"He who does not travel, does not understand the value of people" - Ivan Watuta. The 14th century Moroccan traveler and explorer Ibn Watuta is considered one of the greatest travelers of the world. Ivan Vatuta, who covered 120,000 kilometers of the earth in a 30-year-long journey, explored various countries and cultures and presented them to the world.

Jiva Lamichhane's latest travel memoir Akshat Antarctica, which is traveling from the introduction of the former president of the Non-Resident Nepalese Association to the introduction of the Niatrakar, I entered it in the middle of May. Having read his earlier two books on travel, Sarsarti Sansar and Desh Deshawar, I was familiar with this traveler avatar of his. 

After reading this book, I have to say - Akshat Antarctica did the job of deepening his feelings as a writer. 

Recently, I realized that this work, which was also awarded with the Uttamshanti award, is a work of different taste and style from the previous two works of Lamichane . Sarsarti Sansar was a detailed description of the author's visit to 29 countries, while Deshdeshawar covered the journey to twenty different places. Akshat Antarctica is the story of the author's 12-day journey to the continent of Antarctica, the place mentioned in its name. The previous two books were about the society, politics and culture built by people in different countries and geographies of the world.

Travel literature is not only the story of the destination, but it is the story of the destination mixed with the writer's efforts to reach that destination and his feelings as well as the actual description of the things he saw and experienced on that journey. That is why the warmth of the human feelings and feelings felt by the author in Antarctica, one side of the earth covered with snow, is found mixed in this work . Also, the extreme feeling of the coldness of Hime River and Hime Daha is also embodied in it .

It can be said that this work of 220 pages can be said to be able to make people from parasitic readers like me to the uninhabited Antarctica walk without a trace. 

Jeeva Lamichhane is an engineer by education and a businessman by profession. In the social light, he is a founding member and former president of the non-profit Nepali Association, while being an organizer in the field of literature and writing, he is also a visionary of the Padma Shri award and the president of that fund.

When I read Lamichhane's Niyatra books, it reminds me of Ivan Vatuta . In the 30-year-long great journey, Ivan Watuta traveled from the Middle East to  East Asia, from Europe to West Africa, from East Africa to South Asia. He has described the culture, religion, laws, food and governance of the people he met on his journey with the help of horses and camels. Discussing the importance and significance of travel, he has written in his book Rihla-  Travel first makes you speechless and then makes you a storyteller . 

When reading Lamichhane's travelogue, the Moroccan traveler and explorer  When I remembered Ivan Watuta, I thought - if it had happened in the 14th century, Lamichhane would have gone on a journey with the same Watuta. Because Lamichhane's love of travel is also strange. Even after reaching the middle of his life, he sometimes gets to ride a rickshaw pulled by a dog in the cold snow of Siberia and sometimes meets marine animals while scuba diving. Sometimes they go to the Sahara desert to see the sand paper floats and sometimes they jump from the bungee to the river bed of their own country. 

Lamichhane has also traveled from Africa to Antarctica, Asia through Europe to Australia through modern means of transportation and has presented the story to the reader through his works. Lamichhane, who is full of financial resources and means as well as literary skills, is providing Nepali readers with new information about the new geography and culture by writing down his experiences and feelings. In that era of exploration and the modern era of exploration, the sky and the ground are different, but following the footsteps of the famous travelers such as Vauta, Marcopolo, Columbus, and James Cook, contemporary travelers and explorers are going on a modern journey .

As mentioned above, this book is woven around the author's journey to the continent of Antarctica from January 13 to January 24, 2024. Although there is only one journey, the author has divided the book into 28 subheadings which are simple and accessible. When the ship crosses the 35-meter high sea waves and enters the unmanned snow-white kingdom, the author says - where the waves speak, one travels in silence. 

At the beginning of the book, he revealed how important this journey was for him even though reaching a corner of the earth is not considered a big achievement when people are crawling through space, moon and Mars. Therefore, this book can be said to be a description of the author's dream come true.

This journey of his is also different from the usual journey because the author sometimes travels with Marco Polo and James Cook in the form of history. And have an interesting conversation about the modern form of travel.  Sometimes the ship's staff sometimes communicate with the accompanying passengers. 

Polar bath The actions of the ship's staff regarding the survival of the former writer and his swimming skills are appalling. The feeling he expressed after that bath  It's exciting . Deprived of the experience of kayaking, he feels sad, but also happy with the certificate of Vyohara, signed by the captain of the boat, Tim Cashman, saying "I have given this certificate for bravely and audaciously swimming back across the cold glacier of Antarctica, which no one dares". There were 152 passengers and 168 crew members on this trip of the comfortable ship. Not all of them had bathed in the glacier.

The melodious symphony of the sea  You also have to face the cold sea breeze. That's why the author drags the two ends of the choker with his teeth from two sides and crawls towards the ship's deck . And he writes back - the joy given by the melodious melody of the ocean in the meditative posture was an unforgettable moment of life. The book is full of such experiences and feelings. While turning the pages, the reader himself feels that he is standing on the white snow of Antarctica . Since the trip to Antarctica is very expensive not only in terms of environment and distance, but also financially, this book can be a rehearsal experience for those who want to get there. 

Antarctica is uninhabited. That's why there is no country and no government here. Human civilization, culture, food, language, religion and history are not found and written here. Therefore, a trip to such an uninhabited place can bring people to zero or make them meditate . It can also give people an opportunity to look back at themselves . 

This is especially the province of howling seals and eager penguins. The geography and climate here is different. The environment is different. Although there is no government or rule, the human consciousness towards the environment has so far indicated that people should be restrained for the protection of penguins and seals. Along with this, author Lamichhane expresses his concern about the environmental impact of carelessness in the Himalayan region including our Everest, which seems justified.