When Ms. Charulata Somal came to LBSNAA for training, the scenic view of the Himalayas from the institute in Mussorie mesmerised her. And as the foundation course for civil service officer trainees in this institute includes hiking and trekking drills, she fell in love with the mountains and developed a keen interest in mountaineering.
This interest did not end for the 2012-batch IAS officer after the foundation course was completed. In fact, it was just the beginning of a whole new chapter of her life that would take her to the Antarctica, not once but thrice! Indian Masterminds spoke to the officer to know more about these expeditions.
ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY
Ms Charulata Somal, who is currently serving as the DC of Chamarajnagar, Karnataka, comes from the financial capital of India, Mumbai. She did her graduation from St. Stephens in Delhi and sat for the UPSC exam straight after college. She managed to clear the CSE 2011 to become an IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.
When Ms. Somal was inducted into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), she had no prior background of environment science or any particular interest in that field, as she did her honours in economics during graduation. However, the interest she developed during her training period grew so strong that it led her to an opportunity to be part of an expedition to Antarctica with renowned polar explorer and environmentalist, Robert Swan, just a couple of years after she was inducted into IAS.
Recalling the experience, Ms. Somal, who has done a basic mountaineering course from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, told Indian Masterminds, “In 2015, I got to know about a yearly expedition to the Antarctica in the West Antarctic Peninsula, led by Robert Swan, through a friend. As I got to know more about Sir Robert Swan and his mission to preserve the Antarctica, it intrigued me more to take part in this expedition.”
ABOUT ROBERT SWAN
Robert Swan is the first person in the world to have walked to both the North and South Poles. After seeing firsthand the effects of climate change, Swan dedicated himself to protecting Antarctica and our planet at large. Ms. Somal said, “During his walk to the North and South Pole in the 1980s, Robert himself experienced the first-hand effects of climate change and subsequent to it in 1990s he became the ambassador for the conservation and preservation of Antarctica working through the Antarctic treaty of 1961 and Montreal Protocol of 1991.”
It was Swan’s original expedition to the South Pole that was the inspiration for 2041 Foundation, an organisation he founded and dedicated to the preservation of the polar regions. The mission of the 2041 Foundation is to engage businesses and communities on climate science, personal leadership, and the promotion of sustainable practices.
EXPEDITION EXPERIENCE
The first ever expedition experience Ms. Somal had was in 2016 when she went to the West Antarctic Peninsula. She was one of the 140 members from 30 countries to go on the Antarctic expedition. There were 17 Indians in the team, including her. She was, however, the only IAS officer at that group.
“Subsequent to that”, she said, “as a part of his continued work in Antartica, Robert had planned on walking to the pole using only renewable energy. For this preparation, he needed a test expedition team. This is how in the same year, I got a chance to go to Antarctica again to the Union Glacier Basecamp, and I was the only participant from India who was included in that small team. There we got some insight into how polar expeditions are undertaken.”
Ms. Somal went to the Antarctica for the third time recently and returned in March this year. She might not have done something concrete related to climate change in her individual capacity, while holding a position of an IAS officer in Karnataka, but her experiences and overall contributions in all these three expeditions drew attention, and added, to environmentalist Robert Swan’s mission to preserve the Antarctica.
