Memorable trip to Antarctica and back

When 27-year-old Anjali Batra flew back to the Capital, not just her travel enthusiast parents but even her conventional in-laws were present to welcome the young lady who had made them proud by successfully completing the 13-day ‘International Antarctic Expedition 2015’.  

“Since childhood I have been involved in adventure sports,” says Batra informing that her father was taking care of a project which made the family shift from one state to another. “I have been in eight to nine schools and practically all over the country.”

The interest in adventure sports and other activities, which brought her closer to nature, was inculcated by her parents.

“You could say that it’s in the genes, since both my parents have been interested in adventure sports. I went for scuba diving with them as a child and when we lived in Mu­­­mbai, we used to regularly go to the Western Ghats for trekking. Later, when I was pursuing higher studies in Europe, I even had an experience of skydiving but everything pulled me towards doing something for the environment.”

This graduate in computer science and MBA from Xav­ier School of Management (XLRI) Jamshedpur, therefore, kept herself abreast with the communities and NGOs working for the cause of sustainable environment.

“In the application form for the expedition, one has to mention what all one has done in the past and they try to know what kind of a personality you are to be able to judge if you can survive in the cold environs of Antarctic. Thousands apply for the ‘Antarctic Expedition’, from all over the world, and I think I was chosen because of my past experience,” avers Batra.

For this resident of Gurgaon, her scuba diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef near Australia was the “best moment” of her life till she was selected for this expedition, last November. “My whole family was excited and elated to hear the news. But my family was a little apprehensive initially, when they got to know that they would not be able to contact me for at least three weeks due to non-availability of any cellular connection in that area.”
Batra, who is at present a TAS (Tata Administrative Ser­-­vices) Scholar and a Tata Teleservices employee, is grateful to her organisation for supporting her in her endeavour.

“On March 13, I flew from New Delhi to reach the southernmost city of Argentina - Ushuaia (also regarded as the southernmost city in the world). The journey took me two-and-a-half days over which I changed three flights across four continents.”
“In Ushuaia, there were 81 participants from 28 nationalities who were shortlisted to undertake the expedition,” informs Batra. Over the next two-and-a-half days, she
along with others received training from ‘2041’ - an organisation founded by explorer and environmentalist Robert Swan.

“We then sailed for 1,000 nautical miles in two days and reached the tip of Antarctica. A sight of the place and I was completely mesmerised,” she says, transfixed by the experience even now.

“It was surreal,” she says and explains, “I had never seen only ice and water. The shapes and designs of iceber­gs, the wildlife, everything is etched in my memory fore­-
ver. And having seen all of this, I feel all the more responsible to work to create a sustainable environment, so that our nature remains in its original from.”

Batra firmly believes that “We can’t think somebody else is responsible to preserve our environment for us.” Back from the icy blue environs of the freezing southern tip, she says, “My love for nature has grown all the more.”