Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure

Big thanks to Navneet for tipping me off on ‘Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure’.

I believe that the final stretch of road at Ushuia is the only gateway to the next world. I can’t tell you the number of times that I have walked down that road, got into a vessel and stood on the deck only to set sail to the Isle of South Georgia. We’d then wade our way through 800 miles of rough sea to reach the Elephant Island. I’d pose there and get a picture clicked with 2 penguins on either side. The ice bergs were gigantic (an understatement), and it did really feel like end of the earth and the end of all of our understanding. I did this over and over again in my head. And I still do so today; and will keep at it till I can make it in flesh. You know like they say in The Secret: “If you’ve been there in the mind, you’ll go there in there in the body.”

I got a category A recommendation to watch a documentary on Sir Ernest Shackleton, called Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure. I had heard about this brave man’s expeditions to the southern most continent before. My admiration for him and one Hiram Bingham grew by leaps as I read through the literature of places that these men explored. But more on Hiram Bingham in a later post.

Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure retraces the tale of 28 brave men led by the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton on the 1914-1916 British Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition aboard the ship Endurance (named after Shackleton’s family motto: by endurance, we conquer). This epic journey has been considered for long as "the greatest survival story of all time." The story is a testimony to what can happen to the human spirit when one does not give up and continues to push for survival against all odds. The film features breathtaking shots on location in Antarctica with near exact recreations of situations that the crew faced nearly a century ago. It also features motion-picture footage of Frank Hurley, the official photographer for the Endurance expedition (“who would go to any lengths to get a shot”, as described in the narration).

The audience is thrust into a feeling of awe, respect, pain and relief for the men who took the journey. But like all great tales, it is that mixture of emotions that makes it worth talking about nearly a century after the event.

I was reminded of the i-see-clearer-because-i-have-stood-on-the-shoulders-of- great-men philosophy.

To the Polar Explorer and his men,
In his shadows, we walk.

For info on the movie: http://main.wgbh.org/imax/shackleton/

On a Kaalej

Towards the last week of my college days, I went around the place saying 'This is the end of my formal education'. Anyone who heard this reacted in either of these 2 ways: a) They'd give a shaky nervous laugh and stop it at that or b) They'd shoot back with 'So, you won't be studying any further?'

To the second reaction, I would say 'No, I won't be studying for another formal degree.' From that reply, the talk would spiral into the mis-consequences of my irrational decision. Everyone's doing it; so how can you afford not to? All along, we have learnt to take a pro-Napoleanic no-nonsense view towards higher education, and this is true for most of us. But that is not the point of the discussion here. It is in my interest to take something that the reader already knows about college and package it around in a never before seen wrapping.

A new perspective
At the Fresher’s orientation in the Mechanical Engineering Department where I studied at NIT Hamirpur, the Head walked up on stage and said to all of us present there: “How many of you ended up here by choice? And how many came here by chance?” For the first time, we understood the difference between the two C-words.

In engineering admission circles, there is a dogma that one branch of engineering is 'better' than another. What with the definition of 'better' being so loose, it took a while to realise that the world needed both windows and bridges. And all of a sudden things began making more sense. Typically, an Indian kid gets into college largely due to pressure (like IITian writer Chetan Bhagat says). And as we know very well, what is being taught inside classrooms is rather uni-dimensional. When a friend of mine moved into the hostel at 18 years of age, his dad said to him “This is where you will become man from a boy”. For starters, he shed off his baby moustache and the rest of the story was true to the last word. My mother paid for my college. Like most parents who pay for their child's education, expectations were all always there. And like a dutiful son, I wished to carry out my mother's dreams to the best of my ability. But as my student years rolled on, I realised that the tuition fees that were paid for the academics actually gave me little in terms of value addition. It is what wasn't paid for that taught a lot more.

Backpacking to nearby places was favourite pastime. The thrill of getting into a horrible rickety bus and riding along the hilly roads and throwing up thrice in 2 hours was good fun! Well, not really the puking part, but the rest of it was. Settling down in cheap stinky rooms to save cash to try English cigars that cost a bomb were all a part of an experience I call unconventional education. Shoe-string travel would never be that much fun ever again. Keeping 'udhar' with the canteen wala and avoiding him, taking pangaas with seniors and hoping they won't catch you and pulp you, breaking window panes playing football in the corridors, asking for money from home each time and clearing out last time's debts with it; and yet managing to keep enough cash to buy a bottle of RS for the weekend are reasons to experience college life. You learn almost all the technical know-how they teach you in the classes almost anywhere, But there aren't very many places to experience the stuff you just read about.

Continuing education Post College
Everyone wants to get ahead at the end of the day, and wants to get there soon. Many of us are ambitious, a few are in hot water and we need to get out of it soon. Some just want to prove a point to somebody that didn't believe in them. A college degree is very important. But if truth be told, it is nothing more than a sheepskin. You might learn the technical stuff in there, but the skill set necessary to lead a fulfilling life will never be taught at school. If you are fortunate enough, there might be a great mentor in a teacher willing to help you out. But that's if you are fortunate.

Understanding humans, gathering success principles, effective living, learning ways to handle money, public issues, charity, growing mentally and spiritually and even maintain a stress free and a healthy life style are the least of which one would need to go through life and they were never even discussed at college or school. Instead we learnt math, sociology and thermodynamics. Giving back to the family that supported you, the society that defined you, the alma mater that gave you an identity, giving to a cause you believe in or to the people that really need it: all of this encompasses continuing education. There are hundreds of places imparting higher education. Few schools, if not none, impart continuing education.

Saying “My formal education ends now” is just a more radical way of saying “my continuing education begins now”.

Go to college, but get out of there soon!

Rajjan

There's joy in traveling, not to mention the people you meet along the way. It would be more interesting talking to the old lady who sells scarfs at the Eiffel Tower than in seeing the monument itself. There's nothing wrong with the monument; all I'm trying to say is people (by virtue of being humans) are far more interesting than inanimate objects. And as I understand, the grand sum total of people with their beliefs and practices in a region is culture.

Rajjan is a rafting instructor. 6 of us sat in the raft that was under his guidance. At the command of 'Forward All' we started paddling on our sides and set the raft in motion, heading straight towards a Grade 2 rapid. Rafting is fabulous. A 12 km downstream trip in the River Ganga (near Rishikesh) can cost about Rs 300 to 400 per person. Usually there are 6 persons in a raft and an instructor. Along the course, you learn how to navigate the raft through rapids, turn it, slow it etc. The exercise is very safe if it's done correctly under proper supervision. Adrenalin is not half the word to describe the feeling.

As we entered calm waters downstream, dusk was setting in slowly and we had another three kilometers to row. There was 1 raft in front and 4 behind ours. I chatted up with Rajjan asking where he came from. Rajjan is 28 and is a native of Nepal. He isn't married. At the age of 24, he left his country and journeyed his way through to India before moving on to travel through Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and many other places in the east. His love for adventure found him a variety of occupations in all the places he went. Since he sans any family commitments, he has been able to move around freely. As he says : “Money does not really matter to me. I want to travel and see many places.” I could sense the free spirit in him. I had finally met a man who not only wanted to travel, but also did it. A month from now, he will be rafting in the Indus river in Ladakh before moving to Sikkim.

As we passed under the Ram Jhulla, I saw the temple lights burning in the semi darkness. We got off the raft. I shook hands with Rajjan and almost asked for his card; and then I remembered that the world was his home. He might not understand the meaning of 'permanent residence'. I climbed up the temple stairs and went to the chai wala for a hot cuppa.