I stuffed myself with Pancakes drizzled with hot chocolate sauce and made my way towards Barefoot Scuba, about a km from Wild Orchid.The fresh morning air of Havelock was extremely refreshing. But I reached Barefoot with a little bit of apprehension and some trepidation. Anne, my french instructor gave me a lot of instructions, starting from the signs used underwater. I had a lot of question in mind but perhaps in addressing those I would just increase that little bit of nervousness that had started to set in. V & V joined us for their snorkeling expedition and after a bit of paperwork, we set sail for Elephant Beach.
Our scuba diving team assembled separately and we had about an hour or so of instructions. This was of course a regular practice done for safety. I was actually surprised at the number of protocols the divers and instructors have to follow. I am not going to reveal those and mar your enthusiasm. But brace yourself for the fins for in those, you will be compelled to walk backwards and not forward in the water.
With the tank hoisted on the back of your diving suits, the regulator in my mouth,the mask on my face, the sink weight around my body and the weight on my mind, I plonked in the water with the rest. I was by then seriously worried if I would be able to breathe normally in the water. As we went down meter by meter, Anne would instruct us to close our nose and blow hard. This would normalize the pressure in the ear and I could actually hear my ears pop, just like in the airplanes. My assigned buddy,Anand (who was doing his divemaster course) would now & then signal me if I was ok.
Was I ok.....?????I was more than OK. I was lost.....lost in the view the underwater unfolded as we went deeper & deeper inside the sea. The breathing through the apparatus became completely normal . The depth of the sea has a universe of its own and I knew then that I would never ever be able to completely describe the experience. I couldn't do it then, 9 months later I still can't do it now. The different color fish, the strange curious vegetation, the whitewashed corals...I actually saw a clown fish, the only fish I could identify , Thanks to NEMO! And yes they said it right, a different kind of peace prevails upon you when you have undergone an experience as such. God knows how, but I had a profound feeling of oneness when we made our way back as I sat on the tip of the boat looking towards nowhere in particular but the ever expanding horizon of the Bay of Bengal. Perhaps it was a tranquility of the life underwater, perhaps it was because it was the first time, as is with all first times....it transformed me.
After a bit of snorkeling , it was time to return and land on land. But we were not ready to finish this day yet. Over a cup of coffee and hot calamari, V, V & me along with another girl from Sweden had a hearty discussion about love, life, country, music ....the usual flow of talk that flows from one topic to another with all or no coherency. Joining us was the Director of Barefoot Scuba , Sean from Norway. Perhaps he made the discussion more lively and the evening more interesting.....I wont forget the naughtiness and the twinkle in his eyes when he spoke. Maybe one day we will meet again and talk and exchange thoughts on the various topics we left unfinished that evening.
Its amazing how there are these few days from your life you can remember clearly whilst sometimes you cannot recollect what you did yesterday.....I guess that's a point to deliberate......and that was how it bubbled away at Havelock!
From left: Anand, V, Me, Anne, Sean, V, & Elena.
that was well written .keep writing .
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