Safe on a boat

In your book, Shanti's family goes to catch a ferry to one of the islands near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A ferry is a boat that carries people from one place to another across water.

Before getting on the ferry, they are given safety instructions. The most important one is this: everyone must wear a life jacket, even if you know how to swim.

Why? A life jacket keeps you afloat — it holds you up on top of the water — if you fall in. The sea is deep, and anyone can slip. A good swimmer can fall in too, so a good swimmer wears a life jacket too.