constructed for him. These instructions were followed and a mandir named after baba was constructed. Baba is said to be the guardian angel of the Nathula pass, and would warn Indian troops 3 days before a Chinese invasion. Baba mandir lay in a picturesque, grassy valley close to a military helipad. The mandir was small and crudely built. It had a garlanded photograph of baba and his office and personal effects. Baba is considered to be on duty and is treated as a serving army soldier. It began snowing here. The driver said that we have to depart immediately. So we rushed back. The snow and sleet got heavier and heavier. It was beating down hard on the vehicle. The road became even more slushy. But the driver drove confidently. The surrounding peaks had been devoured by the clouds. It was scary to look out of the window- the slushy road, a steep valley and an imposing, rocky mountainside. We hurried down.

Tsomgo Lake

We had a brief stopover at Tsomgo lake. The yaks still lazed around, undaunted by the snow and sleet. One of them was half buried in snow, but lay as if it were basking in the warm sunshine. The owners implored us for a yak ride. But we were too wet and cold to bother about yak rides. We hurried inside the jeep and rushed back. The snow, sleet and rain beat down as hard as ever. Finally, we stopped at Kyongnosla for lunch. It was past 3 pm. Me and my mom shared a packet of maggi. We wanted to rush back into the car and back home. The rain had mercifully stopped. But we were wet and cold. As we descended, it grew warmer and dryer. We discovered that it had not rained at all in Gangtok. It was so much better to be back in Gangtok.

This trip was true value for money. Whenever I have a holiday and nothing much to do, I know where to head- again and again and again.

Sikkim…. The Hidden Kingdom

2011-04-24T23:16:00.003+05:30

I start off again… travelling to another corner of the world. The fairy tale just never ends. So far so good. The Mumbai story has come to an end. And another chapter begins. My caravan moves to the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim. Its been one month now, in this relatively pristine Himalayan region, a sparsely populated state that gives great importance to preservation of the environment. One still does not see much evidence of deforestation. Lets begin this series with the capital of this beautiful state, Gangtok. Sikkim is a state that prides itself on its rains. It is said that there are only 2 seasons in Sikkim- the winter season and the rainy season. The winter season is one when it is cold and it rains every alternate day. The rest of the year it rains everyday. During the monsoon, its always raining… phew!!! And I thought Mumbai rains were the worst one could experience. Its been 3 weeks now since I landed here, and its rained every evening since then.

As is well known, rains in the Himalayas brings forth sights worth dying for. That is exactly what unfolds before my eyes day after day in this chilly, rainy region. Sometimes early in the morning, sometimes late in the afternoon. The clouds invade our little kingdom, turning it into a fairy land. They swallow the hills and everything in sight. Sometimes they devour the town itself. The institute campus turns misty, lending it a ghostly feel. I stand for hours under the hospital porch and take in the wonderful sights and the cool breeze. That point offers the best view of the valley. I cant control my trigger happy finger and fire my camera in all directions. Feast your eyes on the extravaganza below. Remember.. this is only a beginning. The best is yet to come.

SoBo

2010-12-06T17:42:00.006+05:30

That's South Bombay for non Bombayiites…. I find South Bombay to be Bombay rather than Mumbai... That is the beauty of South Bombay. A truly cosmopolitan place that is still untouched by the obsession with Marathi engulfing the rest of Bombay (ooops….. Mumbai). It is everything that Bombay stood for once; the financial capital of India and melting pot of cultures with a truly secular ethos where the only thing that mattered was your business acumen. Regionalism has no place here. This was the original Bombay that the British inhabited and developed. They constructed their administrative infrastructure in Victorian Gothic style. It is well planned, well constructed, and built to endure. The town (as this part of the city is called) is easily the most aesthetic part of the city and can easily compete in the infrastructure and layout with any European city. Each building is a landmark in itself. Vast open spaces, greenery, well laid out wide roads, the road along the beach, everything gels together. This is quite a contrast to the chaotic, disorganized concrete jungle that the rest of Bombay is.

The southern most tip of Bombay is Navy Nagar, the defence area, and is out of bounds for civilians. South Bombay ends at around the Mumbai Central station. North of Mumbai Central station was the area where general Indian population lived. It originally extended northwards upto Mahim. Dadar was the epicenter of Indian activities. This part of Bombay was for wretched, less fortunate souls. It was poorly planned and not much infrastructure was set up. Bombay's growth proceeded linearly, along a single road that extended north- south. Beyond Mahim was the Mahim creek, which was bridged by the Mahim causeway later and Bandra and the other suburbs came into existence. Then the suburban railway was constructed in the 1950s…. and slowly Bombay became what it is now.. good or bad… take your pick.

Western Railway Headquarters

Coming back to SoBo…..

Rajabai Tower & Mumbai University

When I came to Bombay 10 months back, the Marine Drive got me addicted to SoBo. That was my port of entry so to speak of. A long stretch of road fit for driving those fancy cars at speeds unheard off in Bombay. Nice place to hang out in the evenings.. or rather, any time of the day, with the cool sea breeze blowing almost all day. Evenings and early mornings see a rush of joggers here. Mumbai CST station is, needless to say, a heritage building, always crowded and it seems that all roads lead to this station. Rajabai tower, Bombay university, and BSNL building are all in close proximity to each other, along a tree lined avenue. When seen from a distance, these can be identified only in bits and pieces due to the thick foliage. These are located bang opposite the Azad maidan, that famous breeding ground of the country's leading cricketers. This vast expanse of land provides a welcome change from the concrete jungle and much needed breathing space.

Proceeding further away from the Churchgate station is the Flora fountain or the Hutatma Chowk. This is the fort area. To the right is the Kala Ghoda, the site for various cultural events, especially the Kala Ghoda festival. This entire road is lined by buildings in the the Victorian Gothic style. Straight ahead lies Colaba causeway, a delight for street shoppers and further ahead is the Gateway of India and the Taj and Oberoi hotels. This area is also pockmarked by iconic restaurants like Tendulakar's and Bade Miyan and also various pastry and sandwich shops.

Azad Maidan

No description of South Bombay is complete without referring to Nariman Point, the business district of Mumbai, or rather, one should say all of India. Lined by numerous highrises, all roads and railway lines lead to Nariman Point in the morning and away from it in the evenings. A hub of hectic business activity on weekdays, the region is overflowing with people.

Churchgate Station- Cut the crowds and its Europe

The best time to visit Town is on a Sunday morning…. Early morning. When all is calm. SoBo is transported back to the British era, when life was more relaxed, population sparse. One can take in the sights and sounds and feel the breeze and the early rays of the sun- things no one has any time for during a regular weekday… rather… the wind too forgets to blow and the sun glares down rather than soothe you. The roads are empty, shops are mostly shut, its like all of Town belongs to you. A lone, lazy sweeper sweeps the roads as if he has all the time in the world reinforces the laid back Sunday morning ambience here. One can have a relaxed breakfast of one's choice at the numerous eating joints that open early. My favourite is an English breakfast… suits the ambience, I feel. I usually travel on foot. That's the best way to explore if you don't want to cover the entire area in one day and just look forward to a leisurely Sunday.

First Indian South Pole Expedition

2010-11-08T23:40:00.005+05:30

The following is a news article reporting the launch of the first Indian South Pole Expedition. Though India has had a presence in Antarctica for about 30 years, this is the first official south pole expedition. Indians have been to the south pole many times, but those were private expeditions or those launched by other countries. The team would be going in arctic trucks which are tailor made for travel on ice. Currently, only the Americans have a permanent station, Amundsen-Scott, at the south pole. This trip coincides with the centenary celebrations of the first man to set foot on the south pole (Roald Amundsen- Dec 1911)

Nov. 2 – India kicked off its first scientific expedition to the South Pole Monday evening, sending eight scientists on a month and a half long voyage aimed at uncovering how climate change has affected the environmental conditions in Antarctica over the last 1,000 years.

Led by Rasik Ravinda, head of the National Center for Antarctic and Ocean Research, the team will first travel to Cape Town, South Africa where they will then board a plane bound for Maitri – an Indian research base located on the rocky, ice-free Schirmacher Oasis in East Antarctica.

Traveling on specially-designed ice trucks, the research team is scheduled to leave Maitri Station on November 8, beginning an estimated 40-day, 2,400 kilometer journey to the South Pole and back during which the scientists will conduct a variety of tests and experiments.

"We will conduct meteorological experiments, [and] record humidity, temperatures, wind speed and atmospheric pressures during the 20-day trip to the South Pole, and other experiments will be conducted on our way back," the 62-year-old team leader said. The team is also expected to study snow chemistry and the continent's bedrock topography, glacial landforms, and atmosphere.

"No one has taken the route we will be taking to the South Pole," Ravinda said. He added that the team will only spend one or two days at the South Pole.

"We chose the expedition because no one has gone on this track and things have changed over time so new data on variations will be available to us," he said. "Everything is now linked to global warming."

Sources say that India's ambitious South Pole expedition emphasizes the country's eagerness to make informative scientific contributions to the global fight against climate change. The Indian team plans on bringing rocks, ice cores, and air samples back to India for research.

Guest Blog: Antarctica, The Terra Australis Incognita

2010-09-12T02:43:00.004+05:30

Dr. D. K. Biswas is currently the medical officer at Maitri. He is a doctor in the CGHS, from Kolkata. He can be contacted on ddkbcal@gmail.com.

The passion for Antarctica grew in me from my early childhood. I learnt in geography that there is a land on earth where nights prevail continuously for six months and continuous sunshine for six months. How was it possible? How could people survive there, if there be any? All these questions bogged the mind of a boy.

Later, one of our senior colleagues Dr. P. K. Malhotra opted for and left for Antarctica in the year 2003. This rekindled my desire to be in Antarctica at any cost. I started collecting information regarding both Antarctica and Arctic from news papers and net.

In one busy OPD hours one circular was placed on my table by my LDC, asking for deputation to Antarctica as Expedition Doctor. I made my mind to apply for this. I talked to my family one at a time regarding my desire for Antarctica. All were excited at first but after seeing the duration to be long 14 months and remoteness of the place and myself being a patient of diabetes thought it will be better if I abandon the plan. Moreover there was problem of my release from the Ministry and above all myself being fit in the Medical (Physical and Psychological) test at AIIMS, New Delhi.

However with lot of discussions with my family members and repeated inquiry from Dr. P. K. Malhotra, regarding the working condition, state of living and food available at Maitri, the Indian Antarctic station , I had submitted my willingness for being deputed as a Station Doctor for the 29^th Indian Scientific Expedition To Antarctica.

At last by the grace of God, I got selected and released from my parent organization on 11.11.09. (Though after a little problem regarding release from the Ministry). My long cherished desire was going to be fulfilled now! In the early morning of 12.11.2009. I started from Kolkata. and reached Goa.. After completing formalities at National Centre For Antarctica and Ocean Research, Goa, we left for Antarctica on 15.11.2009. The schedule at NCAOR was hectic. We had to collect polar clothing and give trials, fill up feedback forms .We were briefed regarding our attitude and behavior on the way to and at Antarctica. The briefing was enlightening and we had a glimpse about what to expect at the unknown white Continent. The NCAOR people at GOA were very friendly and helpful. It was like they were seeing off their family members for a long journey.

On 19.11.2009 at about 11 AM local time the giant Russian aircraft IL-76TD (Illyushin) touched the long awaited airstrip (Novlazarevskaya) on continental ice at Antartica.. The journey from Cape Town to Antarctica was tiring due to continuous noise of the flight engine. Excitement of seeing a new continent was mounting as the destination approached. I dressed myself in polar clothing with great difficulty in a limited space of the aircraft. The very first thought which came to my mind was how to step on the ice, how to walk, will it slip or will the glare of the sun and reflections from ice make me blind? However with great caution I placed my feet on polar ice cap. These are hard ice formed by continuous deposition of snow over hundreds of thousands of years. As snow crystals fall and pile on top of each other creating huge weight that compress the earlier snow and converts it into ice sheet. It is blue in color shiny glassy and very hard. Its maximum thickness is more than 4 Km. It is in continuous motion from high interior to the coast. I walked with great caution like a toddler. It was wonderful to see vast sea/sheet of ice everywhere meeting the horizon with the bright sun in the real clear deep blue sky. In spite of the scorching sun above the biting cold seems to seep deep into the bones. There was nothing to be seen in the vast desert of bluish white ice except the Giant aircraft, few feeder planes with ski on wheels, Pisten Bully, Skidoo, some tents, housing modules and some Ground Staff. Pisten Bully is the snow vehicle equipped with heater, GPS and VHF radio sets, from Germany. Skidoos are the snow scooters from Norway. Members of previous team and leader of our team came to receive us in Pisten Bully. They asked us to remove the snow goggles to identify us but with fear of snow blindness we were hesitant to do so. However later we removed it and found no difficulty if eyes are left uncovered for short period only.

At Maitri, the sweet home outside home, there was warm reception for us by the inmates and also by the Antarctic Skuas .They are birds having features of both eagle and duck. They are the regular summer visitors to Maitri. We had light snacks and tea followed by lunch. Later we took rest in summer camp container. This too was unique. It is a self sufficient accommodation for four which is comfortable even in such harsh condition. Though there was attached bath, there was no water supply and we had to use the common bath complex outside. In the evening we were briefed regarding use of dry toilets and other utilities of the main station, rules and regulations. We were introduced to all (Old and new) members. After dinner we went to our summer hut module (Myself alone in my module) about 100 meters from main block. We were tired after such a long and eventful day and the wrist watch showed 11 PM. It was time for bed but outside there was bright sunlight! I drew the curtain and slept.

However in the morning experience in the toilet was not very pleasant. In such freezing cold using the toilet after climbing on the high platform needs expertise. However I went through it without any mishap. Though when I think of it, it was the first horrifying experience in the continent for a man of a tropical country who had had no experience of snow except for some short tours within the country.

The facts which astonished me most were the absence of mosquitoes, cockroaches, ants and spiders. No spider webs hanging hither and thither. Food items like cakes biscuits, bhujia, snacks, lying open on the table are all crisp not attacked by insects. May be Mother Nature preserves them as it is for us, considering the harshness of the condition! Gradually on exploration we could see penguins (Adelie) incubating eggs in their rookery near the coast. Wavy ridges of shelf ice near the coast appeared to me as frozen waves of sea. On the backside (Southern) of our station the receding continental ice sheet touching the clear blue sky (which is supposed to be a million years old) fascinated me. Water from this ice cap accumulates in Priyadarshini Lake and provides water supply to Maitri round the year. During winter water can be found under cover of about 2 meters thick ice.

The solitude is broken by the continuous howling of the winds and grunting of the generators. They are our life line in Antarctica. It seems very funny why till date we are having those giant noise makers especially in the pristine condition like this, whereas in main land we are using eco friendly noise proof gensets.

Here time taken to do any outdoor job can not be compared to that of the mainland. Even driving in a nail is a major job and when done correctly, is an accomplishment. Most of the outdoor jobs are done during the summer months when the weather is good. Actually effective working days are very few due to bad weather like high winds, blizzards and cold which are frequent. We have to watch out for "workable weather" and cannot afford to let go of a single such day.

Members of the expedition team need to go to the ice shelf, about 120 Km. away, to bring the yearly quotas of fuel, food items building materials and other logistic items in convoy. These are kept in sealed containers, brought in ice class ships. During convoy a series of ice class vehicles towing empty containers for fuel, back loaded containers with unused waste materials, container for living module (Banjara) and container for generator set (Jeevan Jyoti), move towards the shelf. The weather condition is quite different from that of inland. Almost always it is harsh and they have to work hard to get the job done there. Sometimes they get stuck up there for days together in blizzards. High winds and blowing snow may lead to almost zero visibility, which is a condition called" White Out" where a person loses his perception to surrounding. On the way, though delineated by the GPS, sometimes they encounter crevasses. These are very dangerous and often life and materials are lost. While returning from convoy a sense coming back to sweet homes arises in the mind at the sight of the Maitri.

It is aptly said that Maitri is representative of mini India. Here people come from all corners of the country and there is ample opportunity to get exposure to various cultures and languages and religions. A unique intimacy grows between the Maitrians which cannot be described in words because such ties will not be possible in the mainland. It teaches us a lot regarding doing all sorts of job leaving behind the rank and status one holds in mainland.

It is a wonderful place where one can come to know one's own self being in the solitude far away from the hassles of daily urban life. Borchgrevink the great Australian Explorer aptly said "The silence roared in our ears, it was centuries of heaped up solitude." Let the civilized mankind not break it!

A Weekend in the Sahaydris

2010-08-07T01:56:00.003+05:30

It was a long time since I indulged in some hard core adventure. I was itching for some excitement. But time still did not permit me. So I settled for a feel of adventure and nature. Adventurous though it was, but very short lived. It was over before I knew. It was a very memorable and fun day nonetheless.
I booked myself with an adventure group for a Sunday trek to Tandulwadi on the 1^st August. I was told that there would be a total of 13 members in the group. So at 6 am I met the representative of the company at Bandra station…. An amicable, talkative, workaholic girl, Bianca. She worked effortlessly at getting all the group members together. We were all from diverse backgrounds…. Doctor, banker, tax professional, corporate professionals, creative people and so on, all typical Bombaiites (not mumbaiites.. mind you). It was a lively, young group. We left it 2 SUVs for… god knows where. I could not make out the direction we were going in. it was only when we reached Borivli that I regained my orientation. We passed places that I had only heard of but never seen- Virar, Bhayander, Vasai, Dahisar and a few more that I cannot recollect. The trip was noisy, with the 2 girls, Priyanka and Vanessa constantly chattering away and keeping us from going to sleep. Bianca kept up the tempo with her interest in knowing people. The others were bored stiff. The highway was in a mess, something I have become used to while in Mumbai. Though it was early morning on a sunday, but the traffic was anything but sparse. At last we were out of Bombay. The concrete was behind us. And all around was fresh, green vegetation- forests or fields. A welcome sight after living in that urban hell called Bombay. It was raining sporadically, sometimes a downpour, sometimes a shower. After about 3 hours, we turned towards what was apparently a village road. We came across a signboard displaying the name 'Tandulwadi' that meant rice bowl. And there were rice fields all around, with people working in them, knee deep in water.

We soon halted outside a village. This was the beginn ing of our trek. I had presumed that I would be a cakewalk and prepared for a leisurely walk. I was soon to be proven wrong. This was going to be some adrenaline pumping stuff. The initial part was actually easy. There was a light shower now and then. But nothing that required rain gear. In fact, I took off my raincoat soon enough, as did the others. As expected, the trek passed through a lush green forest. The climb was a lazy one. There was a lot of friendly banter going on. Some were quiet, others boisterous. That kept up the mood and the tempo. Gerard, the eldest among the lot was feeling the strain. He walked leisurely. But when he could not keep up with the group, he volunteered to stay back in order to not slow down the group. Soon enough, we reached a clearing in the forest. That was a beautiful sight. A green carpet all around, ringed by trees, and just ahead of us towered a steep, rocky mountain whose peak was shrouded under a blanket of clouds. The other hills nearby were similarly draped in a veil of clouds. This was picture perfect.

One could take wallpaper quality photographs here. It was raining fairly hard now. To add to it, it was very windy as well. Uncomfortably so. The scene was further 'enhanced' by the presence of two dogs and a bull. They had left their markings around. Priyanka was gracious enough to provide us entertainment by voluntarily stepping into them. Mark also made his presence felt by participating actively in all the tomfoolery, along with Oswin. We felt that the trek was about to be over. When someone sprang up with the thought that we were going to climb that mountain ahead of us, he was derided. But soon enough Bianca and Govind, our guide informed the group that we were actually going to climb it. Well… that would be something really. And we soldiered on.

Bit by bit we clambered. The climb was steep. We were more often than not on all fours. The rocks were slippery and really dangerous. I was covered wi th slush. The rain was sometimes torrential. But that was not a concern now. The raincoats were forgotten. We had to get out of this mess first. We made our way through the dense vegetation and met some interesting wildlife on the w ay, including crabs. My brief brush with rock climbing came in handy here. Each step had to be taken cautiously. There was no room for error. One wrong step and a lethal drop awaited us. No photography was possible here. I valued my camera more than some fantastic shots. We soon reached a small clearing which led us to an artificial pond filled with muddy water. The rain and t he wind made life miserable for us. There was n o tree cover. This was the end point of the trek we were to have lunch there. But the wind made it impossible. Govind suggested that we go to a clearing nearby which had tree cover and hence would provide some protection from the wind. He was right. There was another clearing some distance away which had a tree cover in the windward direction. We chose some rocks near the trees where the wind was less and set up camp ther e. Lunch was readymade. It consisted of thepla, sandwiches, fresh salad, farsaan, some fried stuff, and finally apples. It was satisfying and gratifying. We had our fills and lazed around a bit.

We were all wet and miserable. But the daunting task of going back the same way haunted my mind. That was gonna be something. Finally we moved on. Initially, things were ok. I chose to do the downward trek on all f ours. That was the safest and fastest way to do it. And soon enough I discovered that I was right. I clambered do wn relatively effortlessly at my pace, though I was looking like a slush covered wretch by the time the trek was over. The way back did not take as long as the way up, and expectedly so. We were totally sapped by the time we were half way back. There was total silence from the brat pack. We lumbered back like a sack of potatoes. We reached back and immediately changed into dry clothes as soon as possible. That was heavenly. We dosed off soon, except for the driver, that is..

The way back was dull and boring. Soon, we were snaking our way back through traffic……. Ugggghhhh. I better not spoil the mood.

Destination Norway- III

2010-08-05T21:15:00.005+05:30

The third day was spent at the conference. The venue was Norwegian Trade Fairs at Lillestrom, the closest station to the airport on the local train. The conference venue was truly massive and very very spacious. The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Mr Prithviraj Chauhan, Minister of Science. He spoke big words about India's role in the scheme of things at the pole. He was in Norway for his trip to the Indian Arctic Station, Himadri. The purpose of his visit to the Arctic and to the conference is still unclear to me. The conference was finally declared open by Prince Albert II of Monaco, the latest entrant to the Antarctic Treaty.

Multiple programs were on simultaneously. Polar cinema, reindeer herders' conference, multiple oral presentations, poster presentations, polar exhibitions……. All on at the same time. A diverse range of scientific disciplines were on display. Most of the program was latin and greek to me. Polar cinema was the most engrossing, with movies (mostly documentaries and short clips) from all over the arctic. There was very limited material presented from the Antarctic. The conference got over at about 4 pm. Then I went to Oslo central station, spent some time exploring the place, tasting local delicacies and then I went to meet Paresh, an online friend who happened to be in Oslo. It was nice to spend time with him and his wife and have good Indian food in Oslo. He was very hospitable and guided me about what to see in Oslo. It was now time to go back for some good conversation at the youth hostel, and a good sleep.

The next day was again conference time. But I had plans to explore the forests around Oslo as well. So I left the conference early and went to Sognsvann by metro. By the time I reached Sognsvann, it was raining pretty heavily. Luckily, I was carrying an umbrella. That's mandatory in Oslo, as it is in Bombay. Inspite of the rain, I went for a short hike into the forests. It was all coniferous vegetation. The surroundings reminded me of my treks to the Himalayas. Everything was quite similar, except for the terrain. Unfortunately, I did not take pics here because of the rain. Then I went back to Sognsvann and explored the area. It was a nice, quiet area with neat houses and pretty gardens. Not many people could be seen. This being the spring season, lot of flowers could be seen all around. It was a nice, easy and relaxing walk.

This evening, the conference organizers had organized a party at the Fram museum. The Fram museum was located at Bygdoy that was accessible most easily by ferry from the Aker Brygge. The attraction was the museum and not the party. The Fram is the ship that during its time sailed to the highest latitudes north and south. It was also the ship that carried the first man on the South Pole, Roald Amundsen to Antarctica. Therefore, it has a prominent place in the annals of polar exploration. The museum was built around the ship. The Fram was a wooden ship, like all ships made in that era, but had a reinforced, rounded hull, to be able to withstand sea ice. Numerous artifacts were from the expedition were on display there… clothes, food, rifles, skis, rations, so on and so forth…. I explored the ship from inside as well… rooms of all the occupants, including Amundsen. This museum took me back to Antarctica. I could relate to what his experiences would have been like, having experienced Antarctica myself.

The day finally ended at 10 pm, and I retired to my room. The next day was some big adventure… a cycle ride to Drobak, a small town 50 km away.

Destination Norway- II

2010-07-18T14:09:00.002+05:30

The next day, I started to explore Oslo. The first trip was to the office of the conference organizers office near Majorsteun. I got my conference entry pass and then I left for Holmenkollen ski jump. Holmenkollen is located inside the city limits. Imagine…. A ski resort within a city. It is an artificial ski resort, with a single slope located among the low hills around Oslo, set amongst a lot of greenery. The area was well forested, and was served by a local bus stop. It was just within limits of the city bus service, though Oslo is not a very big city. The road leading to the ski slope was steep, and lonely. I crossed a resort on the way, which was under renovation. That must be a cosy, noisy place during the winters…. The façade of the ski slope displayed a sign board conveying that Holmenkollen was to host the Scandinavian winter games.

The Oslo Metro (T- bane)

The ski slope itself turned out to be quite an anticlimax. Obviously, I never expected any snow, but the summer pics online were pretty attractive, with lots of greenery and flowers in place of snow. The reason was that the ski slope was under renovation for the games. The ground around was all dug up and full of construction material. There was nothing much to see there. However, the area around was interesting. The weather was sunny, and the air was cool and crisp. The surroundings were green. It was a nice place to walk. In fact, walking in Oslo was always a pleasure. So I loitered around the area for some time, snoozed on the green grass and then caught the bus back to Majorsteun.

Holmenkollen ski slope

I met a Pakistani on the way back, who told me that I must visit the Vigilande park near Majorsteun, which was supposed to be the only place worth visiting in all of Oslo. So I decided to go there. The place was quite interesting…. A huge garden, with walkways, kids playing, cycling, skating, lots of attractive sculptures and of course….. greenery. I walked around a bit, and found the place pretty much like Lodhi Gardens back home in Delhi. By this time, it was 6 pm. Time to head to the Oslo City Hall, where the pre conference ice breaker get together was to be held. So I took the Metro to the National Theatre, which was close to the venue. The National Theatre area itself was quite a heritage area. They were ancient buildings, constructed in typical Nordic style (though I don't know what that means ;). It was the cultural hub of Oslo. The Oslo City Hall was just a short walk away. The get together venue was in tents behind the City Hall. The tents, it turned out were the ones used by the Eskimos of Norway… the Saamis. And it further transpired that the entire evening was dedicated to the Saamis. They presented cultural events from the Arctic.. music, dance, dresses, display of Arctic life… that came across as nothing too easy. The food was totally new to me. I was certainly looking forward to it…. Complete with meats and wine.. a light meal. The meat, we were informed was reindeer meat. So there was reindeer meat, reindeer liver, and … hold your breath… reindeer tongue. The reindeer, we were told was an integral part of life in the Arctic….. just like the camel in a desert. Of course, all that is changing now, with Eskimos adopting a more western lifestyle and their villages and towns becoming more modern. I met people from so many nationalities, that I was amazed by the colourful world we lived in. This was my first such experience. People from all over the world under a small tent, from as off beat places as Papua New Guinea. The South Americans bore a striking resemblance to us Indians.

Oslo City Hall

The Arctic Tents

The Arctic People- Saami

Reindeer Meat

Destination Norway- I

2010-07-04T03:27:00.006+05:30

Finally, two and a half years of hard work and planning and a grueling, 15 month long Antarctica trip finally paid off. I was to present 2 papers at the biggest ever polar research conference, the International Polar Year Conference at Oslo, Norway. I reached Oslo on 6th June 2010. After getting foreign exchange and inquiring about the various modes of transport available to the main city, I settled for the Oslo suburban train (tog in Norsk). The best options were the Airport express train (Flytoget) and the Airport express bus (Flybuss). But both these would drill a hole in my pocket. So I reached the Oslo central railway station, and then took a connecting train to Grefsen, the area where I was to stay. The journey from airport to the city centre was a pleasant one. The train interiors were heated, and plush with cushioned seats. The conductors were well mannered, smartly dressed and very helpful. The train passed through the outskirts of the city, giving me a glimpse of the countryside. There were rolling expanses of lush green grass with neat houses and pretty gardens dotting the scene. There was not a shade of brown to be seen anywhere.Grefsen was a tiny station, with not a soul in sight to guide me to my hotel. Luckily, I found signboards all along the way. My hotel was a pleasant walk from the Grefsen station.

Suburban Train

The air was chilly, crisp and very clean. The ground was wet because of recent rains. The youth hostel was located just above a vast meadow lined all around by coniferous trees. It was a pleasant sight. I checked into my room, settled down and then went out to explore the area a bit. The hostel staff guided me. They were extremely hospitable, polite and helpful people. I purchased a 24 hour multimodal transport pass and went out. It was summer time and days at those latitudes were long. So I could be out till late at night. In fact, there was no period of complete darkness at all. It was dusk at midnight; then again the day began to break. My Antarctica camera was my constant companion. I decided to explore the riverside. It was 4:30 pm. The sun was shining bright. I was told that this was a rarity in Norway, and so its an ideal day to explore the riverside, that divided Oslo into two. All of Oslo would be there. So off I went. It was a pleasant walk through the narrow streets of Oslo, overrun by tram lines. I asked for directions at every step, till I reached a small stream. I walked along it, hoping to reach the river. When I didn't, I asked for directions again. The person informed me with a smirk that I was in fact walking along the river all this while. This, I thought, was THE river????? What an apology…. Back home in India, we called this a nullah. Anyways, I walked along it. The 'river' notwithstanding, the walk along a riverside was indeed very refreshing. There was a lot of greenery all along, people sunbathing, enjoying the barbecue and beer or wine. There were a lot of people running, cycling, roller skating, skateboarding, orsimply walking. This was what I later discovered was a daily routine in the life of Oslo residents. They were very sporty people. They liked to be physically active. So inspite of rains, people could be seen wearing raincoats and jogging or cycling. Kids could be seen playing soccer. Lots of people were driving with their personal boats lugging behind. During the winters, everyone was skiing. Coming back to the riverside….. I reached the Oslo central station. It was 6 pm.The Oslo central was the transport hub of the city. It was a huge complex where all modes of transport converged. All buses, trams and railway lines passed through that complex. It also housed numerous fast food joints, departmental stores, foreign exchange counters and post office. I explored it a bit. The public transport system in Oslo was impressive.

It consisted of the bus (buss in Norsk), tram (trikk), suburban train (tog), metro (t- bane) and the ferry to the museum area in Bygdoy. The tickets were common to all these modes with the rates too being similar. What was striking was that the interiors of all these modes were similar too. They were all quite comfortable, heated, clean and plush. The streets of Oslo were quite narrow. Finally, I took a tram back, picked up a pizza for dinner and retired for the night after chatting up with people of other nationalities at the Youth Hostel.

Cyclists.in

2010-04-17T00:49:00.001+05:30

Folks… the caravan now moves to Mumbai. From the remotest corner of the earth to the most crowded one. Though I have been here for 3 months, but the city did not allow me to post anything till this now.
It was another warm, humid Sunday morning. I pulled Abhishek, a medical student out of his bed at 6 am and well left for Marine Drive on our bicycles. Marine Drive is half hour bike ride away from Parel, where we are staying. The route was miserable as usual. I am used to the filth on Mumbai roads and the narrow congested roads. But the destination was pleasant. A cool sea breeze, clean sea face and a pristine blue sky untouched by the congestion of Mumbai, the early morning walkers…. And so on.

So we sped along the Marine Drive, from Girgaum Chowpatti to Nariman Point. There was minimal traffic, the sun was rising fast and it was getting warm. All of a sudden we saw a swarm of cyclists hurtling by. Most of them were in full cycling gear- helmets, gloves, knee guards.. and the works. We took them to be regular, hardcore cyclists, if not thorough professionals. Then we heard screams of “join us join us” coming towards us from the direction of the cyclists. Without batting an eyelid, we went after them. And stopped at the end of the road where the crowd had gathered. I noticed that they were just a Sunday holiday crowd. Professionals like us who are free only on Sundays. They included all age groups, including middle aged, pot bellied, ageing people and house wives. Some of them had bicycled it down all the way from Borivli (45km away) and would also go back on bicycles. These people were a part of a local cycling group, who meet off and on. Their mission this week was Marine Drive. So now it was time for a round trip around Marine Drive. That got over in no time. And we were soon headed for PJ Hindu Gymkhana, again at Marine Drive, for breakfast. It was all pre arranged. The cost was Rs 100 per head. We ate indulgently and met some new people. It was nice to meet people from other fields and get new inputs. It was really refreshing. I decided to join the group then and there.
It was then time to head back to our hostel as it was getting warmer and warmer and also more humid. The ride back was really unpleasant…. Traffic, pollution, heat… blah blah blah….

Frozen in time: Captain Scott's hut

2010-01-04T19:59:00.006+05:30

Captain Scott whose Cape Evans camp will be preserved

(Courtesy: The Independant)

For those few hundred visitors who make the long journey by ship each year to see the hut for themselves, it looks eerily as if the adventurers had just stepped outside. Yet it is nearly a century since Robert Falcon Scott and his men embarked on their doomed march to the South Pole, an episode that was to go down as one of the most vainglorious in the heroic age of exploration.

Scott's Hut

Courtesy: Unknown

Stores of rations

Courtesy: Unknown

Today their huts at Cape Evans on Ross Island, complete with preserved jars of Heinz Indian Relish, tins of boiled cabbage and still-edible pats of butter, are undergoing a vital restoration. Here, where Scott's party endured a gruelling Antarctic winter as they planned their assault on the South Pole, conservationists hope to restore for future generations a permanent monument to the bravery of the men who gave up comfortable middle class lives to risk all in the blizzards and sub-zero temperatures.

Courtesy: Unknown

Nearly £3.5m has been raised to safeguard the quarters which became a microcosm of Edwardian society during the opening stages of the Terra Nova Expedition of 1910-13, Scott's second and final foray on to the frozen continent.
The most urgent work has already begun as experts announced this week that they had uncovered 300 new artefacts belonging to the expedition. But time and the elements are stacked against the future survival of Scott's hut and its 8,000 items of equipment and expedition memorabilia, and it has been declared one of the most endangered sites in the world by the World Monument Fund.

The Laboratory

Courtesy: Unknown

Philippa Foster Back, whose grandfather was part of Scott's 1910 team that helped build the camp, chairs the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. "We are in a race against time to preserve this irreplaceable part of our heritage. The end of the fundraising is in sight but the final mile is going to be the hardest," she said.
The fundraising effort, which is being led in Britain and New Zealand but has drawn support from around the world, is seeking another £175,000. Half the money has been donated by the private February Foundation, with the balance coming from small donors and polar enthusiasts. It is hoped the work will be finished in time for the centenary celebrations in 2014 when millions will be able to pay a virtual visit to the hut via the internet. But much work must be done before then. Wind deflectors have been fitted to prevent recent heavy snow from building up around the prefabricated dwelling and crushing it. Last year 85 tonnes had to be shovelled away from the structure and water from melting ice continues to endanger the interior.

Unopened Crates

Courtesy:www.gfsc.nasa.gov/

Stoves, lights, clothes, bedding and harnesses for the team of dogs remain where they were left. Objects such as tins, corks, scientific test tubes and compressed "patent" coal bricks from Cardiff remain intact.
Sir David Attenborough, one of the campaign's leading supporters, described the base as "a time warp without parallel". "You walk into Scott's hut and you are transported to the year 1912 in a way that is quite impossible anywhere else in the world. Everything is there," he said. The actor and presenter Michael Palin has described it as "one of the great memorials to exploration anywhere on earth".

Courtesy: www.gfsc.nasa.gov/

The 15m by 8m hut was built by Scott and his team when they landed in Antarctica in 1911. It took a week to erect but was well-loved by the men who called it home despite the hardships they endured there. In his journal, Scott observed: "The hut is becoming the most comfortable dwelling-place imaginable. We have made ourselves a truly seductive home, within the walls of which peace, quiet and comfort remain supreme. Such a noble dwelling transcends the word "hut", and we pause to give it a more fitting title only from lack of the appropriate suggestion."
By the time of his return to the Arctic, Scott had become a hero of Edwardian society and the expedition enjoyed support from the government and people alike. Schools and churches raised money to buy blankets and tents, and news of their progress was eagerly awaited back home. Scott recreated the social structures within the quarters that he had known from the navy. A bulkhead of bottled supplies partitioned the living area. Space was set aside for the 16 officers and scientists. The men bedded down in the wardroom at the east end and dined in the messdeck at the west end. The wardroom was dominated by a large table and spindle-backed chairs. On Sundays the table was covered with a dark blue cloth, although for ordinary meals it was covered with a white oilcloth. There was also a player piano and an HMV gramophone. At the eastern end a darkroom was built and workbenches were constructed for the scientists to conduct their experiments. The men amused themselves by working hard and giving lectures on their specialised subjects – anything from watercolour painting to the history of Japan. On special feast days such as mid-winter's night, they dined on roast seal.

Courtesy: www.gfsc.nasa.gov/

Scott's goal was to beat his rival Roald Amundsen to the Pole. He had been greatly disconcerted on learning that the Norwegian changed his plans to conquer the North Pole after a successful American expedition and set sail for Antarctica instead to challenge him head on.

The Kitchen

Courtesy: www.tiger.gsfc.nasa.gov/

In the end Scott, 43, and his party of four were narrowly beaten to the prize and it was on the return journey that they perished amid scenes of unimaginable suffering. The last entry in the explorer's diary dated 29 March 1912 reads: "Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of hardihood, endurance and courage... which would have stirred the hearts of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale."

Article courtesy: The Independant (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/frozen-in-time-captain-scotts-huts-1844262.html)

Crevasse Rescue

2009-12-13T22:59:00.004+05:30

Video courtesy: Dr Pradip Malhotra, Leader, 28th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (ISEA).

The logistic team from Indian Station, Maitri had an encountered a huge crevasse while returning back to Station from the Indian shelf on 3rd of March 2009. Fortunately they were within a few kilometres from the Indian shelf & could deploy the crane to get the pisten bulley out of the crevasse. Brave men from Maitri marched onwards after facing & dealing with the deadly obstacle....

Crevasse from Pradip Malhotra on Vimeo.

The Igloo Huts

2009-12-01T22:40:00.004+05:30

That’s what the apple and the melon huts are also known as. There are 2 of them near the helipads at Maitri, and another 2 at the site of the third Indian Antarctic Station at Larsemann Hills. The primary purpose of the igloo huts is for camping at places far away from the station. The smaller ones have been nicknamed apple huts and the larger ones, the melon huts owing to their shapes. Very often during the summers, some of the scientific teams have a research project that requires them to camp in the open for many weeks at a stretch, for example, at the Wolthat Mountains or the distant glaciers. Being extremely lightweight, the Igloo huts can be transported underslung by helicopters to the camping site.

The igloo huts are extremely well insulated against temperature and wind. Even in the peak of the winter season, they are surprisingly warm even without heating arrangements. To protect them from being blown away by a blizzard, they have to be strapped firmly and one has to bury the edges in snow all around its base to prevent the wind from getting a grip underneath. They have cots with mattresses and a small table put up inside. A kitchen can also be set up as the structure is fireproof. They have a trap door in the roof to enable occupants to exit in case of heavy snowfall. Contrary to the outward appearance, they are surprisingly spacious. Lots of rations can be easily stored inside. A generator can be attached to the huts for electricity as the huts have plug points and bulb holders.
These are a drastic improvement over tents that used to be used earlier for such excursions. Tents are still used, but only for short stays not too far away from the station. Tents used to be too flimsy for windy conditions, and offered little protection against the cold. There are many tales of tents being blown away with their occupants during such trips.

Apart from camping, these huts can also be used as refugee huts, as they are currently being used as at Larsemann Hills. The ones at Larsemann Hills are well stocked with rations and sleeping arrangements and are meant for use by the field parties working at the site of the new station in bad weather if they cannot be transported back to the ship in time. As with all structures in Antarctica, they are never locked to enable the facilities to be used by any stranded or lost person of any nationality for any reason. Such facilities dot various places in Antarctica and have been life saving on many occasions for shipwrecked travelers or occupants of crashed aircraft.

Larsemann Hills 3: Windmill Installation- Guest Blog

2009-11-29T22:38:00.009+05:30

Anant Pande was a member of the 28th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. He represented the Institute of Science, Mumbai. He is a marine biologist. He worked on Antarctic Krills, the staple food of nearly all animals living in the Antarctic Ocean. He is currently pursuing wildlife biology and Wildlife Institute of India. He can be contacted on http://www.indianwandererslife.blogspot.com/

www.twitter.com/anantpande

anant_pande@rediffmail.com

Among the other achievements, the installation of the first windmill by India at Antarctica must also be mentioned. The windmill installation at BHARTI was a tough task in the severe cold conditions and high winds. After installation, it was supposed to give enough power to the batteries to run the instruments placed in the melon huts. First a suitable rock which can support the huge structure was identified by the geologist (Mr. Ashish Nath, GSI) located in the direction of winds. A platform of cement was built on the rock by the masons and then the sockets were drilled to hold the base of the mill. It was installed on 27th January, 2009 by collective effort of our logistics staff and all team members.

Windmill Installation

In our journey from Larsemann to India bay, sport competitions were organized with both a view to promote sporting spirit and to pass the time creatively. Games of Table Tennis (singles/doubles), Carrom (singles/doubles), Cards (singles/doubles) and Chess were held. Every member participated in these games (Jamie, the Heli pilot from New Zealand participated in TT) and it was very enjoyable to see the sporting atmosphere in the rolling-pitching ship. Mr. KV Ramana Murthy (SoI) clearly swept most of the gold medals at stake and was adjudged Best Player of the team.

Mr. Murty receiving the award from the leader

We started our journey towards India bay from Larsemann Hills on 11th February and reached the destination on 20th Feb.
This was all I can tell in brief about our journey to Larsemann Hills. The construction for the 3rd station is going to start in the 29th expedition and expected to be finished in 3 years. Once the station is commissioned, the opportunity to see Antarctica will double with India having two permanent stations. The country has way to go in polar science.

Larsemann Hills 2: Visit to Kunlun and Davis- Guest Blog

2009-11-26T00:18:00.007+05:30

Visit to Davis

During our near two-month stay at Larsemann Hills, we also got a chance to visit the nearby stations of different countries. The Chinese team invited us to visit the opening ceremony of their new station KUNLUN. A team of five people led by Mr. Ajay Dhar (Voyage Leader) visited the station on the occasion. We also got the chance to visit the magnificently built Australian station DAVIS and know about the research going on in their laboratories. I went to DAVIS on 11th February with 4 other team mates. The station leader Bill received us warmly and showed us around the station. The station was huge and had facilities for pursuing good quality of research. We also got to see the largest of seals, Elephant seals near to the station. On the way back, we landed on Hop’s Island, a site of penguin rookery. There were more than 5000 Adelie penguins on the island. The sight of so many penguins at a time was overwhelming.

Elephant Seals at Davis

Adelie Penguins at Hop Island

Larsemann Hills- I: Guest Blog

2009-11-20T00:25:00.013+05:30

I went to Antarctica as a summer member in the third and the only team to go by ship. The team first went to the Larsemann area in East Antarctica (site for 3rd Indian Station) and then moved over to MAITRI.
We boarded our ship Emerald Sea on 4th of January, 2009 at Cape Town. The voyage was flagged off by Mr. Ajay Dhar, the Voyage Leader on 6th January with much halla gulla including the chanting of Bharat Mata ki jai from the Table Bay harbor, Cape Town port.

The Expedition Ship, Emerald Sea

The journey was fantastic and those like me who had been on a ship for the first time had the time of their life. We travelled for 11 days crossing all natural hurdles ( roaring forties, furious fifties and cold weather) and one fine morning of 17th January, woke up to see ourselves surrounded by pack ice in all directions. The ocean was painted white for miles around us and sun glared so hard that we could not look anywhere without shades. The scene was awesome and we were just 80 miles from the land of Antarctica.We went all around the ship and clicked happily making different poses.

Larsemann Hills as seen from the Ship

Next day the sorties were started off to BHARTI Island, the site for the 3rd Indian Station at Antarctica. We were divided into groups of four and sent to the island. Our group consisted of geologists (Mr Ashish Nath,GSI), meteorologists (Mr. Radheshyam, IMD, Saroj Sahu and Alok Gautam, IITM), Space physicists (Dr. Sandeep Oza & Deepak Maroo, SAC, Dr. Dabas, NPL and Jai Prakash Chaubey, SPL), Ice-core guys (Maha, Akshay, NCAOR), Environmentalists (Bhupesh Sharma and Manoj Kumar, SIIR & Roseline and Neelu, NCAOR), Palaeo-climatologists (Vartika, BSIP), Zoologists (Dr. Rajan, ZSI and me, ISc), Wildlife Biologists (Dr Sathyakumar and Dr Sivakumar, WII), Surveyors (KV Ramana Murty, Maheshwar Singh, Manjeet Singh and Vimal Kishore, SoI) and Logistics ( Devendra kumar, Devendra Sharma, Trinagu and Koli, BRO). There were others who were working both on ship as well as land like Hari and Sanjeeva Sharma (NHO) and one purely ship-based (Nuncio, NCAOR).

Melon Huts at Bharti

Apple Huts at Bharti

Antarctic glacier 'thinning fast'

2009-11-01T23:12:00.004+05:30

By David Shukman,
Science and environment correspondent,
BBC News
Courtsey: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8200680.stm

David Shukman joined a team surveying Pine Island glacier in 2004One of the largest glaciers in Antarctica is thinning four times faster than it was 10 years ago, according to research seen by the BBC.
A study of satellite measurements of Pine Island glacier in west Antarctica reveals the surface of the ice is now dropping at a rate of up to 16m a year.
Since 1994, the glacier has lowered by as much as 90m, which has serious implications for sea-level rise.
The work by British scientists appears in Geophysical Research Letters.
The team was led by Professor Duncan Wingham of University College London (UCL).
Calculations based on the rate of melting 15 years ago had suggested the glacier would last for 600 years. But the new data points to a lifespan for the vast ice stream of only another 100 years.

The rate of loss is fastest in the centre of the glacier and the concern is that if the process continues, the glacier may break up and start to affect the ice sheet further inland.
One of the authors, Professor Andrew Shepherd of Leeds University, said that the melting from the centre of the glacier would add about 3cm to global sea level.
"But the ice trapped behind it is about 20-30cm of sea level rise and as soon as we destabilise or remove the middle of the glacier we don't know really know what's going to happen to the ice behind it," he told BBC News.
"This is unprecedented in this area of Antarctica. We've known that it's been out of balance for some time, but nothing in the natural world is lost at an accelerating exponential rate like this glacier."

The highlighted area shows a dense concentration of crevasses along one edge of the glacier. Large numbers of deep crevasses are a sign that parts of the glacier are moving rapidly.
Pine Island glacier has been the subject of an intense research effort in recent years amid fears that its collapse could lead to a rapid disintegration of the West Antarctic ice sheet.
Five years ago, I joined a flight by the Chilean Navy and Nasa to survey Pine Island glacier with radar and laser equipment.
The 11-hour round-trip from Punta Arenas included a series of low-level passes over the massive ice stream which is 20 miles wide and in places more than one mile thick.
Back then, the researchers on board were concerned at the speed of change they were detecting. This latest study of the satellite data will add to the alarm among polar specialists.

BBC News visited the Pine Island glacier five years ago
This comes as scientists in the Arctic are finding evidence of dramatic change. Researchers on board a Greenpeace vessel have been studying the northwestern part of Greenland.
One of those taking part, Professor Jason Box of Ohio State University, has been surprised by how little sea ice they encountered in the Nares Strait between Greenland and Canada.
He has also set up time lapse cameras to monitor the massive Petermann glacier. Huge new cracks have been observed and it's expected that a major part of it could break off imminently.
Professor Box told BBC News: "The science community has been surprised by how sensitive these large glaciers are to climate warming. First it was the glaciers in south Greenland and now as we move further north in Greenland we find retreat at major glaciers. It's like removing a cork from a bottle."

Sarv Dharm Sthal, Antarctica

2009-10-11T00:09:00.007+05:30

It’s the only one of its kind in Antarctica. The concept is probably borrowed from the Indian Army, where such common places of worship are omnipresent. After all, for 26 years, the Army has been an integral part of the Indian Antarctic Expedition.
A small area in the loft of the Maiti station, just adjacent to the communication room has been allotted to the mandir, and the place is known as at Maitri. It is a thick carpeted cubicle, occupying both sides of the passage to the library. The low roof is very uncomfortable for the tall statured and one has to slouch or sit down while in the mandir. One side is like a proper hindu temple, complete with and enclosure for hindu deities, pooja samagri, bhajan books and kirtan musical instruments. Agarbattis and dhoopbatthis are not permitted due to the risk of fire. The musical instruments include harmonium, manjeera, tabla etc.

The other side has photographs, statues and books relevant to other faiths. We have Guru Granth Sahib, Kuraan, Geeta, Ramayan, Bible and books relevant to Buddhism and Jainism. These are available in various languages and have been housed in proper enclosures. For the interested, these provide a wealth of knowledge

The mandir is a nice place to spend some quiet time and to de-stress. A quiet one hour here gives a lot of mental peace and makes one forget the stress of wintering over in Antarctica. The mandir property also includes an invaluable collection of religious and spiritual books in various languages added by successive expeditions over the years.
Every Tuesday, at 7 PM, a pooja is held and everyone is free to join in. Fresh Prasad is prepared each time, and consists usually of suji halwa. Tuesday is also the only day when non veg dishes are not prepared at Maitri.

The mandir is the hot favourite spot among foreign visitors to Maitri. They find the concept very fascinating and take numerous photographs in various weird poses. One can find a few articles on the net, written by the visitors describing their trip to the mandir.

The Rolling Mists of Kasauli

2009-10-01T13:47:00.005+05:30

Misty Kasauli

The Dussehra weekend offered me 3 days of holiday- sufficient for a short trip to the hills. Kasauli was the closest to Delhi. So Kasauli was where I headed with my parents on Saturday. After a gruelling 9 hour drive, we reached Dharampur on the Shimla- Kalka highway, 13 km away from Kasauli. Dharampur was to be our base for the trip, given the ‘no vacancy’ status of the limited accommodation in Kasauli for the extended weekend.
We departed for Kasauli the next morning. As we ascended to Kasauli, a dense shroud of mist slowly descended on us. The mist rolled in & out rapidly. It was sufficiently cold for us to pull out our woollens. The mist was to be the defining experience of or trip. This, along with the laid back ambience of Kasauli made each moment of our trip worth it. Our family friends, who happened to be Amrita Shergil’s relatives, were staying at the latter’s bungalow at the higher reaches of Kasauli. We proceeded to the bungalow called ‘Ivy Cottage’. We wound our way through the mist, beyond the Kasauli Club to a point that overlooked a deep valley. A narrow road led upto Ivy Cottage. The Ivy Cottage was a typical British style bungalow. Most of the interiors, including furniture, linen, decorative articles, electrical and bath fittings, carpets and utensils dated back to the same era. The setting, too, was typically British. On opening the doors, the mist, along with the chill rolled into the house. Nothing was visible in the deep valley, except the mist. The mist rolled about right in front of us, rolling in and out in a few moments. It was as if we were flying among the clouds. Occasionally, the sun’s rays peeped through briefly. The vast estate of Ivy Cottage was lush with thick vegetation and wild & cultivated flowers. Thick ivy clung to the walls. I exercised my rusty photography finger for the first time since my return from Antarctica & tried to capture this idyllic setting the best I could. We went for a walk along the uppermost reaches of Kasauli. It was an isolated road leading to the Air Force station. Though it was a wide, well paved road, it was more of a nature trail. Wild flowers grew in abundance all around. It being the end of the monsoon season, there was a lush green carpet of grass all around. We crossed sunset point on the way. But it was of no use to us- no sun, no sunset.

Khushwant Singh's Villa

Following lunch, we went to explore the town. The main market was a 10 min walk from the Ivy Cottage. On the way, we crossed Khushwant Singh’s bungalow. The main town consisted of a tiny market extending not more that 25 metres, an upper and a lower Mall Road. The Upper Mall Road was equally microscopic & had shops selling colourful clothes, souvenirs, vegetables & local wine. The Lower Mall Road was where all the hotels in Kasauli were concentrated. Inspite of the weekend rush, the traffic in Kasauli was well regulated & parking regulations strict, thanks to the military control over the affairs of the town. The roads were narrow & steep but well carpeted with beautiful pavement & street furniture. The milestones urged us to preserve the environment.

Kasuali Market

The main market was where the action was. The best part were the halwai shops selling jalebis, samosas, gulab jamuns, paranthas and omlettes prepared fresh all through the day. The thick fog, the winter chill & the quiet, idyllic old world charm of Kasauli were the ideal backdrop for a hot cup of coffee along with piping hot samosas & pakodas straight out of the frying pan, rounded off with gulab jamuns and jalebis. Add to it the warmth of the chulhas and we were in paradise.

Church Of England

Ivy Cottage

The next day, we decided to visit Shimla. That was an antithesis of all the Kasauli was. It was hot, crowded and polluted. It was as if we had landed in Delhi. We did not stay there for more than a few hours and dashed back to Kasauli for the damage caused to our spirits and spent the last night in Kasauli.
Kasauli is so thickly forested that it gives a feeling of a town in a forest rather than the other way round. Nature coexists in harmony with an urban human settlement.

The above paragraphs encapsulate all that Kasauli has to offer- ‘nothing’ in the words of an average Indian tourist. It is regarded as a place that does not deserve more than a few hours and is best visited on the way back from Shimla. There are no usual frills offered by an average hills station- no markets, no restaurants, no cinema halls, no crowds- nothing. But that is the charm of Kasauli- one can do ‘nothing’ here, something we can’t do elsewhere. Long walks, loads of nature, the rolling mists & friendly populace are what Kasauli is all about- enough to make me contemplate purchasing a house there. I left Kasauli with a promise to return soon, this time for a longer duration.

Moods of the Moon

2009-08-16T22:23:00.006+05:30

Click on the images to enlarge

Look look.... The oval moon.

The gods gone bonkers???? Is it the moon or the sun?

That's the moon folks

The moon's reflection in the frozen lake

The moonrise? or the sunrise?

That's another beauty

The First Sunrise

2009-07-24T00:01:00.008+05:30

[Click To Enlarge]

The sun has finally made its first appearance after a 2 month long polar night on 22nd July 2009. This is a day of rejoicing for all of Antarctica, when the first rays of the sun kiss the ice briefly (the first sunrise is all of 4 min long).

Shown above is the pic of the first sunrise seen by my expedition team members last year on 24th July 08 (the sky was cloudy on 22nd and 23rd July).

The Vakil Saab from Antarctica- Tiny Ones

2009-07-19T11:33:00.007+05:30

Adelie Penguins at Maitri

Confused?
Well… These are the Adelie penguins. Their black and white coat reminds one of the lawyer’s dress (as does that of any other penguins).
They are quite short at just above 2 feet. These are the only penguins found in Schirmacher Oasis, where Maitri and Novolazarevskaya are located. Usually found in groups, they live off the sea as does all of Antarctica’s wildlife. The krill forms the staple diet of the Adelie penguins.
During the winters, they migrate to lower latitudes in search of warmer lands. This is usually around April. They swim most of the way, and walk and toboggan where they find sea ice. They return to Antarctica in October. Navigating by the sun, their sense of direction is amazing. They return to the same nesting sites year after year.

Penguin sunbathing in Priyadarshani lake in Schirmacher

.
The Adelie penguins are fantastic swimmers. They can swim for hundreds of kilometers. Since they are dependent on the sea for food, they are found only in the coastal regions. When our ship moored on the fast sea ice, hundreds of Adelie penguins lined up as if to welcome us to their home. Small groups camped right next to the ship as long as it was there, as if to keep a watch on our activities. The Adelies are inquisitive creatures.
Their nests are made of stones, which are a rare commodity in Antarctica, most of which is only ice. This makes them come to Schirmacher oasis, although it is about 100 km inland. In summers, Schirmacher Oasis swarms with penguins that can be found everywhere, swimming in the lakes, sunbathing on the ice, sometimes even inside Maitri. The biggest penguin rookery in Schirmacher is on Lanka, an island of exposed rock right next to Schirmacher. One can find about a hundred penguins here (a far cry from the lakhs of penguins found in a full fledged penguin rookery).

Their sojourn to Schirmacher is also their undoing. They make their nests with stones in circular formations, lay their eggs, and the male and the female take turns to incubate them. While one incubates the eggs, the other goes to the sea to get food. After about 25 days, the eggs hatch, and noisy chicks come out. But the food is insufficient. For the first 7-8 days of their lives, they feed on the parents’ bile. But as the chicks grow, this becomes insufficient. With the parents taking too long to get food from the sea, which is 100 km away they grow weak. Then they either die, or are hunted down by the Skuas, the predatory bird of these parts. Once the kids die, the parents must head back to the sea, else they would also meet the same fate.
I followed up a penguin couple for about a month right from the time they made their nest and lined it with penguin guano. While a parent incubated its eggs, it would not even budge an inch from its place, though it would sometimes lie down on its stomach. It would be in the same posture even after 3-4 days. The hatching of the eggs is heralded by the noisy squeaking of the chicks, snuggled between the parent’s feet. The chirping continued for 4-5 days. Then one day, I witnessed 2 lifeless bodies between the parent’s feet. There was no chirping to greet me. But the parent remained faithfully in its place, as if hoping against hope that the chicks would revive. I hoped that the parent saw reason and returned to the sea, else it would also meet the same fate. Thankfully, it had left by my next visit 2 days later.

A Penguin Nest Streaked with Guano

Adelie Penguin Incubating its Eggs

Adelie Chicks

Dead Chicks

Antarctica FM 28.0

2009-07-03T18:04:00.017+05:30

That's Dr Sanjeeva Nayaka in the centrestage

...

This post is by a guest blogger, Dr Sanjeeva Nayaka. Dr Nayaka was a summer team member of the 28th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica that concluded in March 09. Dr Nayaka is a scientist at National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow and was conducting research on Antarctica Lichens. The following is the post by Dr Nayaka:

Dear Readers,
It gives me immense pleasure to write about my Antarctic experiences. I am a repeater having participated earlier in 22nd Indian Antarctic Expedition (IAE) as well.

An Antarctic expedition is like going back to your college days, with a lot of mauj- masti. During 28th IAE one such ‘masti’ thing happened was launch of ‘Antarctica FM 28.0’. It was a group of likeminded, fun loving guys who loved singing.

It started during training and orientation of 28th IAE team at Auli. Three guys (Nancio, Maha and JP) who were sitting at the last seats of bus started murmuring some Hindi film song. Suddenly it struck Nancio - ‘hey we can make a group called Antarctica FM 28.0’.

The idea took shape in ship ‘Emerald Sea’. Since the 28th IAE team had many talented youngsters it was not really tough to form such a group. K.P. Mishra, Nageshwar Rao, Anant Pandey, Maheshwar Singh, Devendra Sharma, Jai Prakash (JP), Hari and Raman Murthy were all great singers. There were many chorus singers (including me) like Manjeet, Saroj Sahu, Maha, Alok, Saurabh, Ritesh, Anand. Whenever there was a function, they used to sing and entertain people. It was not simply singing but involved a lot of preparation as well. A list of songs suited to the occasion was prepared. Later small medleys of 5 to 6 songs (of one or two stanza) were prepared and rehearsed before the function, finally they were sung in group. We did not keep any slow songs in our collection.

The CEO of the Antarctica FM 28.0 was Ashish Nath, RJ was Nancio and Alok was the informal secretary. Mr Anant coined a slogan for the group “kao peo bhar pet, sunte raho Antarctica FM 28”. The team had the support of the leader, Ajay Dhar. Antarctica FM 28.0 performed on board Emerald Sea for all occasions like B’days, marriage anniversaries, festivals etc. There were songs suited to each occasion. By the time the 28th IAE team reached Maitri, Antarctic FM 28.0 was a huge hit.

I had reached Maitri by air, instead of by ship. So I really missed the initial activities of Antarctica FM. When the team reached Maitri, the original RJ, Nancio was on the ship, conducting his research. Hence I was made the RJ. The first function at Maitri was the welcome party. My job was to announce the next program, and every now and then shout “Aap sun rahe ho Antarctica FM 28.0.- kao peo bhar pet, sunte raho Antarctica FM 28”, as it is announced on radio. We did not spare the helicopter crew either. We made them sing and do something for us. Pilots Martin, Jimmy and Engineer Nick really enjoyed FM. Antarctica FM 28.0 was such a channel which people not only could listen, but also see, because we danced, had skits and games as well.

We had many singers of repute on board. Mr Nageshwar Rao (NGRI) is a singer on Akashwani. Now he is wintering at Maitri. Dr. K.P. Mishra (DIPAS-DRDO) is famous for his ‘Gajari’, a type of folk songs in Eastern UP. Apart from this he used to sing lots of bhojpuri songs, both in group and solo. He was the back bone of FM team. Mr. Anant Pandey (ISc-Mumbai) was a good photographer and a good singer, known for his poem ‘Kaliyug mein na aana re… pyare krishanakanaih’. Mr Somdutt (DEAL), apart from being a singer, he also played tabla and drums. He is now wintering at Maitri. Mr. Ramesh Petwal (DEAL), while he was on ship, used to beat table and utensils for music. At Maitri he was our tabla master. Mr. Devendra Sharma (BRO) is a folk singer. Apart from the regular FM team members one more singer worth mentioning, was Mr. Kuldeep Wali (IMD). My God! What a voice and style for Gazals (Mr. Wali died at Maitri recently due to massive heart attack).

Among several function that the FM team gave, the most memorable for me are the occasion Holi and grand finale after reaching back Cape Town. There were lots of songs related to holi, sang in good spirit. To make it more colourful, gulal (pink colour) was smeared on everybody’s face. Somebody brought ‘haldi’ from the kitchen.

On the ‘grand finale’ both I and Nancio anchored the programme. We also had guests from the Indian High Commission along with their families. That day we sang a patriotic song ‘main bharat ke rehane wala hoon’ and a national integration song ‘mile sur mera tumarah’. We also organized a game, ‘pappu can do’. Names were selected by draw of lots. Whosoever name comes has to perform the task again decided by draw of lots. If that person cannot do it, he is awarded the title of ‘pappu’. There was a skit on Gabbar Singh of Sholay. Also, that day was Mr. Sandip Ojha’s b’day, so we dedicated Mogli’s title song (jungle jungle pata chal hai) to him. After the function we had nice dinner and congratulated every one for huge success of Antarctica FM 28.0.

After reaching Lucknow and getting busy with work, I really wonder whether I am the same guy who used to shout ‘Aap sun rahe ho Antarctica FM 28.0. - Kao peo bhar pet, sunte raho Antarctica FM 28’?. Am I the same guy who used to recite those funny jokes and ‘babbar shares’? My God, give me a break and send me to Antarctica again.

Kao peo bhar pet, sunte raho Antarctica FM 28.

Airport During our Departure from Antarctica

2009-07-01T22:47:00.009+05:30

Antarctica gave us all a grand farewell. Nowhere else in the world can a aircraft take off under conditions half as bad as these. I took this video was taken during summer time, temperatures were subzero, and it was snowing heavily. The airport cafeteria was half buried in snow.

Antarctica’s Ferocious Blizzards

2009-06-26T17:12:00.011+05:30

The Summer Camp Huts after a Blizzard

An Antarctica Blizzard (video)

Antarctica is known as the home of the Blizzard, which can be best be described as ‘Baraf ka toofan’- copious amounts of snow blown around by high velocity winds, winds often exceeding 150kph (80kt), winds ferocious enough to blow away anything in its path, and snow so blinding as to reduce visibility to a few cms. You might be holding someone’s hand but you won’t be able to see him. One can spend hours going around the station without even seeing it. Any outdoor activity is impossible. Maintaining one’s balance is in itself a huge task. Snow percolates one’s nostrils, dungaree zippers, shoes, shoe laces- everywhere. Even a one mm hole in a station wall is sufficient to allow tonnes of snow to accumulate inside the station. Sealing such holes and clearing the snow is a perpetual task during a blizzard.

Me !!!!!!...... Astronaut????

We........... After a Blizzard

Look at the marker on the wind guage going beyond the range (more than 110kt- 200kph)

A blizzard, once started can continue for days, sometimes weeks, at a stretch. And one blizzard follows another, usually at a few days’ interval during the winters. Such is the intensity of a blizzard that snowfall is horizontal rather than vertical. Hence, snow accumulation is minimal to nil except on the leeward side of an obstruction. Snow hits any exposed bit of skin with such force, so as to send a shock down one’s spine. It tends to accumulate on snow goggles and form a layer of ice on it. Several people have died in Antarctica, getting lost in blizzards.
Structures in Antarctica are designed to resist such high intensity winds. Any loose object can become a missile. The station is built on stilts to allow wind and snow to pass below it and thereby minimize snow accumulation along its walls. There have been instances of entire loaded containers being blown away by such winds. They have to be strategically placed to prevent such happenings. All summer huts have to be anchored properly.
Blizzards, and not the cold, are the most challenging natural phenomena in the frigid land of Antarctica, especially in the coastal regions.

Icebergs and sea ice

2009-06-23T00:56:00.002+05:30

Tragedy Strikes Maitri

2009-06-09T23:19:00.003+05:30

1st June 2009 was a sad day for Indian Polar Science. Mr Kuldeep Wali, a scientist from the Indian Meteorological Department died of a massive heart attack. This is the first time that a team member of the Indian Antarctic Expedition has lost his life during the polar winter. Most unfortunate is the fact that his body cannot be brought home under any circumstances before October at the least. There is absolutely no possibility for a plane to land in Antarctica during the winters. The only 2 options are either to cremate the body of the scientist at Maitri, or to wait till the flights resume in October.

Such a situation would surely have shattered the morale of the 28th Indian Scientific Expedition, currently wintering over at Maitri. This is the worst that can happen in the extreme isolation of the Antarctic winter, possibly the most stressful time in the lives of most of the team members.

The Anatomy of an Antarctic Convoy-V (Exploring Indian Coastal Camp)

2009-06-06T00:28:00.005+05:30

The Indian Coastal Camp

The Banjara Kitchen

I used to have plenty of time at hand. I used to do odd jobs & help out the other convoy team membes in whatever way I could. I used to explore the area, fiddling with the equipment & investigating each crack in the ice. From the edge of the ice shelf, one could see the vast frozen ocean with icebergs entrapped in it. The icebergs changed their colour with the time of the day and the angle of the sun. There was a huge crevasse nearby. But we were wisely forbidden to venture anywhere close to it. On the edge of the shelf were 3 poles to which the ship moored in the summers. The shelf also had a well stocked porta cabin with sleeping arrangements for 5-6 people. This was meant for emergency use, just in case some summer team member working on the shelf was not able to make it back to the ship in time before the weather turned bad. It had a generator attached to it, though that was not needed during summers. Apart from this, there was an assortment of cranes, snow scooter, containers, oil tankers to explore.

Icebergs Entrapped in The Sea Ice

On the Frozen Ocean

Finally, when work was completed, departure was planned for the next morning, usually 8 AM. But we were invariable delayed because one or the other vehicles refused to start owing to the intense cold. Then began the long march back home. On returning to Maitri, even that small hub of habitation in the middle of nowhere was like manna from heaven. Were we not pleased to be back? A warm welcome & hot dinner awaited us, before we plonked into bed, dead to the world.
The convoy was the high point of my Antarctica experience. It made my trip more complete. Without the convoy experience, I would have felt something missing & regretted it for long.

The Anatomy of an Antarctic Convoy-IV (Work on the Ice Shelf)

2009-05-25T00:27:00.006+05:30

During winters it was dark by the time we arrived. We parked our vehicles after choosing a camping site, alongside each other & along the wind direction (which was almost always south- south east).
The Banjara & Jeevan Jyoti were parked next to each other. Camping stores were shifted to the Banjara. The Jeevan Jyoti was started & connected to Banjara after it was sufficiently warm, which usually took half an hour. The Banjara blower was tuned on as soon as the electricity connection was given. In about an hour, the temperature inside rose to 30°C, in contrast to -30 outside. The vehicles were switched off for the night.
Now was the time to open the bubbly, some heart warming conversation & piping hot food, prepared by a few brave souls in the Banjara kitchen. Some of us went out to get sacks full of snow to prepare water. We were all in our night suits by now. It was already 10 PM by the time we finished gorging & already dozing off well before the last person was done. Sleep in the Banjara was instant & fitful. The best sleep I have ever experienced has been in the Banjara.
Activity started again at 5 AM. A few early birds began the day’s proceedings by preparing tea & going out to check on the vehicles after dressing up again. The rest woke up one by one, the last one by 7 AM. I was usually the last one because I did not have a well defined job during the normal day’s proceedings. I used to help the team by doing odd jobs, like preparing meals and looking after the Banjara. The day’s activities varied according to the task assigned to the convoy. This included loading of containers on the trailers, decanting fuel from the oil tankers at the camp into the empty oil tankers on the trailers. Repairing of faulty vehicles, shifting empty tankers and containers on account of excessive snow deposition. These were easy tasks. But not so in the frigid conditions of Antarctica, where we to work in temperatures as low as -35°C as a matter of routine. Simple tasks like opening & tightening of screws assume gargantuan proportions. Vehicles break down, men buckle down, work proceeds at a snails pace. At such low temperatures, metal too tends to break. We all took frequent breaks in the Banjara to warm up & have cups of tea & water. The target was to wind up work as early as possible & leave for Maitri. This usually took 1-2 days. But sometimes it stretched on longer due to the nature of the task assigned to the convoy and weather conditions. Assorted equipment belonging to Maitri on the shelf too required servicing from time to time. At the end of the day, it was again time to relax. Since now we usually had plenty of time to unwind, sometimes a movie was played in the Banjara. Drinks were accompanied by freshly fried snacks. These included French fries, mushrooms, sausages, papads etc. Haldiram’s namkeens were also well sought after. This was also the time to have piping hot food prepared by the enterprising cooks of our team. I often tried my hand at cooking, with mixed results. Every effort was made to the food as oily, greasy & spicy as possible. Non veg food was also prepared. Sometimes we preferred the DFRL food, consisting of biryani, daal, vegetable, chappatis etc, which just needed to be heated before consuming. Banjara food, although far from a gourmet’s delight, tasted heavenly.

Anatomy of an Antarctic Convoy- III (The Journey on the Ice Shelf)

2009-05-08T00:13:00.009+05:30

Also read: A Trip into Antarctica Wilderness-II

A Trip into Antarctica Wilderness- III

The Convoy Route

The convoy route was marked after extensive airborne recce during the 1980s and runs along the Russian convoy route for the most part. It was initially marked using oil barrels placed every kilometre or so. But as technology developed, the route was tracked using the GPS. The barrels were named as A1, A2 and so one. The A series started after we crossed the Russian junction, where our route met the Russian convoy route (the Russian Antarctic Station, Novolazarevskaya was 3-4 km away from Maitri). After reaching A6 or A7, we began a gradual descent down to the ice cap onto the ice shelf, the continuation of the continental ice cap onto the ocean. We crossed a number of nunataks (rocky mountain peaks poking out of the ice cap) on the way. This is where we hit the vast, featureless ice shelf- a never ending field of ice stretching out in all directions, interspersed by numerous crevasses lurking beneath thin sheets of snow waiting to gobble up men & machine.

A Nunatak at Barrel Point A5

This is isolation at its best- or worst. Getting stranded here implies a 0% chance of survival.
The shelf was also riddled with numerous lakes, formed by collection of ice melt water in low lying areas. These lakes could not be differentiated from ice because of similar colour of the two. One could drive into these lakes unknowingly. The only way to make out the presence of these lakes was from air. The lakes are not a problem during the winters, when they melt during the summers, they make convoy operations unsafe. There were two such lakes at barrel points A20, after which there was a gradual ascent. This ascent was an uneven, crevasse ridden area. This was the bumpiest ride of the trip. At B7 lay a battered Basler aircraft that had slid off the Russian trailer while it was being towed from the Novo runway to the Russian Barrier. There was also an assortment of Russian vehicles that had broken down on the way. They provided welcome relief from the monotony of the whiteness all around.

The Indian Convoy on the Ice Shelf

As the convoy rumbled on in frigid conditions, we reached point C7. This was where the Indian & Russian convoy routes separated again. This was also where one could find snow accumulated on the ice. We were close to the coast now. Progress was slow because of the snow. The barrels were now placed further and further apart, often as much as 5km. but the route was dead straight. This was monotonous landscape and monotonous driving at its best.

The Ruined Basler Aircraft at B7

The snow accumulation increased as we neared the coast. No ice could be seen anywhere, unlike the more inland regions. Finally, after a minimum of 15 hours journey from Maitri, we reached the Indian Coastal Camp at the edge of the ice shelf, covering a distance of 120 km. it was usually 8 PM by the time we arrived.

Anatomy of an Antarctica Convoy- II (The preparations)

2009-04-24T23:59:00.004+05:30

The preparations for the convoy were extensive. The vehicles needed to be in top notch condition for the strenuous journey on the vast ice sheets. Spares had to be carefully listed out. Each screw could prove vital. The convoy generator- Jeevan Jyoti was serviced. Food rations for upto one month were carefully stocked. This was done keeping in mind the omnipresent risk of blizzards halting the convoy enroute for weeks. Apart fromraw material, packaged food prepared by Defence Food Research Laboratory, Mysore were supplied to us. Namkeens, sweets, biscuits, cold drinks etc wee also stored in the Banjara. LPG cylinders were a standard inclusion in our inventory. The preparations were completed one day before the convoy departed.
On the night prior to the departure of the convoy, the rest of the team members prepared food packets for the onward journey, and filled water cans. The food packets contained boiled eggs, paranthas and alu sabzi, along with freshly made besan ki barfi or ladoo. Apart from these, each individual carried food according to his own taste and liking.
The convoys departed at 4 am sharp after a short briefing by the convoy chief. The vehicles proceeded like a train in a specific order. Each vehicle stuck to its position in the train. The 1st vehicle tugged the Banjara- the living module and the second, the Jeevan Jyoti. The rest of the vehicles tugged trailers with or without load.
The convoy train slowly wound its way out or the rocky Schirmacher Oasis. Once we reached Dozer Point, where the continental ice cap started, the sped increased considerably. We then continued straight to Shivling, where we ascended the ice cap, took a U turn and proceeded towards Sankalp Point. At Sankalp, Banjara and Jeevan Jyoti were towed. Food packets were also distributed here. Sometimes trailers were left here before hand and hence were hooked to the Pisten Bullys here. From here on, we were out of the limits of Maitri.

Anatomy of an Antarctica Convoy- I (An Introduction)

2009-04-10T02:01:00.007+05:30

One can safely say that the convoys are the heart and soul of a wintering over team in Antarctica, especially at an inland station. Since we were 100 km away from the coast, the same held true for Maitri as well.
The purpose of the convoys is to bring the winter supplies to the station from the coast, where the ship offloads them during the summers. They are run during the winters only, because during the summers, crevasses and water channels open up, making it difficult and dangerous for the snow vehicles to negotiate the vast ice fields.
Because of the extreme climatic conditions and inhospitable terrain on which the convoys are run, they are the most daunting and challenging tasks of the expedition. This is one event that consumes most of our energies and time during the winters, and are of utmost importance for the survival of wintering teams in Antarctica. Our top priority is successful and uneventful completion of the convoys.
At Maitri, the convoys usually start by the end of the February, after the first winter blizzard, that fills up the icy moraines and fissures formed on the route due to the summer ice melt. This usually coincides with the departure of the summer team.
The snow vehicle used at Maitri are the Pisten Bullys. They tow the cargo on trailers. There are 8-9 vehicles and 8-9 personnel including a doctor (that was me). Each person was in charge of one vehicle throughout the expedition. Each convoy team member has a specific role. One person is designated as the convoy chief, one person is the vehicle electrician, one crane operator, and the rest are vehicle mechanics. In our expedition, these personnel were either from the Border Roads Organisation or ex servicemen with previous Antarctica experience. Occasionally, some scientists also accompanied us for data collection on the ice shelf.

Aurora pics

2009-03-25T23:56:00.003+05:30

The post on Aurora australis has been updated. For outstanding pics of the aurora australis, visit http://imprintsonice.blogspot.com/2008/09/fireworks-in-polar-sky.html

My First Galley Duty at Maitri

2009-03-20T20:02:00.008+05:30

Galley duties are one of the many unique experiences of an Antarctic expedition. During the ship journey to Antarctica, they were very benign being confined to just giving the cook a helping hand, particularly while making chappatis and paranthas. Many of us came up with ideas to make the galley duty experience unique in their own little way. Some improvised with the garnishing of food, some gave table service to all, and still others made a special dish or two.

We got a taste of real life during the summers, when we did galleys of the summer camp. This was mostly in the open in sub zero temperatures, at a time when we were not accustomed to the cold and the wind. During my first galley duty, it was very windy and, as a result, very cold. I was supposed to fetch water from the Priyadarshani lake for the refreshment hut, Annapurna. The lake had frozen at the edges. So I had to go a bit further into the lake to get water. I was scared of the ice breaking under my weight and my feet getting soaked with ice cold water. Hemraj Meena was my partner, and also my guide during my first galley. He told me to go inside as the ice wont break. I did as he said, trusting his experience. But he was grossly wrong. My foot went shin deep into the ice cold water, and froze inside my shoes. I was feeling miserable and cold. The cold was unbearable. I could feel no sensation in my feet. Meena got the water and I dashed off to my hut to change my shoes and socks and most importantly, warm my feet. My toes had turned an angry red. I wore a double layer of socks and continued with my galley. This involved cleaning Annapurna, fetching refreshments from the main station, disposing off the garbage, cleaning the bathroom and the toilets (this was another miserable task). We also had to burn the human waste and dispose off the ashes. It is usually not a difficult task, but under the conditions prevailing that day, I felt terrible working in the cold and wind. When the toilet burning was complete and I was going to disposing off the ashes, the wind blew the whole thing on my face. This was really disgusting. Even after one year, I feel the whole thing sticking on my face. Some experience, this…..

Priyadarshani Lake in Initial Stages of Freezing

Annapurna Hut

Bathing Complex

Toilet Complex of Summer Camp

More Things Change, More They Remain The Same

2009-03-14T23:56:00.002+05:30

While in Antarctica, we used to dream about life back in Delhi. The things we did and the things we missed. It was a different world altogether and appeared to be more hospitable than the world we were in. I longed to get back home. I expected a whole new Delhi on my return- probably foolishly so.
When my longing was finally fulfilled, I am left shaking my head in frustration. The Delhi landscape has changed drastically. The old roads are no longer recognisable. Flyovers, metro, BRT, roads and many more projects are on their way to completion, supposedly to give us a better quality of life. The pleasant looking and slow moving low floor buses are a welcome change from the raging, blood spewing Bluelines. BRT appears to be a good project.
But the spirit of Delhi remains the same. The roads are more crowded than when I had left. Delhiites continue to be as rowdy and arrogant as ever. Road discipline is still abysmal, politeness and patience are unknown virtues meant for the weak, outsiders are still meant to be looted. It is a city on short fuse. I won’t be surprised if some survey shows Delhi to be the most inhospitable city in the country.
While in Antarctica, we had newspapers upto 5 years old in our stock to be used for various purposes. They helped us reminisce about life in Delhi. The latest newspapers carry the same stuff as those newspapers. Nothing has really changed. Delhi continues to be a city without a soul, and Delhiites contine to be a people without a sense of belonging. Antarctica was definitely more safe and hospitable.

Polarman Certificate

2009-03-03T07:53:00.007+05:30

This is the certificate we all got at Maitri on 21st June 2008, which is also called the mid- winter day or the winter solistice. This is special for all of us because only those people who were present in Antarctica on this day are traditionally known as "Polarmen". Since it is not possible to travel to and from Antarctica during the winters, this privilege is exclusively reserved for winter teams.

Delhi's Warm

2009-02-17T21:29:00.003+05:30

Delhi has been unusually warm this year, or so they say. But when I landed in Delhi, I found everyone roaming around in woollens and repeating the mantra "its cold". The winters were supposedly back. But where was the cold? I wasn't feeling cold. Ever since I landed in Delhi, I have not touched a woollen or a full sleeve shirt. Its summer dress for me. People glare at me on the roads as if I am from some other planet. But I am just not feeling uncomfortable. There is a slight nip in the air at night but I feel comfortable with it.
This is what Antarctica does to you. The human body acclimatizes very well indeed. Sometimes I am amazed at its capability to endure such extremes. When I had reached Antarctica in the summer of 2007-08, I was freezing to my bones, inspite of it being an unusually warm summer. but during the summer of 2008-09, after we had completed our wintering, I was very comfortable, even though this has been an unusually cold summer, with hardly any ice melt.
For now, I am enjoying the pleasant Delhi weather. This summer is going to be a tough one for me. But that is another experience.

Good To Be Home

2009-02-08T14:19:00.010+05:30

We had 3 fun filled days in Cape Town, from 31st Jan to 2nd Feb. It was nice to be back in civilization after ages. I had long forgotten that the world was so colourful. It was difficult to imagine such a world while I was in Antarctica and it is difficult to imagine life in Antarctica now that I was in Cape Town. The trees, birds, animals, people, lots of movement, lots of different things to eat, different sounds, roads, warmth, regular cycles of day and night and so much more. It was fascinating. The world suddenly seemed so big. But a bigger shock awaited me in Delhi.

Just after landing in Cape Town

A winery near Cape Town

African Penguins

We were still a fair distance away from home. We took the Emirates flight to Dubai, where we indulged ourselves and blew up a lot of money on duty free stuff. This was the first time in 15 months that I had an opportunity to spend money. I hadn’t seen the colour of money all these months. Surprisingly, it felt good. We finally landed in Delhi on 4th afternoon. This was the end of our expedition and we were all reunited with our families. The rest had to go to other towns around Delhi, but for me, this was the end of my travels. It was an emotional moment.

Dubai International Airport

Surprisingly, I did not feel any sense of relief. I was well aware of the struggles that lay ahead for me. I was suddenly jobless. I hurried back home, and had some home made food. It consisted of lots of salads, pickles and assorted vegetables. The same stuff that tasted so mundane just a year ago tasted like nectar now- ghar ka khaana. I have not had the urge to eat out since I returned. Home made food is good enough for me. Strangely, I have lost the urge to socialise much. I am flooded with phone calls and I don’t know what to tell people about my experiences. There is so much to tell that I feel bogged down by the sheer weight of this experience. I feel lost trying to make sense of the world around me and coming to terms with reality. The city has changed, maybe so have I, for the better or for the worst only time will tell. As I write this I am wondering if I have actually been to Antarctica or was it just a dream sequence. I don’t know what to make of the whole experience.
…… I hope I am making sense…………..

Antarctica Gives Us A Memorable Parting Gift

2009-02-05T02:12:00.001+05:30

Finally, after a long period of delays and uncertainty, we left Antarctica on 30th Jan 09 at 10:35 PM. This brought down the curtains on the 27th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. I will now talk of Antarctica in the past tense. I feel as if a large part of me has been torn away. For the last 14 months, Antarctica and Maitri were so deeply ingrained in my system that they seemed inseparable. Maitri was my work place as well as my residence. Our lives revolved around the station and the day to day activities unique to Maitri. The rocks, lakes and the ice were as familiar to me as the trees in my backyard in Delhi. But at the same time, it was high time we left for home. We had already outlived our utility in Antarctica and were staying on just because we had no other option. It would have been depressing if we had to stay on for one more day. The very thought was unbearable.
However, Antarctica has given us the most memorable farewell we could have thought of. That day will remain with me forever. No one would ever have flown out of Antarctica in the kind of conditions we have done. It was cloudy since morning on 30 Jan 09. But the weather forecast from Neumayer did not portend anything ominous. Weather was to turn nasty from 31st Jan. As we left for the Novo Runway at 7:30 PM, it started to snow lightly. There was no wind. As we reached the continental ice cap, the snow drift increased and the visibility dropped to zero. The wind velocity was mild. We lost the way. When we finally found our bearings, we were a considerable distance off course. It took us some time to come back on track. We finally reached the Novo Runway at 9:30 PM. A journey that should have taken us one hour, took twice the time. The Ilyushin-76 of ALCI was scheduled to depart at 10 PM. The conditions at the Novo Runway were miserable. It was snowing as hard as ever and the visibility continued to be poor. Such conditions in any other part of the world would have led to indefinite delays. That would also have happened at the Novo Runway had worse weather not been forecast for the next 3 days. There was a complete whiteout. I was unable to see the ground on which I was walking. The undulations in the snow and ice surface were indiscernible. I fumbled my way around, falling down many times. Sometimes I walked right into a wall of snow without seeing it. A path had been burrowed into the ground leading to the airport cafeteria. Our luggage lying in the snow was soon half buried in snow. It was bitterly cold. I suffered a mild frost bite on my nose tip. The various tents and other structures at the airport presented a bright contrast to the whiteness all around. It was as if Antarctica was giving a 21 gun salute in our honour. What a farewell!!!!!
The interiors of the aircraft were dimly lit and very crude, like a city bus in India. The seats were very congested and there was no space for cabin baggage. There were no windows either. The scene outside was seen on a projector screen in front. Due to the whiteout conditions, we could not make out when the plane took off, except for the bumpy run up of the aircraft on the ice. We were soon soaring high above the bleak Antarctica landscape and were out of it in no time.
It was as if a THE END sign was flashing in front of my eyes.

The Experience of a Lifetime Draws to a Close

2009-01-27T14:08:00.002+05:30

That’s it folks!! The longest and most exciting journey I will ever undertake in my life has finally ended. We leave Antarctica on 28th Jan 09, pending some good weather. The ALCI flight was supposed to arrive on 26th Jan, but has been delayed due to some really bad weather. We expect a clear weather window on 28th and might have to leave at short notice if that happens. As usual, our travel plans remain a big if due to the Antarctica weather.
The station has been handed over to the leader of the 28th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica on 26th Jan following the Republic Day celebrations. Our packing is complete. The stuff which is to be sent by ship has been segregated and locked, and the luggage we take with us has been packed up. I am now living on rags, which I intend to leave here. We are free of all our responsibilities, including galley duties. All of us are having last minute anxiety.
We have a long journey ahead of us- Antarctica- Cape Town- Dubai- Delhi, taking about 5-6 days. I am reaching Delhi on 4th Feb. Most of our journey time will be spent in Cape Town. That will be our port of entry into the civilised world after a gap of almost 15 months. I wonder how I will react to the sudden transformation, the heat and the dust, people and greenery. That will be another experience altogether. Therefore, though my Antarctica trip may be over, but the adventure will continue for probably a few months.
The end of my stay in Antarctica does not mean the end of stories from this icy wonderland. Tales from the coldest and remotest continent will continue for sometime till I get it out of my system and get caught up in the rigmarole of everyday life.
Till then, keep watching this space. It will soon be loaded with pictures and videos from Antarctica soon enough. So don’t forget to see the older posts. They are going to be mind boggling. Take my word for that.
See you all in India…………………

A Royal Visit II

2009-01-21T10:43:00.011+05:30

The big day was finally here. After about a month of exhaustive preparations, with contributions from the entire team, the station was all spruced up to receive the first ever Head of State to visit any Indian Antarctic Station in 27 years of India’s presence in Antarctica.

Prince Albert II of Monaco arrived at Novo on 18th Jan 09 late at night, ahead of schedule by one day because of inclement weather expected on 19th. Since then we were in constant touch with Novo regarding his plans. We were told at 9 AM on 19th Jan that he would be arriving at 3 PM and Novo asked for our vehicles to pick him up from Sankalp Point, where the Russian vehicles would drop him. The reasons for such a move were unknown to us. Mr Jamwal and Mr Hukum Singh were deputed to go to pick him up. But after they left, we got the message that the Prince would be walking it down to Maitri, given his love for adventure sports. Hence, Mr Ganapathy was stationed in the newly renovated greenhouse (now called the East End Lounge) to keep a watch on the route from Novo.

When the Novo team lead by the Novo leader, Yuri Mizin arrived we all rushed out to meet the Prince and have ourselves photographed with him. After endless rounds of photographs (I was the official photographer for the imperial visit), we realised that none of the guests was the Prince and that he would be arriving in our vehicles. That was an anti-climax. Soon, a Russian vehicle carrying some Russian team members and ALCI officials arrived and were ushered into the lounge.

Finally, we saw our vehicles arriving and we all rushed out to greet the prince. There were a horde of officials from Monaco and Russia, members of the Russian Dumas and journalists and photographers accompanying him. Another important dignitary was accompanying the Prince- Dr Arthur Chilingarov- the Special Representative of President of the Russian Federation. He was on first name terms with Prince Albert.

The welcome address by our team leader and speeches by the Prince and Dr Chilingarov were followed by 6 scientific presentations on India’s work in Antarctica, along with snacks, wine and champagne. The Prince appeared to be listening with rapt attention, though I don’t know how much he understood. He expressed his customary inquisitiveness by asking a few mundane questions about global warming and appeared satisfied with the replies. He then inaugurated the ionosonde experiment at the newly installed NPL hut and understood the various nuances of space science from Dr Rupesh Das. This was followed by a visit to the labs in the summer camp and briefing by various scientists.

The prince was in no mood to leave and posed for group photographs on the helipad and the lounge. I managed to take autographs of both, the Prince as well as Dr Chilingarov. I was lucky to be carrying an autograph book with me to Antarctica. The Prince was then dropped off at Novo by our vehicles after exchanging gifts and souvenirs.

Thus culminated a period of furious activity at Maitri. One positive outcome of this visit was the massive clean up operation carried out at Maitri. Our station now bears a neat look.

The Lake Melts …… Finally!!!!!

2009-01-15T16:09:00.003+05:30

What was to have happened in November, has happened now, in the middle of January. The Priyadarshani Lake has finally melted completely. It was a painfully slow process this year, taking 4 months. The first signs of melting appeared in October, when tiny moats could be seen around the stones and boulders in the lake. The next event was the deformation of air bubbles trapped in the ice. They were arranged in a linear formation during the winters. But now the formation was highly variable, giving rise to interesting shapes. Then small pools of water could be seen on the ice. Priyadarshani Lake was now unwalkable. The cracks widened and soon the ice broke up into blocks, like pack ice. These blocks grew smaller and smaller very gradually, and now on the 13th January, they can no longer be seen. Priyadarshani Lake is now completely ice free. But not for too long. It will start to freeze again by the end of January, when the summer season ends and the temperature falls drastically.

Last year, the lake had melted fully by the first week of November, due to a rapid and probably early rise in temperature. The temperature last summer went up to 10ºC, whereas this year, it has not yet touched 5ºC. We also had a blizzard this summer, close to the Midsummer Day. Most of the other lakes hardly show any signs of melting except at the edges. The lakes behind the station fall under this category. They should have been overflowing by this time, causing the annual recharge of the Priyadarshani Lake. Usually, one can see beautiful ice formations and ice caves sparkling with unearthly colours during the summers. But that is missing this time. The only waterfall in Schirmacher is not yet functional. For some reason, we are seeing penguins in droves this year. All of Schirmacher is teeming with them. They even visit our station frequently. Once we saw a group of 20 penguins right behind our station. They can be seen basking in the sun, chirping away merrily.

A Royal Visit- I

2009-01-15T16:07:00.001+05:30

This is something very different from what we have seen so far in Antarctica. We are expecting royalty here. Prince Albert II, the head of state of the Principality of Monaco is visiting Maitri on 21st Jan 09. Actually, he can visit Maitri any time between 15th and 21st Jan.
The Prince is visiting 26 stations in Antarctica all this month. Currently he is at the south pole, visiting the US station, Amundsen Scott. The purpose of his visit is to raise awareness about global warming and to gain first hand knowledge about the effect of global warming in Antarctica.
This visit has us all in tenterhooks at Maitri. Though the prince is visiting us for just about 2 hours, but everything is being planned to perfection for the last one month. Gifts, eatables, wine and champagne for the prince and his entourage have arrived from Cape Town and India last month, so have the national flags. The projector bulb that was lying dysfunctional has been replaced overnight. It was purchased from Cape Town at exorbitant cost.

Scientific presentations are being practiced and refined everyday. Every minute of the prince’s stay here and his every move is being planned meticulously. A massive cleanup drive is underway. The rocky area is being cleared and paths are being made to make the walk to and from the station comfortable for him. The greenhouse has been cleared and bears a new flooring. This is a welcome change from the earlier storehouse appearance it bore. The team has been divided into groups to streamline things. Not everyone will come to the lounge to avoid overcrowding. Only 3 people have been authorised to take photographs. There will be no individual photographs with the prince, just one group photograph. The newly installed ionosonde experiment of National Physical Research Laboratory will be inaugurated by the prince. Therefore, the hut has been renovated fully and is being constantly upgraded.

All this is really painstaking stuff just probably a few days before our departure.

The Onslaught of the French Fries

2009-01-12T16:40:00.002+05:30

Maitri is under attack by a new disease. The french fries have struck and struck us hard. Few have been spared its onslaught. They usually strike past midnight, but a few are struck so badly that the time of the day or night is immaterial.

They were our refuge in the absence of potatoes during the winters. Few were consumed in the manner they were meant to be consumed. But now, with tonnes of them still left over, they are being consumed by kilos everyday. When the rest of Maitri sleeps, the french fries creep out of the deep freezer and into the microwaves in the kitchen. Both the microwaves are occupied with spinning plates of french fries. Nothing else can be prepared at that time. Given the “health consciousness” of the Maitrians, they are not fried, but roasted not withstanding the fact that they come pre-fried. They have assumed the tag of “health food” despite all reasoning. But Maitrians are traditionally not open to reasoning. Internet surfing is now unthinkable without a plate of french fries before us.

The record till date has been 3 kgs consumed by 5 people in one night. Crispy, crunchy french fries. They are truly a delicacy. I wonder why we did not discover their potential throughout the winters.

The Last 31622400 Seconds

2009-01-03T14:47:00.001+05:30

The above is the time I have spent in the remoteness of icy Antarctica till 7 AM UTC today, the 3rd of Jan 2009. That was the time in my watch on 3rd Jan 2008 when I was rudely woken up when I felt our ship jolting badly. It was banging repeatedly against the fast ice in order to make mooring space for itself. We had landed on the Princess Astrid Coast of East Antarctica. It was a dream come true for me. I could not believe that I was actually in Antarctica, a land that I could only dream of visiting. Around me was a huge wall of ice surging many meters above the ship. Behind us was the open ocean with hundreds of icebergs standing guard to the continent. The ship was trying to make its way inside the fast ice as far as it could go to moor itself and begin the expedition tasks.

One year later, this is still a dream. I still cannot believe that I am actually here, forget about completing an year. The only difference was that last year I was full of apprehension about what lay ahead. Now I am a lot more relaxed as the time for our departure is just a few days away. As the day of departure draws close, our emotional attachment to Maitri also grows. After all this is the place where I have spent the most memorable days of my life and this is also the place I am least likely to visit again.

In the days gone by, crossed another landmark- one year inside the Antarctic circle. That was on 31st Dec 2008. We realised that we had crossed the Antarctic circle when the sun did not set during the New Year celebrations on board the ship.

The blizzard continues

2008-12-30T15:17:00.005+05:30

The blizzard continues to ravage us for the second day today. It picked up pace in the morning and sometimes the visibility was reduced to 100m. It was very unlike a cold winter blizzard. We can call it an enjoyable blizzard or a happy blizzard, with warm temperatures, low wind velocity, decent visibility but lots of snow deposition. Towards evening, the wind velocity dropped drastically, and as I write this, it is now reduced to just a snowfall with a breeze.

We had a gala time today with snow fights and a lot of frolicking in the snow after dinner. Unlike in the winters, the snow was wet and sticky, and so we were soon fully covered with snow. The wind did not bite as during the winters. It was a bonanza for the summer team members, who usually don’t see a blizzard during their stay here.

A Mid Summer Blizzard

2008-12-30T15:15:00.003+05:30

This is something totally unexpected at this time of the year. It is peak summer time in Antarctica (22nd December was Midsummer Day). We don’t expect blizzards at this time of the year at Maitri. They do occur sometimes in coastal area, but not at our location. Blizzards are hallmark of the winters.

Weather was expected to be bad for 3 days starting today, 28th December according to the forecast given by Ralf, but no one expected a blizzard. What started as a snowdrift at noon time soon strengthened into a low intensity blizzard. It is continuing to blow hard as I am writing this. Although the wind speed in about 40 knots, but it is bringing in copious amounts of snow. The snow flakes are big and wet. They are not powdery as is seen during the winters, when they can be dusted off. The contrast between fresh snow and rotten snow is striking, though both appear white. Visibility is poor, but not as bad as during the winters. This is presently a moderate intensity blizzard, but the prediction for tomorrow is worse. The summer team is going to have a tough time tomorrow, while we are enjoying the what is probably the last blizzard before we depart at the end of next month.

R.I.P

2008-12-30T15:11:00.007+05:30

This is it folks. The penguin kids did not last long. My next trip after the egg had hatched was on 21st Dec. I was delighted to find not one but two boisterous penguin chicks. They were tiny creatures, grey in colour and were flapping their tiny wings. They were hovering around their parent’s legs, darting in and out, chirping without a moment’s break, except when the parent lay down on them on its belly. The parent penguin did not move an inch from its place. It was constantly poking its beak at the kids, as if scolding them. It was a delightful sight. But their fate was never in doubt. My next visit to the place was on 25th Dec. This time the parent penguin was their, but the place was very quite. There was no chirping to be heard. The parent was still firmly in its place, but there was no movement near its feet. My worst fears came true when I zoomed in my camera near its feet. There lay two lifeless, furry creatures. The parent was standing guard over them, as if expecting them to come to life. It was constantly prodding them with its beak. But there was no chance. The kids were gone. The icy continent had taken its toll and the penguin kids met their fate. There was no food to go by for the penguins. The continent is lifeless, except for the birds, and the sea is 100km away. By the time the other parent returns with food, it is too little too late. But the penguins continue to come here following their instinct, looking for rocks to nest in. Now I only hope that the parent realises the futility of standing guard at the site and goes to the sea for food. Else, it will also meet the same fate. When that happens, the skuas are going to have a grand feast. If that does not happen and the penguin stays back any longer, they are going to have a real gala time.

That’s nature. Can’t help much.

Dakshin Gangotri Glacier

2008-12-26T17:22:00.006+05:30

http://picasaweb.google.com/abhijeetbhatia77/DakshinGangotri

Many of us have visited the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas. But a trip to the Dakshin Gangotri glacier is a once in a lifetime event because one would have to come all the way to Antarctica for that. I had this opportunity on 22nd Dec 2008. This was a long pending trip and we should have gone there in the winters itself. But better late than never. The Dakshin Gangotri glacier is about 10 km west of Maitri in the Schirmacher Oasis.

The geologists are monitoring the rate of recession of the glacier since the 2nd Indian Antarctic Expedition in 1982. This time too they were going to take fresh observations. A group of 12 people from the old as well as the new team went to the glacier. A group of scientists from the new team was to collect lichen samples from the Dakshin Gangotri glacier for study.

We left at 10 in the morning by Pisten Bully. We left the vehicle near Shivling that is about 4 km away and then trekked the rest of the way. We passed numerous lakes along the way, all of them in various stages of melting. We also crossed various historical landmarks on the way. The first of them was the place where the second Indian Antarctic Expedition landed in a helicopter and selected the place as a site for a permanent Indian Station. They placed a placard bearing the name “Dakshin Gangotri” there. The idea was later dropped because of the inaccessibility of the area to vehicles. The placard now lies in our station. The second site of historical importance was the site where Indians had first carried out drilling in the rocks to obtain geological samples in 1982-83. The rocks bore tell tale holes all around. An iron rod was inserted in one of them.

Most of the route was downhill. After a trek of about 5 km, we saw a tongue of ice projecting into Schirmacher from the continental ice cap on the southern side. This was the Dakshin Gangotri Glacier. It is also know as the Dakshin Gangotri snout, because of its resemblance to an elephant’s snout. It lay in front of us in all its grandeur. The contrast between the ice cap and the rocky Schirmacher was striking. We descended towards it, and on the way we saw markings on a rock that demarcated the spot from which the 2nd Indian Antarctic Expedition carried out the first survey of the DG glacier. The glacier rose abruptly from the ground. All its walls were absolutely vertical. Blocks of ice lay in front of it, descending into a lake. We lazed around the glacier for a while, taking in its beauty. The rocks around bore parallel markings signifying the direction of movement of the glacier. These markings were made by the rubbing of rocks by the moving glacier.

Soon it was time to get back to work. I was the ‘official photographer’, the position I have earned during the last one year. We ascended along the eastern face of the glacier and found some markings on the rocks. These were made by the GSI team in 1996 to mark the position of the glacier. We were shocked to see that the glacier was no where near those points. It had receded at a rate of 1 meter per year. These markings were present at various places on the eastern end of the glacier, and all of them told the same story. At places where the glacier had been 4 meters from the markings, it was now 16 meters. We made fresh markings at the present position of the glacier and I took photographs of the old and new positions of the glacier.

While ascending, we saw an ice cave in the vertical face of the glacier. There were massive icicles hanging from the roof, extending almost to the floor. At the base of the glacier, fine mud was seen. This was rock flour, and is formed by the grinding of rocks under the weight of ice over millennia. Water flowed from all sides of the glacier in copious streams into the lake at the snout of the glacier. There were small waterfalls too, falling from the ice face. I collected water from one of these to take back to India as a souvenir. Icicles hung all around the place with water dripping from their tips. We sucked them like lollipops. Soon it was lunch time. We descended to the base and had alu paranthas and fruit juice, rested awhile and then proceeded to the western face of the glacier. It was considerably less steep than the eastern face. But the findings were more shocking here. At one point, where the glacier was 1 meter away from the marking in 1996, it was now 33 meters. Nobody would believe it, neither did we. But the proof was right in front of our eyes. At places where the GSI team had to scale vertical rock faces in 1996, we could now walk over comfortably. There were some waterfalls here as well. If the glacier continued to melt at this rate, there would be hardly anything left in the next 10 years. We continued our work till 3 pm and then we collected a few rocks as souvenirs and started our return journey. We were dead tired by the time we reached the vehicle near Shivling. It was 7 pm by the time we reached Maitri. A tiring but highly satisfying day had come to an end. A trip to Dakshin Gangotri was something I could only dream of. But it has now come true.

The Skuas Lay Eggs

2008-12-22T15:29:00.003+05:30

There is an abundance of skuas around. I can see around 8-10 pairs now and I have lot count of who is who. Shankar has found a mate. He hovers around our station, but since that is the preserve of its parents, he is not allowed near it. So he stays near the pump house.

Aish has laid its eggs near the Priyadarshani lake near the Tirumala hut and is now incubating them. I accidentally discovered this fact when I was going for a walk near the lake. Suddenly, Aish emerged from behind the rocks and screamed in a menacing tone. Her voice appeared to have gone bad. She was in a foul mood. Then equally suddenly, I saw Abhi rocketing straight at me, shouting in the same menacing voice. I thought that he was going to attack me. But he just wanted to scare me away. He hovered around me till I was at a comfortable distance from Aish. Then he stood guard till I left that place.

The next day, I again visited the site at a safe distance armed with my camera. I saw Aish through the powerful zoom of my camera and took a photograph. I could not see the eggs, but she is always seen in the same position, sitting down. This kind of behaviour can only be because of the eggs. We leave the couple alone and try not to scare them. In the pics below, Aish can be seen shouting and Abhi is having a swim.

The Eggs Hatch

2008-12-22T14:42:00.005+05:30

18 Dec 08 dawned as a beautiful day. It was warm and sunny day with slight wind. It was after 18 days that we were seeing the sun. Till now, it was overcast and very windy with intermittent snowfall and snow drift. We were not able to venture out for any length of time. But today I decided to make use of this opportunity and went out for a long walk. Uttam Chand also joined me. He also enjoys long walks. Initially, we had planned to go to the skua’s nesting site across Priyadarshani Lake. When we did not find any breeding skuas there, we decided to go to the penguin rookery.

The snow had still not melted. So we slid down most of the way. I was soon drenched with sweat. Sweating is very uncomfortable in Antarctica because of the woollen clothing that we wear. It makes one feel cold. When we reached the site where we had seen a penguin incubating its egg a few weeks back, we heard a chirping site quite unlike that of a penguin. The egg shell was still there. But between the legs of the penguin, we noticed a greyish mass wriggling around. The penguin egg had hatched and what we were seeing was the chick of an Adelie penguin. It was tiny. The egg had probably hatched a few days back. The parent penguin was still in the same place as we had seen it a few weeks back, but there was a lot more guano around. It was just moving its head all over. Feet were stationary. This was a thrilling moment for me and I clicked my camera away merrily. But then the stark reality struck me. This chick will not survive for more than a few days. There was no food to keep it going. By the time the other parent returns with food from the sea, it would be too little too late.

Strange are the ways of nature. I will follow up the chick’s progress till it reaches its destined fate.

In the pics below, concentrate on the greyish mass between the penguin’s leg’s to the right of the egg shell. That is the penguin chick.

Santa Visits Maitri

2008-12-22T14:36:00.006+05:30

It was a premature Christmas for us. The Russian Santa Claus was visiting us on 20 Dec. 08. We had been informed well in advance about this visit and so we were preparing for the divine visit for a few days. There was hectic activity at the station since morning. Actually, since yesterday. The lounge was being decorated, menu was decided and gifts for the Santa and his entourage were prepared. I was on cooking duty with Narayan Singh. It was a hectic day.

Finally, at 6 PM, we saw the Russian vehicles approaching us in the distance. An announcement was made over the station public address system and we were all on standby, cameras et al. The vehicles halted outside the gates and an elegantly dressed Santa stepped out. He had a one and a half meter long beard. He was wearing a red robe with golden embroidery and a cap and gloves to match. He spoke Russian in a deep baritone voice. One of his interpreters translated his words in English.

He came inside the station and moved around authoritatively. He spoke of the spirit of Christmas and Indo- Russian friendship. The Santa had come from the northern most parts of Russia, 14,000 km from here. He gave some mementos to the station leaders and then we raised a toast to the Santa and for Christmas. This was followed by cocktails and repeated rounds of photographs. We were falling over each other to get photographed with the Santa in all his regalia. It was a fascinating day for us.

Towards the end of the function, the Russian leader distributed certificates to all the participants of the Indo- Russian convoy held in Nov 08, of which I was also a part. Finally, the entourage left, with most of the Russians dead drunk at 8 PM. This event left us all refreshed for the rest of the 40 days of our expedition. The festive spirit did not leave us untouched.

Global Warming?

2008-12-22T14:33:00.004+05:30

As is the trend these days, lets blame it all on global warming. Mid summer day is round the corner and the end of the polar day is just one month away. But the lakes in Schirmacher have not yet melted. Priyadarshani Lake is not even half melted and many lakes have melted only at the edges. The temperatures continue to hover around the zero mark. This is in sharp contrast to last year, when the temperature had reached +7ºC in November itself and there was an excessive ice melt. The lakes were completely melted and boating was in full swing. Though the lakes are sure to melt soon but it is too late in the day for that. Also missing are the beautiful ice formations and the rivulets that appear during the summers. The next 2 weeks are going to be warm. A lot of melting should happen now.

Maitri Goes Online

2008-12-15T11:45:00.001+05:30

Today, 12 Dec 2008 is a historic day in the annals of Indian Polar Research. Maitri is finally connected to the World Wide Web since 8 PM in a grand inaugural function. The efforts of the 27^th ISEA have finally borne fruit and we are in touch with the happenings all around the world. The days of extreme isolation in Antarctica are finally over and we can look forward to happier and less stressful winterings at Maitri. TV transmission started in August and now the internet.

We had lugged bags of cement and iron hardware on our backs during the construction phase of the satellite antenna during the summer part of the 27^th ISEA irrespective of rank and professional qualifications, as is the norm in any Antarctic expedition. We had given up hope that the internet facility would start during our expedition. It is common in Antarctica that the team that does all the hard work does not get to enjoy the fruits of their labour. But we were lucky not to meet that fate. with still about a couple of months of our expedition left, we can look forward to enjoying the internet connectivity, and hopefully better blogs with photographs and videos straight from the icy continent.

Keep watching these columns for the hottest pics and maybe videos you would have ever seen.

Internet Activated

2008-12-14T11:15:00.001+05:30

Internet has been activated at maitri from today.

Ice Caves Revisited

2008-12-12T12:35:00.003+05:30

I visited the ice caves near Shivling on 6th Dec 08, this time with Uttam Chand a member of the new team. We went at around 9 PM. Time was not a problem because of 24 hours daylight.

I went there to see how much the caves had melted. But I saw that on the contrary, there is more snow than there was in September, when I last visited them. This time around, the snow had accumulated almost to the roof in the middle. We did not go in because of the risk of the ice caving in on us and there were some cracks visible on the roof. Moreover, there was no point in going in because there was too much snow. The ground had also not melted at all. The only signs of melting were the icicles all around. This was surprising.

The smaller caves were quite a contrast to the bigger ones. Half of the roof had caved in and roof of the remaining half was very thin. They could not be called caves any longer.

All around the caves were footprints as if someone had come here with crampons. They could be none other than the tourists from the nearby White Desert Tourist Camp, or the dhabawaalas as we call them. The tourists coming there are stinking rich, paying $40,000 for a ten day trip. It is sheer madness. All they end up doing is walk upto the ice caves, a few rounds on the snow scooter, a trip to the shelf on foot, some ice climbing and probably a day trip to the Humbolt Mountains, 100 km south of here. All this goes down the drain if the weather is not good, as it is these days. For us, the weather would not create problems, but not so for those who are not acclimatized to the cold here. The proprietors are all adventurers, who have skied to the South Pole a few times.

One Year Goes By

2008-12-12T12:33:00.002+05:30

I have reached a major landmark today, the 6th Dec 2008. It is more of a personal landmark. It is exactly one year since I sailed from Goa for Antarctica. We sailed from Mormugoa Harbour, Goa on this day last year at 13:35 hrs. The moment we were sailing away from our homeland is still firmly etched in my memory. There was a horde of people to see us off at the harbour. The gangway was slowly lifted up. The pilot boat began to tug us away from our berthing place into open waters. We began to slowly sail away from land. All hands were waving high up in the air. My parents were also there in the crowd, waving at us till the ship was out of the harbour. My heart was full of trepidation. I did not know what lay ahead. I had some serious doubts whether I would be able to meet this challenge. I did not know what lay ahead. I had virtually shot in the dark. It was like going into the deep, dark and unknown forest. Had I bitten more than I could chew? I never needed to do this. I had everything going for me, when I threw it all away and took up this offer. These and many more thoughts were going through my mind as we sailed away from India and land slowly drifted out of view, and the only sign that land was nearby was the presence of sea birds. I had given up myself to destiny. I was sure it had something lined up for me.

But now, one year is over and we are at the fag end of our expedition. The worst, and also the best are finally over. The remaining few weeks are not going to be easy by any standards. But what I have experienced during the last one year has been worth every bit of our stay here, and all the hardships that we have undergone. Antarctica has given a whole new perspective to my life, and also a few extra kilogramsJ J. This is easily going to be the most memorable year for me for a long time to come. There will be many more such reminiscences. So I will save the rest for later.

The Team Departs

2008-12-03T17:38:00.001+05:30

The deinduction of the 27th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica continues. A component of 8 members of our wintering team left for home late night on 1st Dec 2008. They leave behind a sense of emptiness in all of us. We have been through so much together during our seemingly never ending stay at Maitri and it will be not be possible to forget them for any of us. They take with them some sweet and some bitter memories. The bitter ones will be forgotten soon but the good ones will linger on.

The ALCI flight of the IL-76 was scheduled to depart at 2 PM. Hence the departing members left the station at 11 AM. I also went to the Novo Runway to see them off. On reaching the Novo Runway, we were informed that the flight would be departing at 10:30 PM. This was because of a rescue mission under process. 2 adventurers who were attempting to ski to the South Pole from Germany’s Neumayer station were stranded on the way since their stocks were depleted. A Basler aircraft was to go to rescue them. All the members were given the option of going back to Maitri or to stay on till evening when the vehicles and the leaders would return again to see off the departing members. Many returned and others stayed back. I too stayed back. It would be a long awaited change and a welcome day away from the station.

I munched on the variety of food freely available at the ALCI cafeteria. There were a variety of meats, cheese & bread to choose from. The cookies too were yummy. I first helped myself to a huge portion of ham, salami and brown bread and white bread along with coffee. This was followed by an assortment of cookies.

There were 2 four- wheeled vehicles parked near the cafeteria hut. It is not usual to find such vehicles here. They were huge, something like the Hummer trucks. I went up close to investigate. A few westerners were working on and around the vehicle. Some were testing a tent nearby. I discovered those vehicles to be the Hilux model from Toyota. They were arctic trucks that were here to give support to a ski race to the South Pole. The participants would be air dropped 400 km away from the Pole, from where the race would begin but the vehicle would drive down all the way to the Pole. It was an amazing thought. I wondered if the vehicles were suited to the conditions expected enroute. The Pole is 2000 km from the Novo Runway and the route is ridden with massive crevasses. Temperatures of the order of -50ºC were expected on the way even at this time of the year. I also wondered if the wheels of the vehicles would be suited to the ice, instead of snow. Would they not skid? The vehicles had huge, spikes wheels but no chain that we normally put on wheels in the Himalayas.

All these doubts were put to rest soon. The vehicles had a ladder with which they could cross crevasses many meters wide. They would also have a sensor a few feet in front of the vehicles to detect hidden crevasses. The suitability of the vehicles to the low temperatures was not in doubt because they were Arctic Trucks, meant for use at the Poles. Later during the day I saw these vehicles speeding along the runway at probably 150 km/hr and breaking suddenly. They used to stop abruptly instead of skidding. The wheels of these vehicles were spiked. Hence, their suitability for ice was also good.

We were allotted a tent for the day. The tent had 7 comfortable beds where we spent most of our day. Soon it was lunch time. The cafeteria served a non veg stew and soup. I did not bother to ask what meat it was. The Russians are supposed to be particularly fond of beef and horse meat. Whatever it was, it tasted good and different from what I have been having all the year. I spent a lot of time exploring the airport. I went upto the smaller Basler aircraft that transports men and material to Troll, Neumayer and other areas nearby, and the larger IL- 76 aircraft, taking photographs from all possible angles. I also took a walk on the 3 km long runway. It had been evened out with a vehicle with spiked tyres. It was amazing. It is only in Antarctica that we can go right upto the aircraft and even board it and go all over the runway without any restrictions. There are no policemen or security guards in Antarctica. Everything is based on trust. I saw numerous old, abandoned vehicles belonging to Novo lying all around. They included bull dozers and sundry other vehicles whose utility I could not comprehend.

I saw 3 skuas permanently parked outside the cafeteria tent. They appeared to be working in shifts. At any point of time I saw only one skua there, and each time it was a different one. It used to wait for titbits from visitors. They were more docile and domesticated than the ones in Schirmacher and did not get scared away so easily.

I chatted up people from various stations around Dronning Maudland, including Russians, Germans, Norwegians and Canadians, who were going to Cape Town that evening. It was nice to talk to such a wide assortment of people. They all had interesting titbits to tell about their wintering experience. Most of our talk centred on blizzards and temperatures.

Soon it was dinner time. Dinner consisted of noodles, non veg curry and salad, along with pork. The place was teeming with people. Soon, our team members also arrived from Maitri and joined us in the cafeteria. As the time for departure neared, the outgoing members were reminiscing about their wintering experience and the good and bad times that we had shared here. It was a happy as well as an emotional time for them. They had developed an emotional bond with Maitri. But soon they got busy with the boarding formalities. There were no passport checks, or security checks. There was no restriction on the amount of luggage you carried, or what you carried. That’s trust, Antarctica style.

It was now time to go. The outgoing members were taken to the aircraft in a sledge drawn by a snow scooter. We followed them on another one and bid them the final goodbye before the aircraft was ready for take off. It finally took off at 10 PM, raising a lot of snow. It was bright sunshine when it took off, as it always is. We returned soon to a station that looked empty without those 8 members.

The Isolated Water Bowls

2008-12-01T15:23:00.000+05:30

29th November was a very windy day. It had been so for a few days now. We did not venture out much because of the wind. The cold did not disturb us much. But today, Ralf, the meteorologist at Neumayer had predicted a decrease in wind velocity to 12 kt. So we planned a trip to the base of the Trishul peak for Dr Asim to take a few samples. We waited all day for the wind to die down. It did not quite reach 12 kt but it did drop to 20 kt in the evening. So we decided to leave at 6 PM. We were in no hurry to come back because there will be no sunset. There were 5 of us, Dr Asim, Leader, Asit, Hembram and myself.

So we proceeded towards Trishul. Instead of going to Trishul, we turned northwards before it and proceeded towards Long Lake from the eastern side of Trishul. I had never been here before. As we went on, we suddenly came across an area which was flat and was surrounded by hillocks all around. The ground here appeared to have been levelled. The grounded was carpeted with dried mosses. It looked like a bowl, enclosed on all sides. It had the appearance of a dried lake bed. And it was. It does get filled up with water during the summers. This inspite of the fact that it does not communicate with any other lake in the vicinity. The source of the water in that lake is the permafrost. When the permafrost begins to thaw during the brief Antarctic summers, the water rises to above the ground and forms a lake a few inches deep. With the onset of the winters, the water again seeps into the ground and refreezes. Since this lake has no drainage, the water does not leave it. The result is the high salinity and alkalinity of the water. This place appeared very lonely. Dr Asim took a few samples of the lichens and we moved on.

We crossed the western face of Trishul from a distance and we came across a deep gorge to the northern side. This again appeared to have been levelled. But this time it did not appear to be a bowl. It was long and appeared like a dry river bed. We descended into it by sliding down on the snow that was still relatively hard. This we later came to know, was the “flood plain” of the Long Lake. This implies that when the Long Lake overflows, it drains into this area. It was not totally dry but had a few isolated puddles of water. The only apparent source of the water in these puddles was the permafrost that had probably started melting. This was confirmed by the high alkalinity of the water that Dr Asim measured. The water in this puddle repeatedly underwent the cycle of freezing and melting during the last few days. This was evident by the presence of water rimmed with ice along the edge and ice in the centre. The wind was causing ripples in the water. Further on, there was a bigger puddle, that could be called a lake. It had a similar appearance, with a thin layer of ice at the edge, then water and finally a thick layer of ice again. There were a few rocks in the water. These were topped with ice. The water that passed over them froze in the wind due to the wind chill factor. This layer of ice appeared like multiple huge diamonds studded all over the rocks. At places, where the ice over the rocks had again started melting, were huge icicles. They appeared like the teeth of a shark and sparkled brilliantly in the weak sunshine. Had we gone further, along this lake, we would have reached the Long Lake. But we did not want to expose Dr Asim any more to this harsh weather (wind chill temperature was around -30ºC) and decided to return. The journey back was along the base of the Trishul peak and passed through a few more gorges. This route was known to me. Right at the base of Trishul was another isolated bowl. At many places, tell tale streaks of salts were present of rocks, that told about the presence of water there.

It was strange that even though I have been to Trishul many times, but I had never before seen these isolated bowls before.

A Penguin Rookery and an Esteemed Guest

2008-12-01T15:05:00.001+05:30

The day dawned bright and clear. There was a brisk wind early on and so it was slightly chilly, though the temperature was a pleasant -5ºC. I was going for a field traverse along with a multidisciplinary field party for sample collection on 24th Nov 08. The most high profile member of our party was a microbiologist of Indian origin from the USA who is here on a NASA research project. Dr Asim is studying the survival mechanism of the micro organisms found here against the extreme cold and high UV radiation and its medical applications. He is here to collect samples from the lakes of Schirmacher Oasis. The other members of the party were 3 geologists, who are collecting ice core samples from the epi shelf lakes, a limnologist who was collecting lichen and moss samples and our leader. We were to go to a mini penguin rookery nearby via a few land locked lakes to the east of the station. This penguin rookery houses about 10- 12 penguins during the summers. We expected to find some penguins there, hopefully with the eggs.

We reached our first lake in no time at all. It had just started melting at the edges. The melting lake was a pretty sight, especially the region where water met ice. At places, the water had frozen again after melting. The layer of ice was weak. The mosses in the lake had revived again when the melting began. The various members of the team collected their samples and we moved on to the next lake. We collected samples from a few more lakes and then we decided to go to the epi-shelf lake near the penguin rookery. On the way we came across an area where soil was arranged in polygonal patterns. There were rocks in the crack between the polygonal patterns. Our leader explained this pattern. During the winters, the soil has permafrost, which thaws somewhat during the summers and expands the soil in the process. This expansion pushes the rocks sideways. This movement is of a miniscule degree, but accumulated over millions of years, it is appreciable. As a result of this movement, the rocks have been pushed to the junction of the polygons. Quite interesting indeed. He also explained the various striations seen of the rocks as due to glacier movement in the past. At places the rocks had a highly polished surface, again due to glacier movement. The glacier movement had also formed numerous gorges in Schirmacher, one of which led to the penguin rookery from where we were presently. This particular gorge was like a river bed and it appeared as if the earth had been levelled using a bull dozer. The appearance was striking.

The epi- shelf lake was still frozen stiff. It was strong enough to take our weight without breaking. But it was exxxxtremely slippery. We could not walk on the ice without slipping. So we crawled all over the place and had a lovely time. The geology team got busy drilling ice cores all over the place. The rest of us went to look for the penguins along the shelf.

We walked about a kilometre from the lake when we came to a rocky outcrop, where we expected to find the penguins. There were none. This was strange. However, we did see a few skuas hovering around. If the skuas were here, the penguins could not be far. Probably the skuas were waiting to catch a penguin for lunch. We finally came across an abandoned penguin nest. It was made of a collection of pebbles arranged in a circular manner. There were 2 such nests. There was no sign of the penguins or the eggs. The nest was stained with penguin guano. Dr Asim picked up a few stones that were streaked with penguin guano for his kids back home.

The geologists soon joined us. One of them told us that he had seen a penguin incubating an egg nearby. We thought he was pulling a fast one on us. However, he dragged us along. Sure enough, hidden among the rocks was an Adelie penguin sitting on a white coloured egg that was 3 times the size of a hen's egg. All the rest joined us. We kept a safe distance from the penguin so as not to scare it away. We got busy photographing and videographing the penguin and its egg. It appeared to be restless because of our presence. This inspite of the fact we were so far away from it that I had to use the maximum limit of my camera's 12x zoom to get a good close up of the penguin. We moved away soon to avoid causing much disturbance to the penguin. Dr Asim had never seen a penguin before. He said that this penguin made his trip to Antarctica worthwhile. Not that we had seen too many of them. We were all as excited as Dr Asim. We had our lunch and then headed back to the station. It was already evening by the time we reached back. A highly fruitful day thus came to an end.

It is really sad that inspite of the penguins best efforts, the chick is unlikely to survive. There is no source of food nearby. One of the parents treks down to the sea 100 km away. By the time it returns, its mate is already weak with hunger. It cannot bring back enough for the chick, which in turn grows weak and is eaten by the skuas. This is the fate of most of the penguin chicks born in Schirmacher Oasis.

The Midnight Sun

2008-11-26T18:33:00.003+05:30

It's finally here. The midnight sun and my second polar day. The cycle is
near completion. It was polar day when I landed in Antarctica in January.
After 13th November the sun set at around 10:30 PM and rose again before
midnight. The sun has stopped setting since the 21st November, marking the
beginning of the polar day. In meteorological terms this means that the time
for sunrise for our latitude is earlier than the scheduled time for sunset.
The sun hovers around the sky 24 hours a day. It dips in the south at night
and rises before it can set. We at Maitri cannot see the sun for a few hours
at night because it disappears behind the glacier.

I am now comfortable with this weird day and night cycle. Once the sun
rises, I expect it to stay up for a few months. The same holds good for
sunset as well. I would find it crazy if the sun rises and sets the same day
everyday. I can go out for walks any time of the day or night now. In fact
some scientists prefer to go out on field traverses at night, when it is
cooler and there is less risk of sun burn.

Sleep is never a problem. I hang a towel on my window and switch on the
lights to simulate night.

Inspite of the sun glaring down at us 24 hours, the temperature continues
to stay below zero. It rose momentarily to +1ºC on 18th November before
returning to sub zero levels again. This was the first time since February
that we experienced positive temperatures. Melting is slow for this time of
the year. The lakes have melted only at the edges. But when the sun beats
down on a clear windless day, it can be uncomfortably warm. It has created
some interesting patterns on the melting snow and ice.

The Long Forgotten Crowds

2008-11-26T11:34:00.002+05:30

The second batch of the new team arrived early morning on 22 Nov 2008. They are a mixed group of scientists and logistics personnel, of both the summer and the winter team. The station suddenly wore an overcrowded look. The loneliness of just a few days back is now a thing of the past. I don't remember when I last saw so many humans. It was a strange feeling. There was no place to sit when a welcome party was organised in the evening. I was feeling like a creature from another planet.

With this batch has arrived the next batch of much awaited fresh fruits and vegetables which were distributed among members of both the old and the new teams. The newly arrived team found it amusing when something as basic as onions were being distributed. Equal distribution and the size of onion one got was a major issue. Little did they know that we have not tasted an onion for the last 10 months. Apples again found no takers. The South African apples probably don't taste as good as the Indian ones. There was also garlic, ginger, lemons and coriander up for grabs.

The temperature being around -10ºC for most part of the day, the new arrivals were dressed in full polar gear, which we found strange. But we old timers were dressed as casually as we would in the Indian summers. After all its summer time and melting of the snows is in progress. It is hot by our standards. I am desperate to find out how I would take the Delhi winter when I return home.

A True Joint Convoy-III The Penguin Story

2008-11-21T15:17:00.003+05:30

As we proceeded along the Russian barrier, we were welcomed by a few Adelie penguins. We had expected to find some Emperor penguins there. This was the only place close to Maitri where we could expect to see the emperor penguins. I strained myself attempting to locate the emperors. There were none in sight.

We parked our vehicles next to the Russian vehicle and started the decanting operations right away. We spotted a stray penguin close to our location. I set out after it to photograph it. But it ran away when it noticed me approaching. Initially it was waddling away on 2 legs, and then it began tobogganing on its belly. When a penguin slides on its belly, it can outrun the fastest man. It propels itself with its hind legs. Penguin footprints and belly prints were to be seen all over the place.

I spotted Sasha nearby and went to him. He told me that near the shelf there were a lot of penguins on a barrel dump. He had taken a half hour video clip there. He volunteered to take me to where the penguins were. We also took along Hukum Singh of the new team.

The penguin colony was quite filthy. It cannot be called a rookery because the Adelie penguins could not lay its eggs on ice. They need stones to make nests and lay eggs. There were about 50 Adelie penguins there. They were all stained with oil. The whole place was very noisy with the collective cry of the penguins. The cry of the penguins can be described as similar to that of a crow but in more rapid succession. One has to hear it to appreciate it. While crowing, they raise their necks high up in the air collectively. We attempted to go close to them expecting them to cower down with fright. But to our surprise, they fought back and attempted to attack us with their beaks. Their beaks were sharp enough to tear our flesh away. But they looked cute even in their anger, more so when they looked at us suspiciously out of the corner of their white rimmed eyes while we approached them. This was in sharp contrast to their behaviour when they are alone or in small groups when they run for their lives when they see humans approaching them. But in large groups, they fight back.

We noticed that the all the penguins had mates, and each pair was allotted a barrel. If anyone tried to encroach on another pair’s barrel, the other pair shooed them away. This sometimes used to lead to serious fights among the penguins. We were guilty of starting a few fights among the penguins. One penguin had dug a small pit in the snow and was collecting chunks of snow and depositing them in the pit. I felt that the penguin was probably about to lay eggs and was attempting to construct a nest. But Adelie penguins do not lay their eggs on snow. They need stones to construct their nests. They can travel 100 km to look for such places. This explains their presence at Schirmacher oasis.

There were many other penguins lolling around. I followed a solitary penguin wherever it went. It first went up the shelf, then along it, sometimes waddling, sometimes tobogganing. I kept a good distance from it so as not to disturb it. Finally it returned to the place from where it had started. It was such an anticlimax and a waste of time.

The fuel decanting continued the next day till afternoon. Thereafter we started back since the Russians were in a hurry to go back and we needed them to guide us back to the Indo- Russian junction. We followed them and reached the junction late at night. We camped there at night and completed the journey back the next day. Since the fuel was meant for the Novo runway, we dropped it off at the runway and reached the station at 9 PM on 16 Nov 08. Thus another memorable convoy came to a close.

Each convoy appears to be more or less similar. But at the same time each convoy had something totally new to offer. This is the reason I end up writing about each and every convoy. There is still a joint convoy with our new team left before we return home.

A True Joint Convoy- II The Spirit of Dakshin Gangotri

2008-11-21T15:16:00.003+05:30

The next morning I woke up at about 6 AM. Sasha was ready with a light breakfast. I had some coffee and ham and went back to the Banjara. The Russians left soon after. Since they had to load fuel barrels before we reached the Russian barrier. We readied our vehicles, packed up the Banjara and left for the Russian barrier at about 9 AM. We were not acquainted with the route. Hence we were dependent on the GPS for the route. The route from the Indian shelf to the Russian barrier was fed into our GPSs by the leader for this convoy. The Russian barrier was about 40 km away. The journey was expected to take us 5 hours

We moved initially along our convoy route. But we turned right before point C18. Then we moved largely straight as per the GPS. Soon we were passing through an area which was flatter than any area I have seen on the shelf. There were no undulations here. There was copious amount of snow in this region. The snow was very soft. I had never witnessed such soft snow in Antarctica till now. Most of the snow I have seen was hard due to wind effects. This was so soft that the tracks of the vehicles sank in the snow.

This was the area where the Dakshin Gangotri station once was. It was an amazing feeling to pass through this area. I could vividly imagine the experiences of the wintering people at this station. It was as if I was living their experience. I could imagine a small station in the middle of nowhere on an absolutely flat, featureless piece of ice shelf, laden with snow. This place sees a blizzard every few days. Those blizzards are more ferocious than the ones at Maitri. They lead to astounding snow deposition. I could feel the depression and the loneliness that those members had once experienced in such a desolate place. It was hell. Getting lost in a blizzard in such a place was easy and led to a certain death. Incidentally, while travelling, I was reading a book “Citadel of Ice- Dakshin Gangotri” which gives an account of the first Indian wintering in Antarctica in 1983-85 by the then station commander, Brig SS Sharma. He has given such a vivid account of his experiences that it was as if I was wintering over in that era with him, more so since I was passing through the area of Dakshin Gangotri station. This was desolation at its best, or worst as one may take it. It was a strange feeling to realise that the station now lies buried 15 meters below in the ice, and that it would one day be released into the ocean with an ice berg, when the shelf breaks. To further take me back to that era, it had become cloudy and there was mild snowfall. But there was no wind. There was so much snow that I could not distinguish between the ground and the sky. Both were equally white. While driving, I felt as if I am driving in air. This was a typical white out as described in any book on Antarctica. Even if we were upside down, we would not have been able to make it out.

To further prolong my Dakshin Gangotri experience, one of the vehicles broke down. The snow was now coming down harder. Thankfully, there was no wind. Even the slightest wind would have caused a blizzard under such circumstances. The convoy team coolly went about repairing the vehicle, which took 5 hours. In the meanwhile I did some photography. I experimented with the camera settings to get the best possible photographs in such a featureless landscape. I did manage to capture the white out to my satisfaction.

The vehicle was repaired by 6 PM and then we proceeded to the Russian barrier, which was just half and hour away. We reached there at 6:30 and finally located the Russian vehicle close to the shelf edge in a depression.

A True Joint Convoy

2008-11-21T15:15:00.002+05:30

This was a unique opportunity for me, and a rare one for any member of any expedition, including the convoy team. As is the norm, a joint convoy was planned with the convoy team members of the new team to acquaint them with the work during the convoy, as well as to hand over the equipment at the Indian Shore camp. Additional purpose was to tow the backloading containers to the shelf for the ship to take them back to India. But while this was being planned, we were told that we have to do a joint convoy with the Russians as well to the Russian Shelf (or the barrier as they call it and which I feel is more appropriate) to bring fuel for the ALCI flights. The Russians have been contracted for this job but they were unable to bring the entire quota required by ALCI during their convoys in the winters. Hence India has been approached to assist. This convoy was to be a joint convoy in a true sense of the word- the convoy team consisted of the old and new Indian convoy teams as well as the Russians. We were to go to our shelf as well as the Russian barrier. The entire operation was expected to take 4 days.

6 people from the old team and 4 people from the new team were to go with the convoy. There was no vacancy for me. Hence our leader tied up with the Russians for sleeping arrangements for 2 in their living module as there were sleeping arrangements for only 10 people in the Banjara. The Russians agreed and so another person from the new team was accommodated.

The plan was that we would leave Maitri at 5 AM on 13 Nov 08 and the Russians would leave at 8:30 AM as their vehicles were faster than ours. We would head for the Indian Shelf and meet the Russians enroute. We left the station as per schedule. Initially I was a co driver with Jamwal as usual, but later I was requested to give GPS training to Mr Bishnoi of the new team. Therefore, for the rest of the convoy period, I was with Mr Bishnoi and explained him the basics of navigation using the GPS. The weather was exceptionally warm this time around. The sun was uncomfortably bright. It was not possible to travel without sunglasses. The reflection from the ice made things worse. It was also very warm. We would not have been in much discomfort had we been wearing t-shirts and shorts instead of all the polar paraphernalia that we are now accustomed to. This, inspite of the air temperature of -10ºC. A few of us even lowered our dangris. This was in stark contrast to our plight when we had come to Antarctica late last summer, though at that time the temperatures were on the positive side of zero. We were all shivering down to our bones. This is the extent to which the human body can adapt.

We were all in a relaxed, happy mood. The convoy proceeded uneventfully to the Indian shelf. We finally reached the shelf at 6 PM. As soon as we reached the shelf, we noticed the Russian vehicle approaching us. They reached the Indian shelf by 6:30 PM. Since there was no period of darkness now, it was decided that we would finish unloading of backloading containers and loading of empty fuel tankers at night and leave for the Russian barrier the next day.

The Russian convoy consisted of just one vehicle, which was really huge and powerful. It was a modified T- 72 tank that is also used by the Indian Army. It was in a ramshackle condition and appeared to be on the verge of breakdown. It was tugging their living module as well as an empty container for fuel barrels. Their convoy team consisted of just 4 members, including Dr Benjamin, who has been assisting ALCI in preparing the runway during the winters for use in the summers. Dr Benjamin was fluent in English. The rest could only communicate using sign language. Alexander Sasha could also speak broken English. Most of our communication was restricted to these 2 members.

Dr Benjamin and Sasha have wintered over at various Russian Antarctic stations 3 times. Dr Benjamin, though a surgeon by profession, has switched over to the logistics branch of the Russian Arctic and Antarctic service. The Russian convoy chief has wintered over about 7 times and is the most experienced convoy team member that Russia has. He has been involved in running convoys from Russia’s Mirnyi station to Vostok about 1500 km away from the shores. This convoy takes 2 months to cover this distance, encountering temperatures in the region of -50ºC throughout. He lost 2 of his fingers due to frostbite during one such convoy. He is a very tough but jovial person, as most Russians are.

The Russian vehicles are of Soviet vintage and hence very old. They are capable of pulling 2 to 3 times more load as compared to our pisten bullys but they also require a lot of maintenance. This is evident in the poor shape of the Russian vehicles. They did most of their convoys with just 2 vehicles. The others were unserviceable. One of their vehicles is lying on our convoy route for the last 6 months. This is the reason why they were not able to bring the complete quota of fuel for ALCI. This threatens to stop the flights due to lack of fuel. Hence India was approached for help.

When they reached Indian shelf, after exchanging greetings, we told them about our plan to finish our work on the shelf at night and leave early morning the next day. Thereafter, Sasha expressed his desire to see the Indian shelf. I gladly obliged him and took him around. He was amazed by the cleanliness of our shore camp as compared to the Russian barrier. He did a lot of photography and then we returned to our vehicles. I went with Sasha to the Russian living module. It was massive. But on entering, I found it to be a dingy pigeon hole. It was very congested with poor lighting. It had accommodation for 6 people and was not very well maintained unlike our Banjara. I was told that this living module has been with Novo since 1971. I had some black coffee and snacks with the Russians and chatted up with them. I returned to Banjara with Sasha. He was interested in having tea. I served him some, but he then told me that he does not have milk or sugar. But he had the tea nonetheless and left. When our convoy team returned late at night after work, we invited the Russians over for drinks. They came over, but they are not allowed to have liquor during the convoy, especially the driver. So only Sasha had drinks. This was surprising since Russians are infamous for their voracious capacity for alcohol. We had a lovely evening with them and then they left. We had our dinner, and then I went over to the Russian living module for sleep. Sasha was put on duty to look after me, which he did well. There was a crisp, new bed linen waiting for me. I went off to sleep immediately. The rest of the Russians were already asleep. So there was no chatting. I was told that I would be woken up at 6:30 AM since the Russians were going to leave for the Russian Barrier at 7.

A Breath Of Fresh Air

2008-11-12T16:59:00.001+05:30

The new team finally arrived on 6th Nov early morning. Not many people were able to sleep well that night in anticipation. Their arrival is like a breath of fresh air. I realized how stale and outdated we had become. It was like being caught in a time warp for 1 year. The station and its 26 inhabitants were the world for us. We had forgotten that there was a big, wide world beyond the endless snows, and that there are a lot of things more worthwhile than the petty bickering that the prolonged isolation in a tiny, closed society made us indulge in.

The arrival of the new team made us realize that there could be so many varying viewpoints and all could live in harmony with each other. They have injected a new energy into our lives. The world suddenly looks so much more rosy and colorful. We eagerly listen to the latest from the outside world, and about the latest movies and the general mood in the country. It is refreshing to see people wear new clothes, and bathe and shave every day. I have now recollected the smell of a deodorant. They have there tasks cut out for the summers as well as for the winters. Their enthusiasm to get on with there assigned jobs is infectious. All we from the old team can think of is about our journey back home.

In a way I was also disappointed with the summer team. A few members have been to Antarctica many times, though only in summers. They have never wintered over here. It was frustrating to realize that they view Antarctica from the blinkered viewpoint of a tourist. They have the typical ‘been there, done that’ mentality of a tourist. They are interested in the auroras and the blizzards in a very superficial manner. They do not realize that you can capture the true spirit of Antarctica only when you winter over here, and become a part of the continent, you are a partner in its fortunes and misfortunes, a citizen of the continent. One must be willing to face whatever Antarctica throws at you. It is a different ball game witnessing a blizzard from the safe environs of the station, and quite another to participate whole heartedly in ensuring the smooth running of the life support systems of the station, or going for a convoy in a raging blizzard in the knowledge that there is no other way out. There is a world of difference between being in Antarctica just for the mid winter day (though that is not possible presently) and a different ball game altogether to experience the loneliness of the polar nights and to feel the isolation overpower you. One has to be strong to maintain ones mental equilibrium and cool when someone under the effect of isolation tries to provoke you.

Some people may feel why undergo so much unnecessary suffering. True, it is a matter of choice. But the triumphant feeling one gets at the end of the wintering period is something to die for. It is unparalleled. However good I may be with words, one can never understand Antarctica until one has wintered over in this remote and icy continent. Whatever I wrote about Antarctica till date was just the tip of the iceberg. I did not have words to describe many feelings and moods. My tales from this frozen land may appear to be from grandma’s tales to many and most will not believe me when I tell them about this fantastic continent. Nor will they understand the feelings and memories behind each of my photographs and videos clips. Many will dismiss these with disdain. But Antarctica will remain within me for ever, and that is what matters.

The Onion Tales

2008-11-06T19:00:00.003+05:30

The arrival of fresh food has been a windfall for us at Maitri. It has created a strange situation here- onions have become the new currency here. Onions are being traded with lemons, each onion is being consumed in partnership with 2 or 3 people who have a contract with each other. People are also looking to acquire onions from each other through ‘nefarious’ means- coax, cajole, cheat- all is fair.

My partner is Chaubeyji. We now have our dinner together so that we can share one onion among the 2 of us. We either make a vegetable or an omelette or eat it raw as salad. If the onion is too large for the 2 of us to consume, then we rope in another partner with a binding on him to return us the favour when he fishes out his onion. I managed to obtain an onion recently from My Rayudu, who did not want to eat it. It was a bonus for me as well as for Chaubeyji, and increased our bargaining power with the others. Chaubeyji also managed to get one from Gaffar. So we both can be counted as richest people in Maitri presently.

Fruits- apples and oranges are not much in demand and hence do not increase our bargaining value. They can be obtained by the dozen.

The Last Day of Our Wintering

2008-11-06T18:59:00.005+05:30

Today, the 5th November 2008 is a watershed day in the calendar of our expedition. It is the final day of our wintering over period. The 28th expedition members are arriving in the wee hours of 6th November. By the time this post goes online, they would already have arrived. The concluding chapter of our Antarctica saga would have begun. The only task left would be to await our date of departure from the icy continent.

It is going to be a sleepless night, as we await fresh faces and ideas and a fresh approach to life. The expected time of departure of the ALCI flight from Cape Town is 9 PM Maitri time on 5th Nov, and it would arrive here at 3AM on 6th. The reception team would leave for the airport at 1 AM, while the rest of us would wait anxiously for the arrival of the new team.

Puddles of Water

2008-11-06T18:59:00.004+05:30

It was a clear day today, 5th November 2008, after few days of cloudy and windy whether and one day of blizzard. So I went out for a short walk after lunch. It was a warm day at -5ºC. The first thing I noticed as I trudged through the snow deposited during the winter blizzards was that my feet sank ankle deep into the snow and left deep footprints. Walking through snow was tiring business. Just a few days back the snow was windpacked and walking on it was as easy as walking on a concrete floor. The snow also felt wet and sticky instead of the usual dry, powdery consistency that we have come to associate with Antarctica snow during the last one year.

As I walked on, I came across a few lakes. As I was attempting to cross one of them, I heard a slish slosh sound. I looked at my feet and was surprised to find myself standing in a pool of water about 1 inch deep. However, I thought that this might be an aberration and tried to move on. But at many places the situation was a same. The puddles were often covered by a thin layer of ice which cracked as soon as I stepped on it and my feet encountered water. On my way back, I came across a slope that was covered with ice. There, I noticed a tiny stream of water trickling down the slope from the lee of a stone.

This was the first time in the last 10 months that I saw water outside the station. Till now it was all snow and ice. It is now suddenly unsafe to venture out on the snow and ice. We have to tread carefully. Gone are those days of walking all over the lakes and the snows without caring to watch our step, secure in the knowledge that everything would be as hard as concrete.

The snow petrels, penguins, skuas, warm days, 24 hours daylight (sunrise- 00:58, sunset- 20:56), and now liquid water- all signs of arrival of summers are now present. Summer is now well and truly here.

The Penguins Visit Us

2008-11-06T18:58:00.004+05:30

On 30th October 2008, we had 2 surprise visitors. At about 5PM, we saw 2 Adelie penguins hovering in the pump house area. They were tiny creatures, about 2 feet in height, with white rimmed eyes.

We rushed out to photograph them. As long as we were some distance away from them, they were relaxed, but as soon as we attempted to go close to them, we scared them off. They used to flap their ‘wings’ and run away. Many a times they were within touching distance. But we resisted the urge to touch them. We wanted them to spend some time with us. Soon, they were surrounded on all sides by eager Maitrians out to photograph them. We sat down in the snow with the penguins in the centre. They were standing quietly, sometimes squawking and calling out to each other. We photographed them at leisure and enjoyed each and every movement of theirs.

Their coat was splendid. It had a velvety appearance, white in front and black at the back and the face. It was shimmering in the evening sun. They also had a tiny tail, which used to twitch every now and then. We spent about an hour with the penguins. Then seeing that they were in no mood to leave, we went back to the station.

Now that the penguins have come here, they would surely have reached the penguin rookeries in Schirmacher. This is the ideal time to see them building their stone nests and follow their breeding season- the eggs, young ones.

But all said and done, Schirmacher Oasis is the grave yard of penguins. It is about 100km from the sea and there is no food available for the penguins and their young ones here. Hence once the eggs have been laid, one of the parents leaves for the ocean to get food while the other one incubates the eggs. The parent who stays back grows weak waiting for food. It then starts looking for food in the lakes of Schirmacher and once it is weak enough, it either dies of starvation, or is eaten by the skuas. The eggs and the unprotected chicks also meet the same fate. This is the order of nature and there is nothing to be done to change it. The penguins follow their instinct and come here looking for nesting sites and the skua does what it needs to survive.

Keep watching this column for more on the penguins.

The Skua Story So Far

2008-11-06T18:58:00.003+05:30

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the first skua arrived on 18th Oct. The poor guy arrived alone and still continues to be alone. Since then 2 more skuas have arrived on 25th Oct. They are a pair. Skuas being territorial animals, return to the same nesting place year after year. The first skua was born at Trishul and returned at the same place. The other 2 were born at Maitri and returned here.

Lets name the first skua Shankar (since he was born near Trishul) and the other 2 skuas as Aish and Abhi since they form the perfect couple. Shankar is a loner. He is detested by Aish and Abhi. These 3 skuas are never seen together because Aish and Abhi always chase Shankar away whenever he tries to get close to them. Whenever Shankar is nearby, Aish & Abhi turn their heads skywards, spread their wings and begin to squawk at the top of their voices. Poor Shankar turns away in flight. All 3 spend a large part of their day on the snow piled up in front of Maitri. They are often seen pecking at the snow to quench their thirst. The snow is filthy with their droppings all over. At night they return to their nesting places.

Though all 3 are permanent residents of Maitri, they are still scared of us. They fly away whenever anyone tries to get too close to them.

There is another skua at the Novo runway. This one has been pampered hopelessly. There is plenty to eat & drink there and plenty of people to offer him all kinds of non veg food. Tourists adore him as he is the only living creature they are likely to see for the entire duration of their stay in Antarctica. He is fully domesticated and does not mind if people take him in their hands. We met him when we went to the runway to see of one of our team members on 1st Nov. He was at the airport last year as well.

The breeding season will start soon. But we will be back home before the young ones hatch.

Isolation Ends

2008-11-02T14:01:00.002+05:30

1 November 2008 marks the beginning of the summer season for us at Maitri and all other stations in Dronning Maudland. The first ALCI flight has landed at 3 AM on that day. It was scheduled for 31st Oct, but the time was not certain. We received a call from Novo at 9 PM on 31st Oct that the flight has taken off from Cape Town and will land at 3 AM on 1st Nov. With the arrival of the first ALCI flight, our 7 month long isolation has ended.

The return flight out of Antarctica was tentatively scheduled for 2nd Nov but at 9 AM on 1st Nov, Novo informed as that the flight has been preponed for take off at 12:30 PM on 1st Nov because bad weather was expected the next day.

Our deinduction has started with the departure of the flight as my fellow medical officer at Maitri has started his journey back to India on that flight. 7 of us had gone to see him off at the Novo runway. It was a very happy experience for me. On my way to the runway, I was thinking of the time when I will make my last trip out of Schirmacher Oasis at the time of my deinduction. It will be a very emotional moment indeed and is just a month away. Our conversation on the way centered on Cape Town and the blast we would have there.

At the runway, we met the incoming summer team for the German Antarctic Station, Neumayer and chatted up with them. It was certainly very refreshing to see some fresh faces and exchange greetings with them. The fresh, cheerful and enthusiastic members of incoming teams were a stark contrast to the bedraggled appearance of the wintering people, with the strain of wintering over in Antarctica clearly visible on their faces. It was nice to meet people who have just arrived from the civilised world. We were feeling and probably looking like tribals in comparison.

We also met Jim, the pilot of the Basilar MIA aircraft that was to transport the German team to Neumayer, but were stuck up due to bad weather at Neumayer. He had taken a circuitous route to Novo runway because the aircraft is meant for small distances. It had arrived here from Punta Arenas in Chile via Bellingshausen (Russian Station on the peninsula), Rothera (British Station on Antarctica peninsula), Halley (British station on west coast of Weddel Sea) and Neumayer.

Ralf, the meteorologist and forecaster from the Neumayer station has also arrived. He is responsible for giving weather forecasts for Dronning Maudland during the summer season mainly to assist flight operations. He sent us his first weather report to us on 1st Nov.

The flight to Cape Town finally took off at 2 PM. There was a curious crowd of on lookers photographing the IL 76 as it took off. I took an invaluable video of an aircraft taking off on an icy runway, billowing snow all around as it moved. I saw the aircraft long after it was well out of sight, dreaming about the day when the same aircraft would transport me out of Antarctica.

The Luxury of Fresh Food

2008-11-02T13:59:00.002+05:30

We had come to the Novo runway to see off one of our wintering members on 1st Nov when the ALCI people sprang a pleasant surprise on us. They informed us that there was some cargo for us that had come with the first flight from Cape Town. To our delight we discovered that the cargo consisted of fresh fruits and vegetables, something we have been starved of for the last 8 months. We were fed up of eating the tasteless frozen food that is already one year old. We used to eat just to survive. This was a bonanza for us.

On our return to the station, we opened the boxes to find carrots, green apples, oranges twice the sized we get in India, lemons 4 times the normal size, green chillies, coriander leaves, onions and broccoli. All the expedition members had gathered around the boxes and were already drooling at the sight. Some of us even photographed the eatables, some even going to the extent of posing with the booty. We were told that the cost of importing these eatables was 10 times the actual cost of each item. That made it all the more precious.

Later on the eatables were distributed among the team members. Each on of us got 2 apples, one carrot, one huge onion and one huge lemon. The rest of the stuff was handed over to Narayan Singh, our cook. One can never think of such excitement at the sight of a humble, commonplace vegetable like an onion as was seen here. We had a gala time at dinner. There was a lot of salad around. Onion and carrot salad with lemon, green chillies and salt and pepper- that was my dinner and the stuff had never tasted better. But it left me with an upset tummy probably because I am no longer accustomed to eating anything fresh or maybe it was the effect of an excess of green chillies. The taste of the fruits and the vegetables still lingers in my mouth as I write this.

This was the first instalment of the goodies we expect in the coming days.

The Summer Camp Preparations

2008-11-01T17:25:00.000+05:30

We have now started preparing for the coming summers in right earnest, and along with it for our return back home.

The first batch of 15 members of the 28th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica is scheduled to arrive on 5th Nov. Hence the preparation of the summer camp is in full swing. Snow has been cleared from inside and in front of the living accommodation and the toilets. The emergency medical supplies will soon be moved from the Annapurna hut, which serves as a refreshment hut for the summer team. The Dodabeta hut, which is the recreation hut for the summer team, too will be cleared soon. All these tasks would have been accomplished by the time this blog is posted.

Our containers with material to be back loaded to India are now ready and have been shifted to Sankalp. They will be taken to the shelf in the joint convoy with the next team.

Work is going on at full swing at the airport as well. The Novo team is on the job. The runway is being smoothened out, the cafeteria and the living accommodation tents are being put up. The first incoming flight is scheduled for 31st October, and the first outgoing flight leaves on 2nd November. We are expected to have a few international guests, mostly scientists in the summers.

There is no period of darkness here now. On 30 Oct 2008, the sun rose at 1:37am and set at 8:16pm. There is no period of darkness now. Dusk is followed by dawn at about 11pm. The sun is shining brightly by the time I go to bed. Though we are five and a half hours behind IST, here the sun rises earlier than it does in India.

Time really flies in Antarctica. I feel as if I came to Antarctica just a few weeks back, but the whole year has passed by. These last few days are difficult to pass and we are all eagerly awaiting our return flight in December. Each day counts now. But before that, the lively and busy summer season awaits us.

Your Touch Sends Shivers Down My Spine

2008-11-01T17:14:00.001+05:30

This phenomenon is certainly a number one irritant. It is like a computer virus, that comes up unannounced, is capable of causing extensive damage and one can never quite get rid of it permanently. One has to constantly run antiviruses to remove it. But it comes back again.

I am talking about the static charge. It has assumed epidemic proportions in Antarctica. We expect anything we touch to give a powerful shock. Human touch, door handles, walls, taps, tables, cupboards, clothes- anything. We gingerly touch- or rather, tap anything we are about to touch to minimize the shock and to discharge ourselves. Static charge can be so strong that sometimes sparks have been seen flying between 2 hands about to be shaken. We truly have an “electrifying” atmosphere here.

But static charge is not so benign. It has ruined and continues to play havoc with any electronic equipment at Maitri. Computers have borne the brunt of the scourge. Many have been ruined beyond local repair and have to be sent back to India for repairs or for replacement. CDs, pendrives, music systems, DVD players, and floppy discs- nothing is spared. My laptop has not been spared either. Its internal speakers have gone phut sometime back. Scientific laboratories are the most high risk areas. Any damage to the computers there due to static charge could mean loss of valuable scientific data for the whole year- data for which the international scientific community waits for one year.

Extensive earthing has to be done to prevent static charge. There are grounded copper wires all over the areas where computers are present. One has to touch these wires and discharge oneself before touching a computer. Not once, but every time one touches a computer even in the same sitting.

A few of the telephone instruments here have been damaged recently. So the door of the communication room and the table on which the telephone instrument is kept has been earthed completely so that an individual entering the communication room is discharged as soon as he enters. I have a copper wire hanging in my room from the fire alarm cables on the roof. It is like a “ghanta”. I pull it every time I am about to touch my computer. I don’t allow anyone to touch my computer. There are lots of invaluable photographs and videos on it.

The cause of high incidence of static charge in Antarctica is not yet clear. Some attribute it to extremely low humidity and others to the earth’s magnetic field. Meanwhile, the destruction continues…..

Unexpected beauty

2008-10-31T17:13:00.002+05:30

Mr Venkatarayudu and I went for a short walk on the eastern side of Maitri, along the glacier on 21 Oct at 10am. It was a bright, sunny day with a light breeze blowing, sometimes picking up and causing us some inconvenience in the process. We intended to return soon.

We decided to explore some slopes of the glacier. At places huge chunks of the glacier had fallen away leaving behind a vertical icy cliff, overhanging at places. On either side of this vertical cliff was a relatively gradual slope along which sastrugis had formed due to snow deposition by the wind. These served as excellent steps to ascend the glacier. I went up one of these till I encountered ice. I ascended as much as I could before I felt the ice too slippery and steep. I thought it prudent to return.

We then continued east, till we saw a proglacial lake nearby. We had never seen that lake before and decided to explore. It was a banana shaped lake extending in an east- west direction. The southern half of the lake was frozen in a rippled manner like any other lake. But the northern half was smooth like glass, with not the slightest irregularity. One could easily play carom on that surface. Surprisingly the smooth half was not as slippery as the rippled half. One could easily run on it. The northern bank had an overhanging cliff, which probably had protected it from winds while the lake was freezing, leaving the corresponding half of the lake smooth. There was a small cave in the rocky cliff along the lake.

The western end of the lake merged into a circular lake that had also frozen in a similarly differential manner. The periphery was smooth like the banana shaped lake. But the centre was frozen in ripples. What was more astounding was that the centre was raised above the periphery by about half a meter. The centre of a lake usually freezes after the periphery. Also, water expands when it freezes. Hence, when the centre of this lake would have frozen, it would not have found adequate space to expand and had risen in this manner. We continued north across this lake. This lake continued as a frozen stream to a very small lake downhill. Surprisingly, the surface of this frozen stream was also smooth like glass, although it passed over rocks and descended quite steeply. This area was easily the most picturesque spot in whatever I have seen of Schirmacher oasis. Not even the ice caves rival it. It qualifies as a number one picnic spot. One can have lunch in the tiny cave along the banana shaped lake, or a glass of beer on the snowy southern bank or rather, on the lake itself while it is still frozen.

We then continued to the eastern end of the banana shaped lake, only to discover that it was connected to another lake behind a rocky ledge by a small stream. This lake was also a proglacial lake and was quite large and unremarkable.

As we continued further east along the glacier, we stumbled across another picturesque proglacial lake. This was as unique as the previous one. It was surrounded by the glacier on all sides except the western bank from where I was approaching. On the southern flank of the lake, the glacier rose steeply and very high. One had to strain ones neck to see the top of the glacier. There were numerous icicles dangling at various places. One of them was about 1 meter long. This glacier sloped downwards along the western flank of the lake to form a vertical wall surrounding the western and northern flanks of the lake. The centre of this lake was about 2 meters above the periphery. This was not surprising, considering the high, icy walls enclosing the lake. This lake had a menacing and strangely ferocious and inhospitable look to it. It was eerie. We spent some time exploring and taking photographs. Then we returned to Maitri. It was already 2pm by the time we reached back. We had spent 4 hours at lakes that were just 15 min away from Maitri. It speaks volumes about the beauty of these

The Trishul Peak and The Long Lake

2008-10-30T17:12:00.001+05:30

On 14th Oct, I planned a trek to the Trishul peak and the Long Lake along with Shuklaji. The Trishul is the highest peak in Schirmacher, though it is only about 300 meters above sea level. The Long Lake is supposedly the longest lake in Schirmacher at about 1.2 km. They both lie north- west of Maitri, close to each other.

We left at 10am under windy but sunny conditions. It was bit uncomfortable. But we decided to go anyways. We first crossed the Priyadarshani Lake to its western bank. The lake had now become very slippery due to the melting and refreezing in the October sun. One had to tread cautiously. We traversed through moraines and over the hills through rocky and snow slopes. We crossed numerous lakes on the way. When the lakes melt, we will have to skirt them and the distances will increase manifold. At places the snow was soft, but at most places, the snow was wind packed and hence almost as hard as ice. We reached the base of Trishul in about half and hour. Now the steep slopes of Trishul loomed in front of us. Since we were on the windward side, there was minimal snow deposition. The slope was largely rocky. Some rocks were huge boulders, but at many places there were loose stones. This made the climb treacherous. One had to have a good grip on at least 3 limbs before lifting the 4th limb. I also had my cameras to take care of. Shuklaji, being a “pahadi” person, climbed up like a mountain goat. I was huffing and puffing all the way, taking each step with extreme caution. The wind was not making life any easier. It pierced through my clothing like a thousand needles. The vapour from my breath froze in front of my nose and mouth on the balaclava. Finally, we reached the top. Just below the top, there was a huge boulder where we took refuge from the wind for a while. After a brief rest, we went to the peak, which had been marked with a wooden pole by one of the previous “explorers”. I managed to take a few snaps from the top, but my hands and my camera froze in the wind. It was a while before the sensation returned to my numb hands. Sweat made matters worse. All of Schirmacher was visible from the mountain top- the eastern end to the western extremity. Novo was also visible and appeared deceivingly close to Maitri. I quickly began my descent on the leeward side of Trishul. This was more difficult than the ascent, since most of the slope was covered with wind packed snow. It was dangerously slippery, with rocks jutting out menacingly. Shuklaji was already down by the time I had even started. I took each step with great caution, grasping rocks where ever I could. I took about half an hour to descend.

We now proceeded in the northerly direction to the Long Lake. This was an easy walk and took about 15 minutes. On the southern bank of the lake is a steep cliff towering high up. The northern bank is level. Standing in the middle of the lake, the huge expanse of blue ice all around presented an awesome sight. We rested for a while on a rock beside the lake and took in the views and the silence. Then we proceeded along the length of the lake in the easterly direction, and then back to Maitri along a different route. The round trip took us about 3 hours.

Dakshin Gangotri Station

2008-10-29T11:04:00.002+05:30

The following is an account of India’s history in Antarctica from the information I have gathered during my stay in Antarctica from various sources.

India launched its first Antarctic expedition in 1981. It was a summer expedition and was a brain child of Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister of our country. From then on, India has sent an expedition to Antarctica every year. The first wintering was in 1983 at the 1st Indian Antarctic station, Dakshin Gangotri, which is about 70km from Maitri.

The Indian expeditions were started with a scientific intent, unlike most other countries that have a claim over various regions of Antarctica. Since presence in Antarctica also has a strong political impact internationally, it is highly advantageous for India to have year round presence in Antarctica, especially with the continent suspected to have huge reserves of hydrocarbons. Mining is currently banned under the Antarctic treaty, but one never knows what’s going to happen in the future.

Unlike Maitri, Dakshin Gangotri was constructed on the ice shelf, 15km from the ocean. It was constructed on a raft foundation. It was much smaller than Maitri and 2 people had to share one room. Conditions were a lot tough then. Communication was limited to one liners exchanged from home about once or twice a month. There was no telephone connectivity. Now we are even about to get internet. Hence, wintering was a much more strenuous and commendable effort. The teams then had a huge contingent from the armed forces to look after the logistics. Since the station was on the ice shelf, there was no where to go for walks, no places around to explore. All around there was just an endless, featureless expanse of ice. Being closer to the sea, it experienced much more blizzards during the winters as well as summers. If Maitri experiences 20 blizzards a year, DG had 60. The minimum temperature experienced there was -55ºC. Hence, outdoor activities were limited to just a few hundred meters around the station. Many people did not venture out of the station during their entire stay.

Due to excessive snow deposition and also in large part due to repeated ice melting and refreezing in the summers, it slowly sank in the snow. During its final years, even the roof of the station was under the surface. The only access to the station was by a duct line passing through the snow. So it was like living in a virtual rat hole under the ground, with no doors or windows and a roof and walls of snow. This had an adverse psychological impact on many members. This was when the 2nd Indian Antarctic station was planned and Maitri was constructed in 1989. That was also the year of the last wintering at DG. It was the only year when there were 2 Indian wintering teams in Antarctica, one at Maitri and another at DG. The next year, DG sank deeper into the ice and had to be abandoned. A few porta cabins were, however, constructed there for the convoy team (the Indian shelf has since been shifted to the present location) as well as for scientific research during the summers. For the last 10 years, even those have been abandoned and DG now lies buried 60 meters under the snow, with no external sign of a station ever being there.

This is a problem with all Antarctic stations constructed on the ice shelf and various innovative techniques have been developed to handle the problem. The American south pole station, Amundsen- Scott, has been constructed about 7 times and the British station, Halley, on the Filchner ice shelf in the Weddel sea 5 times (these figures are approximate). The most popular innovation is to construct a station on stilts which can be jacked up every year to above the surface. This extends the life of a station by a few years, but ultimately the station does get buried under the ice and a new one has to be constructed. For this reason it is preferred to construct stations on exposed landmasses like Schirmacher oasis. However, exposed landmass constitutes only 2% of Antarcticas area. The rest is ice. So this is not always possible, more so for stations on the Antarctica plateau.

We have now come a long way since the days of DG. Facilities have improved markedly. Internet will reduce isolation to a great extent. India is also likely to launch a satellite in the near future that will also cater to our requirements in Antarctica. This will revolutionize telecommunication facilities. Flights have started operating to Dronning Maudland since 2002 during the summers. A few months back a test flight was successfully completed by the Americans during the polar night. This might open the doors for year round flights to Antarctica, at least to allow emergency evacuation on medical grounds. India now proposes to construct its 3rd Antarctic station at Larsemann Hills in the same longitude as India. It is likely to be completed by 2011. It will be an ultra modern facility, competing with the best in Antarctica. This year, India has also constructed its first year round station in the Arctic, named Himadri. We are truly progressing fast now.

The Gang Returns

2008-10-28T12:00:00.003+05:30

They have finally returned, signalling onset of summers. The snow petrels, the skuas and the penguins- they are all back. So Antarctica is lively again with life.

We first saw the snow petrels on 10th Oct during the convoy as mentioned in one of my earlier posts. They are now a regular feature here as well as at the shelf. During the last convoy, which was from 15 Oct to 20 Oct 2008, they were seen hovering all over our containers and our vehicles. They were to be found in groups, busy with each other, and diving all over the place.

During the same convoy, we also saw the first of our penguins- the trademark of any trip to Antarctica. You have not seen Antarctica if you haven't seen the penguins. On 18th Oct, I had gone for a walk to the edge of the ice shelf, from where the ocean begins. It was a steep, over hanging ice cliff, with a moat formed on the pack ice along the icy outcrop. I suddenly heard a squawking sound coming from that area. It was surely a bird's call, but I wasn't sure if it was the penguin, the snow petrel or the skua. The sound was coming intermittently. I could not see any bird around. I searched for about 15 minutes, and then the bird calls stopped. I turned back and returned to the Banjara. Sometime later, a few of the convoy team members returned to the Banjara and asked me if I took any photographs of the penguins. "What penguins?" I asked, surprised. "The ones that were following you." came the reply. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "Arre saab, jab aap ice shelf se waapas aa rahe they tab 2 penguins aapke peechhe peechhe aa rahi thi. Aapne dekha nahin?" I initially thought that they were pulling a fast one on me. But then I realised that they were saying the truth. How could I miss the penguins of all the things, that too when they were following me. But the damage had been done. Mariappan had photographed them and ran after them. They got frightened, and ran inland. They ran fast enough to outrun a man. "They must be going to Maitri since their breeding season is about to begin." we thought. They were a pair of Adelie penguins, the most common species of penguins found in our part of Antarctica. Well.. better luck next time... they will soon be swarming at penguin rookeries around Schirmacher.

When we returned to Maitri, we were informed that the skua had also returned on 18th Oct. This was the same skua that was born here last year. We could make that out from its dark brown plume of feathers. He was also the last skua to leave Maitri in April. Its sibling had dies soon after birth. This one has parked itself right outside the station building and basks in the sun all day long. There is no melt water to drink yet. So it is often seen pecking at the snow outside the station. The departure & arrival of the skua is a major event in the Maitri calendar. It was a mixed feeling, since the same old cycle of survival of the fittest will now begin. The food chain is now complete- the skua feeds on both, the snow petrels as well as the penguins. So there's a bloody summer ahead of us.

The 7th convoy was unique in many ways. It was the last convoy of our expedition. The last lot of containers were brought back to the station. It was also the longest, since the cranes at India Bay had to be repaired; the empty containers also had to be arranged in an organised manner in order to prepare for handing over to the next team. The convoy lasted 6 days in all. The weather was mostly sunny but rather windy. There is no period of total darkness now. The sun rises at 2:25am and sets at 7:30pm. This is followed by dusk till about 11:30pm, thereafter, the glow of the sun is visible in the south east. So on our way back, there was sunshine all the way. This was the first time we reached the station is broad daylight. We wore our sunglasses all the way back, unlike the previous convoys, when we struggled to reach the station in total darkness.

At the ice shelf, there used to be a thick layer of snow. But this time there were big patches of blue ice visible. The snow had either melted away or had been blown away with the wind. The snow, wherever present, was extremely hard because of windpacking. The sun's radiation is now so strong that one can feel the heat when it falls on one's face, even though the air temperature is around -18ºC. Vast areas of exposed ice are also visible near Shivling, where there was a uniform blanket of snow just a few days back. I hope there is no excessive ice melt like last year. It might cause problems for the next team during the convoys.

The icebergs presented a very pretty sight this time around. Around 50 icebergs grounded in the fast ice are visible from the ice shelf all along the horizon. The rays of the early morning sun accentuated the contours and the contrasts. It was a very photogenic scene.

The crevasses have started to open up as well, both at the shelf as well as around Maitri. Many a times my foot sank into one of those crevasses covered by a thin layer of snow. Though most of these crevasses are not large enough to swallow a vehicle or a man, they can surely lead to a few broken bones.

The lakes around Maitri too have become very slippery due to the repeated melting and freezing of ice. So we have to watch our step. They are still strong enough to allow a vehicle to pass over them.

We still have to do a joint convoy with the next team to train them.

The Ugly Face of Antarctica

2008-10-24T18:13:00.003+05:30

All my posts till date have described the beautiful face of Antarctica, nature and the pleasant experiences we have had here. But things are not as rosy and as easy. This is the most remote and inhospitable place on earth. Life here is a daily struggle. When things go wrong, one does not have access to help from outside. The team members themselves have to handle the situation to the best of their capabilities or perish. This post is about the most dreaded and omnipresent threat in Antarctica- fire.

In the extremely dry, oxygen rich atmosphere here, fire can only be prevented and not put out. Even the most advanced fire fighting equipments will prove insufficient because by the time one gets to the fire, it would be a roaring inferno and cause destruction in quick time. The extremely windy conditions aid the spread of fire.

A cruel reminder of this was served to us a few days back when we received news that a fire had broken out at Progress- the Russian Antarctic Station at Larsemann Hills, close to the site of the proposed 2nd Indian Antarctic Station. The entire double storey living block was burnt down, leading to the loss on one life and 2 casualties. I am not aware of the cause of fire, but it could not be controlled in time and spread very fast. Their communication facilities were also destroyed in the fire. Hence they are totally cut off from the world. Personnel from the nearby Chinese Station, Zhongshan helped out the Russians. Since the flights have not yet resumed, the injured personnel cannot be evacuated nor can the dead person’s body be taken back till November. Special flights are being planned for evacuation. Had such a thing happened in the beginning of winters, they would have been stuck up for 6 months. This mishap has left everyone at Maitri in a state of shock as this can very well happen here.

It because of this omnipresent danger that most modern stations consist of blocks widely separated from each other. This prevents the entire station from getting burnt down in case of fire. The Progress station also probably consists of blocks. Hence their food and medical equipment were spared.

The First Sign of Life

2008-10-22T16:16:00.002+05:30

It has been 6 months now since we saw a living creature. It was just snow and ice all around. We longed to see something that had life- a bird, a blade of grass, an insect, a four legged being- anything. Even those mosquitoes and cockroaches that made life miserable for us back home would have been welcome. In fact, when we did find a half dead insect during the polar night in one of rooms here, the whole station went berserk photographing it and fiddling with it. It still remains a mystery as to how it survived for so long.

Our sore eyes were soon treated to a feast on 10th Oct 2008, the day the 6th convoy was to leave for Maitri. While hooking one of the trailers, I noticed about 10 birds hovering above one of the containers. There was a blizzard going on. But the birds did not appear to be in any kind of discomfort. They were diving around comfortably. Being pure white, I identified them as snow petrels. I shouted at the others to have a look. I also informed all on the walkie talkie. The snow petrels soon became the centre of attraction, before they flew away.

I had expected to find some living creatures on the shelf this time around. I wanted to see the penguins. But I was disappointed when I did not sight any. They will be here sooner rather than later.

On returning to Maitri, we were told that a group of 30 snow petrels had been sighted here as well. They were flying due north. They were in all probability flying from the Wolthat Mountains, 100 km south of Maitri, where they nest. They were flying towards the ocean to gather food.

This is only the beginning. By the time the week is over, we expect the skuas and the most adorable beings on earth- penguins to be here. We will soon have a lot of company.

The Blizzard Convoy- The Best Journey of my Life

2008-10-21T17:08:00.002+05:30

We woke up early on 10th Oct since the plan was to leave at 6AM. But there was a heavy snow drift going on. It soon strengthened into a blizzard. There was a lot of discussion about the plan of action and whether we should leave or stay on till the weather clears. It we decide to stay, there is no telling how long we will have to stay- days, maybe even weeks. If we leave, we must be prepared for a tough time. Blizzards are always severe and frequent on the shelf. As we go inland, the intensity decreases. This is expected after C7, when soft snow is less and blue ice is more. Keeping this fact in mind, we decided to leave now. If there was any trouble enroute, we can always halt anywhere. So finally we wound up the Banjara and departed at 8am. Visibility was reduced to just a few meters. We were totally dependant on the GPS for navigation. The track marks and the route markers were lost to view. One could not differentiate between the ground and the sky. It was as if we were driving into the white counterpart of a black hole. We had to keep the vehicle in front in view to ensure that we did not get left behind. There was also a risk of ramming into the vehicle in front. For these reasons, we did not deviate one bit from the route shown on the GPS. All the vehicles were carrying 20 tonnes of load each and we were driving on soft snow. Hence the tracks of the vehicles sank in the snow. Progress was terribly slow. Had we taken the right decision?

We had doubts when the fan belt of one of the vehicles broke. Under normal circumstances this would have been a minor problem. But in a blizzard of this intensity, repairing anything was a major undertaking. Grudgingly, people left their vehicles and got about repairing it. After about 2 hours of stumbling and fumbling, the fan belt was replaced. When the logistics personnel returned to their vehicles, they were looking more like yetis than humans- covered with snow from head to toe, and shivering terribly. We first warmed ourselves in our vehicles then moved on. Further vehicle breakdowns were the last thing we wanted- at least not today. The convoy crawled ahead steadily. We were in constant touch with each other to ensure that no one got left behind and that no one deviated from the track. The vehicles were all huddled close. The order in which the vehicles would move was strictly followed.

As usual, I was in the same vehicle as Mr Jamwal. We were driving due south. The wind was blowing from the east. The driver’s seat was on the left. So it was on the same side as the direction of the wind. The wind was so strong that snow was percolating through minor defects in the beading of the door on Jamwal’s side. Because of this, frost formed repeatedly on the windscreen inspite of the heater. Ice also formed on the door. Water was dripping on Jamwal’s dangri. It froze as soon as it fell. So his dangri was full of ice. He had to repeatedly scrap the ice from the wind screen to keep the view clear. Pretty soon so much ice formed on his door that it virtually sealed it off. Snow stopped percolating inside. He did not open the door after that. Whenever he had to go out, he did so from my side. The door on my side was on the leeward side. So snow accumulated outside my window. On coming in touch with the window, the snow melted because the cabin was heated from inside. But it soon refroze. So ice formed outside my door also. The ice broke under its own weight and reformed. Ice had also formed on the door knob outside. It was very hard and could not be broken. So whenever I left the vehicle, Jamwal had to hop over the instrument panels and open the door from inside before I could enter.

We reached C7 in about 4 hours. But we got no respite from the blizzard. We next aimed for B17. The soft ice decreases further beyond that. But there was no such luck. The visibility was getting poorer with each passing hour. At one stage it was so bad that we could not see the vehicle directly in front of us. Just a faint shadow of the vehicle was visible. We hung on to the GPS for dear life, not taking our eyes off it for a moment. The decision to move ahead seemed to have been a pathetically bad one at this stage. It would have been wise to stay at the shelf till the conditions improved. But now we had to move on. Stopping now would have been a Herculean task. Setting up the Banjara and Jeevan Jyoti and then winding them up again before leaving was a 6 hour job. So halting now was to be considered only when there was a vehicular breakdown. The vehicles had to be refuelled twice under such conditions. More snow that ATF went inside the tanks.

We were now able to contact Maitri. We were told that there was only a snow drift at Maitri. That meant that as we got closer to Maitri, the conditions would surely improve. We soldiered on in that hope. Beyond A21, there is only minimal soft snow. We expected the situation to surely improve beyond. But the route from B10 to A20 is a crevasse area and is extremely uneven since there is a gradual descent. We were not able to see the fissures in the blue ice. So we got some very nasty jerks here. There was a danger that the hook of the vehicle would break if the trailers were jerked so badly. But luckily nothing of that sort happened.

We reached A20 at 6pm. The conditions improved drastically here. The blizzard gave way to a snow drift and visibility improved significantly. We were very comfortable now. But the wind was still as strong as before. We made rapid progress from here on.

We reached Sankalp at 12midnight. There was no drift here. All the trailers were unhooked here. We finally reached Maitri at 1:30am on 11th Oct, and collapsed into bed. It was a valiant effort under the most testing conditions. The men and their machines had stood upto the challenge.

The Blizzard Convoy- A Clear Day

2008-10-15T15:48:00.002+05:30

Just when we were expecting the blizzard to continue for a few days and were mentally prepared for a long haul, we got an unexpected gift from the heavens- he weather cleared up on 9th Oct. The day was as beautiful as the day we left Maitri. There was bright sunshine with zero wind. Working outside was a pleasurable experience. To our surprise, we were unexpectedly close to our destination. So we did not have to move. This was also a fuel convoy. So the logistics personnel got busy with decanting job. Mr Gudade went to the porta cabin where his experiment was running. I joined him after finishing the cleanup job in the Banjara. I later took him around the shelf, to the containers, oil tankers (a few of these were completely buried in the snow after the blizzard the day before) and finally to the ocean. These were the only ‘tourist spots’ nearby. He later went back to the porta cabin to finish of his pending work and I trekked back 2 km to the Banjara. At places, the snow was extremely hard and polished because of the wind action. It looked like snow, but was a cross between snow and ice. It was dangerous because you took it to be snow but ended up slipping badly. No footprints were seen on this snow.

The logistics team was able to finish off the work comfortably. The vehicles were prepared for departure early on 10th Oct. We went to bed that night unaware of what lay ahead and how nature had fooled us.

The Blizzard Convoy- Twiddling our Thumbs

2008-10-14T13:51:00.002+05:30

The next day, the blizzard was continuing as ferociously as ever. So we all woke up late & the day passed lazily- chatting, reading, playing cards, sleeping- in short, twiddling our thumbs. Some of us tried our hand oat cooking. So freshly cooked rice, alu matar & chappatis we churned out instead of precooked food. Regular trips were made to the Jeevan Jyoti to keep a watch on its functioning. We also went out repeatedly to collect snow for melting. This helped us in stretching our limbs and clearing our minds. It was very frustrating sitting inside with hardly any moving space.

We were no longer able to communicate with Maitri as the radios were out of range. So we were now truly isolated. Maitri would not be aware of our plight

The Blizzard Convoy- Ran into a White Wall

2008-10-13T12:44:00.003+05:30

Another convoy just came to a close. We left on 7th Oct 2008 and returned on 11th Oct 2008 after a mind boggling adventure.

The last few days before we left were very cloudy & very windy. The weather chart from Pretoria showed a huge low pressure system approaching us. It promised a good blizzard. But it weakened and was passing us up north. The convoy which was scheduled to leave on 6th Oct had to be postponed till the weather cleared. It finally cleared on 7th Oct & beautifully so. So we left on 7th Oct at 5AM. Mr Gudade, who is here for a geomagnetism experiment, accompanied us since he had to attend to the automated geomagnetism experiment running at the ice shelf. The conditions were perfect for a convoy- clear sky, absolutely no wind. We did not even need to wear gloves & balaclava for most of the journey. The temperature was comfortable at -18ºC after the -30s witnessed during the earlier convoys. The latest weather chart promised a clear day unless the low pressure system migrated south.

We were cruising along when we saw the first warning signs- cirrus clouds, those feather shaped clouds streaking across the sky. These are considered to be precursors to bad weather. We, however, pressed on towards India Bay. Gradually, it became cloudy & windy. We had already reached C group of barrels by now. We knew what lay ahead. But the only choice we had was to move ahead. The wind picked up as we moved on. By the time we reached barrel C14, it had already reached gale force. Snow drift started by the time we reached C17, about 20km ahead. After C18, the visibility reduced significantly. We were in the midst of a full fledged blizzard. It was now getting dark as well. We were following the tail lights of the vehicle ahead of us. The shelf was just 5km away. That meant a journey of another half an hour. So we soldiered on.

Just one km short of India Bay, visibility fell to zero and forward progress was highly dangerous, considering that the sea was just another 1 km away. These were total white out conditions. Even the tail lights of the vehicle ahead were not visible. The blinkers of some vehicles were barely seen. Though we had the GPS for navigation, but it was not possible to see the undulations in the snow and there was also the danger of ramming into the vehicle ahead of us, or getting left behind. Hence the decision was taken to camp where we were till the conditions improve.

All the vehicles were parked one by one alongside each other, facing the blizzard head on. This was done to minimize snow deposition around the vehicle. The vehicles were parked some distance away from each other for the same reason. Next, we were asked to proceed towards the Banjara one by one, starting from the vehicle furthest away. So Jamwal and I turned off our vehicle, collected our kitbags and proceeded towards Gaffar’s vehicle. Six inches of snow had already piled up in front of the vehicle’s blades in a matter of five minutes. We picked up Gaffar and stumbled to the next vehicle and so on till we reached the Banjara. Climbing the stairs of the Banjara was a difficult task since the wind was throwing us off- balance. The Banjara was connected to Jeevan Jyoti and all our rations were shifted in quick time. We made ourselves at home. We had a feeling that it would be a long wait before we could resume our work on the shelf.

As we went to sleep at night, the Banjara was rocking ominously in the roaring wind. It felt as if we are inside a train that is not going anywhere. The melting frost dripped on us throughout the night, as we slept fitfully.

Tobogganing on the endless snows

2008-10-06T13:31:00.002+05:30

Call it tobogganing or just sliding around on snow, it is a new sport we have taken to at Maitri.

We started off in June, when the slopes around Priyadarshani Lake were well covered with a safe layer of snow. All traces of ice were well hidden underneath. We have 2 pairs of skis here. We connected the 2 pieces of each pair with a hinge to make a wider platform. We also had a wooden board lying around which could be used for the same purpose. This was supposedly used for tobogganing by the previous teams.

The basic requirement for tobogganing was a steep slope (steep as per the expertise of the individual), ending gently in the lake to ease one softly on the hard ice. The slopes are usually about 10 meters high. It is a simple sport and does not need much practice to master. That is the beauty of this sport. One climbs up the slope to where the snow begins. Then one places the board on the slope and lies on the board on one’s belly with face in front. Hands firmly grip the front part of the board that is raised from the ground. The elbows are kept raised till one comes to a halt. This is mandatory as one is sure to injure the elbow on the lake if they are not raised. Then we raise our feet off the ground to send us sliding down. This downward journey gives an extreme rush of adrenaline as one hurtles to the lake. Snow particles are blown all over. As soon as one hits the lake one can feel the stony hardness against the board. Inspite of being on a level surface one does not come to a halt soon. One goes on and on for a considerable distance. Sometimes the board turns 180° in the opposite direction. This is when one must keep a cool head and let the board turn without trying to correct ones course. The basic principle is not to not move till the board comes to a halt. One then picks up the board and again climbs up the slope for a repeat performance. This sport is truly addictive. The uphill climb is a great exercise and the downward journey is the thrilling part. We used to spend a lot of time at this sport even during the polar nights as one did not need to go far from the station.

Another sport that we are experimenting with is snow boarding. The same board that is used for tobogganing is used for this purpose. There is a gradual slope outside the station. It’s ideal for beginners. One just stands on the board with one foot pointing in front. The board slides gradually downwards. It requires a bit of skill to steer the snow board in the desired direction. This is a safe sport as our speed is slow and the snow is soft. In fact falling down is a lot of fun.

I also learnt a bit of ice skating during the initial part of the winters. The lake surface is not as smooth as it is on an ice skating rink. It has frozen when there were ripples on it. So what we have are frozen ripples. At places, however, the surface is smooth. But the temperature was below -15ºC and the ice skating shoes do not offer much protection at that temperature. So it was very uncomfortable for my feet which used to go numb within 20 min. I got a hold of the sport then I gave it up.

Melting Begins

2008-10-06T13:30:00.001+05:30

This heralds the onset of spring in Antarctica. We can now safely say that the winters are finally over. This is supposed to be the least stressful part. The days are now longer than the nights. Dawn breaks at 2am and night falls at 8pm. So darkness is now just 6 hours long. It is already light when I retire for the night.

I had gone for a walk outside on 1st October 2008. On the way I crossed a number of lakes. At numerous places, where the lake is shallow, stones, rocks and pebbles jut out of the frozen lake surface. This time is noticed something odd about these rocks. A small depression had formed all around them. This was not present earlier. This was a sure shot sign of melting. Although the temperatures are still around -15°C, but the rocks absorb the sun’s radiation, unlike snow which reflects it. So even though the air temperature is low, the temperature of the rocks is above 0ºC. This causes the snow and ice around the rocks to melt. When the sun goes down, the temperature of the rocks goes down again and the water freezes again. This explains the depressions.

The thickness of the ice on the lakes would have started decreasing now. In the winters, it is about 2 meters and one can even drive a vehicle on it. But in another week or so, this would be dangerous. We will however be able to walk on the lakes for another one month or so. Then boating will start. This phenomenon also signifies that the days of our isolation are drawing to a close. Work has already started on the Novo runway in preparation for the 1st ALCI flight on 31st October Antarctica.

Happy days are here again. There is a fragrance of roses in the air and a spring in our feet.

A Day at an Epi-Shelf Lake

2008-10-06T13:29:00.001+05:30

It was picnic day today, 3rd October 2008, for the 5 of us. The GSI people were going to an epi-shelf lake at the eastern end of Schirmacher, and the 5 of us- Ramesh, Hembram, Purushottam, Kailash and me were invited to come along for an excursion. The purpose of the visit was to measure the depth of the lake, which was speculated to be more than expected.

This lake was about 15 km away from Maitri, near the Russian station, Novo. We left at 8:30am with elaborate GSI equipment and proceeded towards Novo in 2 snow mobiles, one of which was a cabin vehicle. The route to the lake bypassed Novo and went on to the ice shelf beyond it after crossing the last hills of the Schirmacher range. This lake lay where the ice shelf met the Schirmacher landmass. Hence it was an epi-shelf lake. It is one of the numerous such lakes in Schirmacher.

When we turned around the last of the hills of Schirmacher, we approached the vast, featureless expanse of the ice shelf that I have mentioned numerous times in these columns. As we approached the lake from the shelf, the vertical cliffs along the southern edge of the lake stood in attention before us like the president's bodyguard. They were steeper than anything I have seen in Schirmacher. The lake was a huge one and a very picturesque. We halted on the banks of the lake and the GSI people assembled their instrument and proceeded with their job, with one snow mobile dragging their instrument on the surface of the frozen lake. We proceeded with our sightseeing.

The edge of the lake was raised all along the edges due to the tidal action of the sea underlying the lake. Being an epi-shelf lake, it was expected to be connected to the sea. So it was subject to the tidal action of the sea, which caused the icy surface of the lake to break and be thrown up as huge blocks of ice all along the edges. This appearance can be likened to that of a pan cake, though a very irregular one. The edge of the lake was raised about 20 ft high at many places. The western part of the lake was covered with huge snow dunes. We walked across the lake to the side of the cliffs. We had to cross the raised blocks of ice at the edge. When we approached this edge, we discovered that the lake surface immediately adjacent to it was as smooth as glass. It also had a gentle slope. So it was so slippery that the only way to walk across was to crawl on our belly. But as soon as we reached the raised ice blocks, we would slide further than from where we started. We make a sport of it and soon the place was crawling with Indian polarmen sliding all around. Some caught hold of blocks of ice and we seen sliding around with them under their bellies. There was soon a competition as to who would slide the furthest. All over, there was the sound of ice breaking underneath. This is a normal feature on epi-shelf regions because of the expansion and contraction of ice. But it was scary. Finally we crossed the blocks of ice. When we did so, we saw another such accumulation of ice blocks. This means that at this edge of the lake there were 2 parallel rows of ice blocks with a clear passage between them. This passage was paved with a smooth layer of ice. But this layer was wafer thin and gave way as soon as we stepped on it. But there was a stronger layer of ice beneath. We walked along this passage with a crackling sound. As we walked on, at one place, my snow boots sank ankle deep into water. Finding water was strange for this time of the year. The only explanation was that water was seeping on the surface from the sea below, maybe because it was high tide. The glassy layer of ice I described is because of the same phenomenon. At a certain place, water could be seen flowing. We collected a sample for analysis.

We indulged in various other time pass activities like sliding on the snowy slopes of the hills. One of them was quite steep and one came down at a thrilling speed. This was quite tiring. There were a lot of interesting ice formations all over the place. We had a field day photographing them. We also brought some of them back to Maitri. The GSI experiment was over by 6pm and we left for Maitri. We finally reached back at 8pm. It was a welcome change from the routine.

Pssst.. The depth of the lake was found to be 160 meters as against the maximum of 10 meters in the other lakes of Schirmacher.

A Walk on the Sea

2008-09-29T17:12:00.001+05:30

Another convoy came to an end on 27 Sept 08. It was fairly uneventful, except for some minor vehicular problems while returning. We met the Russian convoy on the way back. They were going to the Russian shelf. In contrast to us, they had only 2 vehicles and 3 personnel on the convoy team. That is probably because many of their vehicles are out of service. They exchanged greetings and then moved on after 5 min.

This was also a fuel convoy. So the activities were the same as the previous convoy. This time there was no blizzard, nor any wind. These were perfect conditions for working outdoors. The temperature was around -25ºC. I too helped in the decanting operations, climbing all over the oil tankers.

While the decanting operations were going on, Jamwal, Chaubey and I decided to go for a short walk on the frozen ocean, or the fast ice as it is more appropriately called. It was just about 50 meters from where work was going on. On reaching the edge of the ice shelf, we discovered that the drop was too steep. So we were about to go looking for a gentler slope. But on closer examination, we discovered that although the drop to the sea surface was steep, but because of the blizzards, snow had accumulated irregularly all along the shelf edge forming steps. These appeared to be like the 'sastrugis' I described in one of the previous posts. We could easily descend using them as steps. So we went down, half walking, half sliding. On reaching down, we gingerly stepped on the ice. Although there was no possibility of the ocean surface being weak anywhere at this time of the year, we were still apprehensive. In fact the ice was so thick that we could have easily driven a snow mobile on it with no chance of the ice breaking anywhere. Finally we did step on the ocean. That first step was an exhilarating experience as if we had stepped on the moon. Although we had walked all over the lakes of Schirmacher all through the year, but walking on the ocean was something different. After all we were standing at a place where the ocean was 400 meters deep and from where the fast ice extended for 1000 km northwards. This experience is possible only at the poles. No where else in the world does one find frozen seas. These thoughts and many more raced through my mind for the 15 minutes we spent there.

At the edge of the ocean, where it met the ice shelf, huge blocks of ice were lined up. These form due to the tidal activity and the sea swells. Whenever there is high tide, the water beneath the fast ice presses against it causing the ice to break and get thrown up. This is peculiarly seen at the edges. This is also a feature of the epi shelf lakes in Schirmacher. The sea freezes immediately after its surface is broken in this manner.

There was no difference in the surface of the ocean and the ice shelf. They were both miles and miles of featureless icy landscape. But the sea had a less undulating surface. I walked a few meters deeper into the ocean. The steep shelf edge loomed menacingly in front of us. At places, the fast ice had a glassy appearance like water. That made us decide that it is better we go back. We were too apprehensive to stay there longer. So we hurried back. The ascent was easier than the descent. We hurried back up the 'steps' to the ice shelf. My hands were frozen stiff after holding my video camera for 5 min without gloves. Soon, this place will be swarming with penguins. That will be another experience.

The Bane of the Ultraviolet Radiation

2008-09-29T17:11:00.003+05:30

We recently received a news article about the ultraviolet radiation in Antarctica. August & September have always been the months when the ozone hole is at its maximum. The article said that this year the area of the ozone hole was a largest ever on record and covered the entire continent and also some parts of Australia and South America. The depth of the ozone hole was also maximum. At places, the ozone had totally disappeared. This maxima was observed on 24 Sept 08. This was disturbing news for all of us, more since the duration of sunlight is increasing rapidly and so are our outdoor activities. During the convoys, the sun shines right on our faces for the entire journey of 16 hours from the station to the ice shelf. It is now advisable to wear UV protective glasses and apply a generous layer of sunscreen lotion on the exposed parts of our bodies, more so the faces. Now a days, the days being still very cold, our faces are covered with balaclava, but still one is tempted to lower ones guard on bright, sunny, windless days. We also tend to remove sunglasses on cloudy days. This is dangerous since UV rays are still present inspite of the clouds.

We still have a long time ahead of us in Antarctica. So it is certainly advisable to take utmost precautions while working outdoors.