Ends of the Earth: In their 60s, three Indians celebrate friendship with trips to Arctic, Antarctica

In mid 2025, Chandrasekaran, Venkatesan and Raju took their bond to the top of the world, quite literally, journeying to the Arctic. This expedition came a year after they kissed the ice in Antarctica and celebrated the historic Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla from there.

While most of us are still dreaming about that perfect Goa trip with friends, endlessly sharing reels and making plans that never quite take off, three friends in their 60s decided to tick off their travel bucket list. And their destination was far from ordinary.

In mid 2025, Chandrasekaran (67), Venkatesan (65) and Raju (65) took their bond to the top of the world, quite literally, journeying to the Arctic. This expedition came a year after they kissed the ice in Antarctica and celebrated the historic Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla from there.

Ahead of this year's Friendship Day, observed on August 3, the trio spoke to DH’s Swarna Srikanth, sharing glimpses from their recent expedition.

They took a voyage through the Svalbard archipelago—an Arctic wilderness far beyond the Norwegian mainland.

Reaching Longyearbyen by chartered flight from Copenhagen, they stepped into another world: one where polar bears roam, walruses grunt from rocky shores, seals rest on the icy rocks, and the sun never sets.

“We watched a polar bear from the deck, pacing along a drifting ice flow,” Raju remembers.

“It was powerful, and yet strangely peaceful,” he said further.

They also were lucky to get close-up views of puffins nesting on bird cliffs, playful seals trailing their boats, and hear the haunting calls of Arctic terns overhead.

They even visited the Global Seed Vault—a futuristic stronghold protecting the biodiversity of our planet. They witnessed the thunderous crack of calving glaciers echoing across the water.

The eight-day-long expedition was definitely not easy, but don’t you agree that everything gets better and more fun with friends? Well, that’s exactly how it was for this trio.

They weathered biting cold, battled seasickness, and managed vegetarian meals. Wrapped in layers, they sipped hot chocolate on deck at 2 am as the sun hovered just above the horizon.

But what stands out is not the hardship—it’s the joy of shared adventure and the clarity that only vast, silent places can bring.

“There’s a kind of peace you find only in the polar regions. The silence, the stillness—it changes you,” says Venkatesan.

Speaking to DH, they shared that the trip felt even more special, with the trio swapping stories with fellow adventurers from across the globe.

Before they left the icy north behind, the trio brought home more than photos. They carried with them a renewed sense of wonder—and memories frozen in time.

The three longtime friends from Chennai and retired senior executives with decades spent in the Middle East, who have each explored over 40 countries so far, then plunged into polar waters, earning the rare distinction of a “double dip” at both ends of the Earth—the Arctic in 2025 and Antarctica in 2024.

Last year, the friends embarked from Punta Arenas, Chile, toward the southernmost reaches of our planet.

The Antarctic Peninsula greeted them with a world sculpted in ice—majestic glaciers, floating bergs, and a quiet that is almost sacred.

“It felt like stepping onto another planet,” Chandrasekaran recalls, adding, “Just you, the ice, and an overwhelming sense of awe.”

They saw bustling penguin colonies, lounging seals, and pods of humpback whales slicing through the frigid sea. They even witnessed the haunting beauty of melting glaciers—gentle reminders of our warming world. They witnessed firsthand the effects of climate change, an urgent reminder of the planet’s fragility.

For Chandrasekaran, Venkatesan and Raju, these expeditions are more than a vacation—they called it a “transformation.”

Travelling to the ends of the Earth, from Antarctica’s icy silence to the raw beauty of the Arctic, the three friends prove it’s never too late to chase wild dreams.