Introducing Water
I cant swim. Simply, I cant. I never learnt even. I enjoy being near water - unwinding by a riverfront, lakeside evenings, sunsets by the beach, dawn breaking over a creek ... I love these. But then being in the water is another question altogether.
The depth of calm still-water, the ferocity of the raging streams, the impact of a waterfall or the steady businesslike surge of a river start a silent prayer on my lips. A prayer to calm myself, steady my limbs and steel my nerves. A prayer to trust my life-jacket and lose myself in the cool still-water pools. A prayer to trust my companions and the boat/raft we have. A prayer for steady hands as we cross the raging stream.
There were attempts though, by my father and uncles to have me swimming like a fish. This started out during family trips to Gorai Beach - pretty clean back in those days, early 90s, and close too. But then again, as a kid, the idea of saltwater entering my eyes and mouth did not appeal much and those attempts upset me and I moved away to the shallower sections. People gave up after a while.
Another attempt almost resulted in me enrolling for swimming lessons at a local pool. Hygiene, probably, was the reason it did not materialize. And maybe the school schedule. I needed my happy playing hours as a kid right ...?
And then came the incident at Amrut Baugh.
It was our school picnic. Std 4th. This place had (has?) three swimming pools. One of the pools where we kids were allowed to play in was an inclined one. Most of the kids played around in the shallow section resulting in it being too crowded for my elitist (ahem...) nature. Not knowing the depth of the pool at the other end, I jumped straight in.
My feet never touched the base. I may have uttered a cry. The view went vivid blue, with sunlight streaming in. And then a figure swam up close, grabbed me and pulled me out. All this within a few seconds. I was scolded a bit by the lifeguard and I rushed to the changing rooms.
The depth of the pool, I later realized was about twice my then height. A lucky escape, but the incident still remains fresh in my memory. I've never ever been to a water-park since.
By the way, if my memory is to be trusted, all my life as a kid was made up of such similar instances; its a miracle that I live.
I intend to make this a blog series about my aquatic adventures - rafting, rappelling, river crossing, snorkeling and scuba. Will throw in a few beaches as well to round it off. Lets see how it goes.
- Kapil Pilankar
I cant swim. Simply, I cant. I never learnt even. I enjoy being near water - unwinding by a riverfront, lakeside evenings, sunsets by the beach, dawn breaking over a creek ... I love these. But then being in the water is another question altogether.
A question answered by a thumbs-up
The depth of calm still-water, the ferocity of the raging streams, the impact of a waterfall or the steady businesslike surge of a river start a silent prayer on my lips. A prayer to calm myself, steady my limbs and steel my nerves. A prayer to trust my life-jacket and lose myself in the cool still-water pools. A prayer to trust my companions and the boat/raft we have. A prayer for steady hands as we cross the raging stream.
-x-x-x-
There were attempts though, by my father and uncles to have me swimming like a fish. This started out during family trips to Gorai Beach - pretty clean back in those days, early 90s, and close too. But then again, as a kid, the idea of saltwater entering my eyes and mouth did not appeal much and those attempts upset me and I moved away to the shallower sections. People gave up after a while.
The sun has now set on Gorai
Another attempt almost resulted in me enrolling for swimming lessons at a local pool. Hygiene, probably, was the reason it did not materialize. And maybe the school schedule. I needed my happy playing hours as a kid right ...?
-x-x-x-
And then came the incident at Amrut Baugh.
It was our school picnic. Std 4th. This place had (has?) three swimming pools. One of the pools where we kids were allowed to play in was an inclined one. Most of the kids played around in the shallow section resulting in it being too crowded for my elitist (ahem...) nature. Not knowing the depth of the pool at the other end, I jumped straight in.
Feels like heaven - Vivid Blue Heaven
My feet never touched the base. I may have uttered a cry. The view went vivid blue, with sunlight streaming in. And then a figure swam up close, grabbed me and pulled me out. All this within a few seconds. I was scolded a bit by the lifeguard and I rushed to the changing rooms.
The depth of the pool, I later realized was about twice my then height. A lucky escape, but the incident still remains fresh in my memory. I've never ever been to a water-park since.
By the way, if my memory is to be trusted, all my life as a kid was made up of such similar instances; its a miracle that I live.
-x-x-x-
I intend to make this a blog series about my aquatic adventures - rafting, rappelling, river crossing, snorkeling and scuba. Will throw in a few beaches as well to round it off. Lets see how it goes.
- Kapil Pilankar
Well written....i can absolutely connect to it...lookin forward to your rafting, rappelling, river crossing, snorkeling and scuba experiences...
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