The ladies of Tarini spread the message of women empowerment in Kanpur

With temperatures ranging from 40 degree Celsius to -5 degree Celsius, battling monstrous waves, these six women officers of the Indian Navy created history when they undertook an expedition aboard INSV Tarini to circumnavigate the globe in 196 days of sailing in the sea and covering a distance of 21600 miles during the Navika Sagar Parikrama .

At an event held by Ficci-Flo in Kanpur recently, Lieutenant Commander Swati P and Lieutenant Aishwarya Boddapati , part of the sailing team, shared the thrilling experience of their voyage with the members of the organisation.

(L) Anjali Agarwal (R) Manisha Chandok (BCCL/ AS Rathor)
Talking about the expedition, Lieutenant Commander Swati P shared, "Most of the people think that only six women went on the circumnavigation of the globe. But let me tell you, we were seven members who went on the circumnavigation of the globe. Tarini, our sailboat was also our team member and it was the most mature among us. In fact, we all used to treat her as a mother, as it always used to safeguard us during rough weather conditions."

The idea of going on the circumnavigation of the globe was multi-dimensional. Lieutenant Aishwarya Boddapati, one of the team members of Navika Sagar Parikrama, explained, "With Navika Sagar Parikrama expedition we all members wanted to convey a message of women empowerment to the entire world. We wanted to showcase Nari Shakti on a global level. Also, during our expedition, we collated and upgraded metrological data. We also observed and reported about the areas affected by marine pollution."

One thing that made the entire circumnavigation of the globe very interesting was that the sailboat Tarini had very basic features. "Tarini was completely run by the wind. The propulsion for the boat was only by wind and there was not a single drop of fuel that was used during the circumnavigation. In fact, we also used to charge our batteries of satellite phone and others with the electricity that was produced with the wind. So it was a completely eco-friendly voyage. Our sailboat Tarini was indigenously made in Goa and with this sailboat, we also promoted the concept of Make in India," informed, Lieutenant Commander Swati P.

(L) Ankita Gupta and Ritu Lord (C) Anuradha Varshney (R) Lieutenant Commander Santosh Jaiswal (BCCL/ AS Rathor)
Sharing an interesting incident that happened in Australia, Swati, said, "When we reached Australia, a woman came to us and asked where the navigator of our boat was. Listening to her question I told her that I am the navigator. To this, she reacted saying 'a girl cannot be a navigator'. So I said 'if this is the case then the navigator of our boat is hiding inside the cabin. You can go and find him there'. Finally, the lady realised that I was the only navigator of Tarini and this really impressed her."

During the voyage, the ladies also met a lot of people in places like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Mauritius. "Whenever we used to take a halt, we used to stay at houses of the locals. What’s interesting was that all the people we met during our voyage, were very warm and hospitable. In fact, when we used to leave again for the voyage we used to feel like as if we are leaving our family once again. During the voyage, we used together to celebrate festivals and birthdays and this used to strengthen our bonding," said Swati.

The ladies also shared the motivation factor behind the expedition, Lieutenant Aishwarya Boddapati, said, "It was the support of our mothers, family and Indian Navy that made the circumnavigation of the globe possible for us. A number of times, during rough weather conditions, we all used to think that what we have got into. But it was the scenic beauty of the oceans and the motivation of our families and the Indian Navy that always kept on motivating us to complete the circumnavigation of the globe."