Around 1400 hrs, I woke up, feeling very woozy. A bath, followed by a quick lunch, and off went trudging in the sand to the Equipment hut. After collecting the equipment, again back to the jetty, hauling down the gear to the boat. This time there was no ‘Schnellboote’ tactics and we sedately drifted out from the jetty and on to the lagoon. Then started the checklists, checking for any leakage from the tanks, checking for any wear and tear on the BCD and the weight belt, seeing the integrity of the facemasks and then we were ‘on wait’. The feeling was like waiting for an inevitable counterattack. We reached our dive site and the anchor was cast. Now we elected to go for the vertical dive. We followed our instructor and we slowly sank down, releasing the air in our BCD in short bursts. When we were around a metre from the seabed, we levelled off and began to cruise. The challenge now was how to maintain the depth without hitting the seabed. The best that was achieved was a gap of 20 cm from the seabed. At that depth, we had to keep on swimming or else sink to the seabed. Underwater, the colours were muted but still very diverse. It was like seeing an astonishingly beautiful tableaux through blue Polaroid. Even the white seabed had a tinge of blue. Here and there some small rocks littered the landscape on which some weeds were growing. My brother touched one and he immediately took his hand back as if he touched a live wire. Two seconds later, he touched the weed, this time with delight, for it was the sea counterpart of ‘Touch-me-not’ or ‘chhui-mui’! In the sea, of all the five senses, the sense of smell was completely blocked. So there would be no associated smell with the dive. But the touch of the rocks and the corals was like touching slippery velvet, soft to caress, too slippery to get a grip. The seabed sand was not at all coarse but then in water, they were not slippery either, just a touch of ethereality thrown in. While it was not fine as the sand in the beach, thankfully, it did not create any problem for the gear. We selected a patch of clear sand and we started our lessons. After completing the lessons, we started towards a patch of corals, ascending slowly. Soon a steel ladder was lowered and we hauled ourselves up to a cup of sweet tea and hard Rusk. The sun was lower in the sky, its ferocity tempered by the lateness of the day. The wind picked up and the boat started pitching up and down. Soon it was time to unload the gear, and off went to relax on the beach.
The next day, at 11.45, we were going for our penultimate dive. We hit the seabed and this time selected a clear patch of seabed to finish our lessons.BCD exchange, Buddy breathing, checking the gear underwater, and so on. The difficulty level of our lessons had increased considerably, which we thought was impossible to do in water. But impossible, is just a perception of the mind. In no time, we finished our lessons, so as to start exploring again. Sure, we were concentrating while doing our lessons but the one overriding thought which was going through the mind was to explore the sea. That adventure of exploring, the fear of unknown lent us wings to finish our lessons quickly and flawlessly. Submarines use Sonar for seeing underwater. But then like for sight, the limit is the horizon, similarly for Sonar it is the waterfall .In this case, it is the ambient noise all around at some indeterminate distance away. The sound of it is like hearing a waterfall from some distance away. Any sound made nearby would be heard clearly, but then farther out it merges into the waterfall. During our dive, the sense of sight was paramount. The visibility of the water was around 15 metre, beyond that, it gets a bit blurry. The Visibility in the coral islands of Lakshwadweep is the best in the country. It is also the safest. In the Andamans, the dive sites, while of comparable quality, have a danger of saline crocodile. Before going on this dive we heard news that an American tourist was dragged underwater by a large saline crocodile while snorkelling off Havelock Island in the Andamans. I still remember when I went to Calangute in Goa, which is supposedly the best beach in Goa, the visibility was extremely low. This was confirmed by my diving instructor that visibility in Goan dive sites is very bad. Further, Lakshwadweep Islands are free of snakes and scorpions, on land anyway. We did not encounter any seasnakes during our dives, though that might be because the snakes have excellent eyesight underwater, and they are a reticent lot. But then the high visibility did allow us to see some manta rays which otherwise would be part of the inky horizon. This time though, we decided to go over some mushroom corals.In a dirty green coloured mushroom coral crevice, we suddenly came face to face with Echidna delicatula.
Nothing delicate about it though.In common parlance it is known as Moray Eel.It is among the very few things in the islands that are universally feared.Long lines of serrated teeth and a reptilian body, mottled green.Its mouth was closing and opening as if feeling the surroundings.It seemed as stupefied as we were and had withdrawn into its crevice as much as it could.Which was not much considering its size. We decided to flank it and bypass. If we had unwittingly swum over it,then one of us would have had to be helilifted to Kochi. But then as we flanked it and bypassed,it zoomed out and swam away. We thought it was enough for the dive and after a short swim to a sandy patch, we ascended vertically to the surface and climbed onboard. It was muted all the way back to the shore, either because of tiredness or this encounter.
The last dive was different in the sense that we were accompanied by Mom and Dad. This time, the dive was pretty much automated, as in we knew what to do and did so. To break the developing monotony, our instructor decided to take us this time a bit farther from the divesite. As we left Agatti 123, the seabed curved downwards, the mushroom corals giving way to brain corals. We descended extremely slowly, as the pressure was increasing and we had to equalise the pressure in our ears before we could descend further. This time, our instructor could not equalise his ear pressure. In diving, the deeper one goes, faster is the air supply used up. Hence instead of proceeding deeper on an impromptu planning, we decided to maintain the depth, the deepest so far at 21 meters. My instructor during all these dives maintained an extremely cool composure, which also had a cascading effect on us. Now we were swimming just over corals which were at a depth of 25-27 meters all the while cruising at a depth of 21 meters. Over centuries, man tried to fly. even now, after all the MiG 25s and SR 71s,we still miss not flying with our own power, the manoeuvrability not constrained by the quality of equipment designed by someone else. We still hope for a situation wherein we can be the designer, pilot, and mechanic. However, substitute water for air, depth for altitude and water surface for ground and that’s what I was feeling at that time. I was flying through the water. Tyndall effect was a phenomenon studied in school and I saw it in all its beauty 21 meters below the sea level. Where looking up is the wrong way and looking down does not induce vertigo. This time we did not encounter the many shoals of fish. Earlier, I saw Pigeon fish, Clown fish, and many other fishes (whose names I don’t know).A lobster lodged in a crevice. Anemones fluttering as elephant grass in wind. In the distance large rock like things were suspended in mid-water. Soon it sprouted two flippers and began to move. This was the famed Olive Ridley turtles. We moved over and touched the shell and latched on to it. The shell was very slippery and covered with moss giving it a dirty green colour. The turtle was at least 7 ft in length and well it looked elderly and experienced as only turtles manage to look. Frankly it was more bored with we humans than frightened, though as like all ‘wildlife’ it took the safe option of shaking us off. As the turtle moved towards deeper water, we let it go keeping just the memory of it. Soon, we saw that the air pressure indicator of the tank was inching towards the lower side. Hence we broke the surface. Now, after handing over all the equipments, and with only a facemask and a flipper, we began to swim just near the boat. At that moment it hit me, I was in the middle of Arabian Sea and not in a swimming pool. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. Water, water everywhere and not a shore to be seen. At that time a little of trepidation, a little of daring and a little bit of sadness tinged with relief. Trepidation because, no matter what, it was the middle of nowhere, daring, well we did dive in the ‘nowhere’ and didn’t get lost ! Sad because our open water dives came to an end, and relief because now I could quench my parched but a very wet tongue. Mom and Dad were mightily pleased to see us back. From their point of view, their two sons disappeared below the surface in the middle of nowhere and after nearly an hour after viewing nothing but the sky, the expressionless sea and occasional sea bird, we broke the surface pretty uneventfully. So now, back to sweet tea, which now I felt was good for counteracting the salinity of the sea, which Mom found to be too sweet. In no time the boat was being tied to the jetty and we were trudging up the sand. 
Two days later, in the shadow of a palm tree, on the beach, sitting on a wooden chair and a small cosy wooden table, me and my brother were writing the exam which would qualify for the diving license. Dress code was shorts and sleeveless tees. Two months after any semblance of studies, holding a pen in the hand was a difficult task, far less studying. In this exam, my brother beat me by two marks. Understandably he was on cloud nine. I did not have the advantage of age, or unequal time of studying or any of that balderdash. When both of us had equal opportunity, he bested me. The next day the wind picked up and all sea based activity was suspended. We had finished our diving just in time. The next day, 17th June of 2010, we were certified as licensed scuba divers.
Nothing delicate about it though.In common parlance it is known as Moray Eel.It is among the very few things in the islands that are universally feared.Long lines of serrated teeth and a reptilian body, mottled green.Its mouth was closing and opening as if feeling the surroundings.It seemed as stupefied as we were and had withdrawn into its crevice as much as it could.Which was not much considering its size. We decided to flank it and bypass. If we had unwittingly swum over it,then one of us would have had to be helilifted to Kochi. But then as we flanked it and bypassed,it zoomed out and swam away. We thought it was enough for the dive and after a short swim to a sandy patch, we ascended vertically to the surface and climbed onboard. It was muted all the way back to the shore, either because of tiredness or this encounter. A dive table, in addition to telling how much time one can spend at a particular depth with one tank of air, also tells how much time one should spend between dives.This is primarily for the dissolved nitrogen gas in our body to slowly dissipate.But the table gives the time difference to avoid any untoward effects,just enough to ensure we do not rush to a decompression chamber every time after a dive.But effects are felt.So,after the third dive,we were bone tired literally.The joints didn't feel normal.It felt as if we were at a workout,though without the associated ache.No pain,no aching, just tired.And so the feeling,the senses were muted.The only thing we were looking forward to was a shower,high calorie lunch and a short but intense sleep.
The last dive was different in the sense that we were accompanied by Mom and Dad. This time, the dive was pretty much automated, as in we knew what to do and did so. To break the developing monotony, our instructor decided to take us this time a bit farther from the divesite. As we left Agatti 123, the seabed curved downwards, the mushroom corals giving way to brain corals. We descended extremely slowly, as the pressure was increasing and we had to equalise the pressure in our ears before we could descend further. This time, our instructor could not equalise his ear pressure. In diving, the deeper one goes, faster is the air supply used up. Hence instead of proceeding deeper on an impromptu planning, we decided to maintain the depth, the deepest so far at 21 meters. My instructor during all these dives maintained an extremely cool composure, which also had a cascading effect on us. Now we were swimming just over corals which were at a depth of 25-27 meters all the while cruising at a depth of 21 meters. Over centuries, man tried to fly. even now, after all the MiG 25s and SR 71s,we still miss not flying with our own power, the manoeuvrability not constrained by the quality of equipment designed by someone else. We still hope for a situation wherein we can be the designer, pilot, and mechanic. However, substitute water for air, depth for altitude and water surface for ground and that’s what I was feeling at that time. I was flying through the water. Tyndall effect was a phenomenon studied in school and I saw it in all its beauty 21 meters below the sea level. Where looking up is the wrong way and looking down does not induce vertigo. This time we did not encounter the many shoals of fish. Earlier, I saw Pigeon fish, Clown fish, and many other fishes (whose names I don’t know).A lobster lodged in a crevice. Anemones fluttering as elephant grass in wind. In the distance large rock like things were suspended in mid-water. Soon it sprouted two flippers and began to move. This was the famed Olive Ridley turtles. We moved over and touched the shell and latched on to it. The shell was very slippery and covered with moss giving it a dirty green colour. The turtle was at least 7 ft in length and well it looked elderly and experienced as only turtles manage to look. Frankly it was more bored with we humans than frightened, though as like all ‘wildlife’ it took the safe option of shaking us off. As the turtle moved towards deeper water, we let it go keeping just the memory of it. Soon, we saw that the air pressure indicator of the tank was inching towards the lower side. Hence we broke the surface. Now, after handing over all the equipments, and with only a facemask and a flipper, we began to swim just near the boat. At that moment it hit me, I was in the middle of Arabian Sea and not in a swimming pool. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. Water, water everywhere and not a shore to be seen. At that time a little of trepidation, a little of daring and a little bit of sadness tinged with relief. Trepidation because, no matter what, it was the middle of nowhere, daring, well we did dive in the ‘nowhere’ and didn’t get lost ! Sad because our open water dives came to an end, and relief because now I could quench my parched but a very wet tongue. Mom and Dad were mightily pleased to see us back. From their point of view, their two sons disappeared below the surface in the middle of nowhere and after nearly an hour after viewing nothing but the sky, the expressionless sea and occasional sea bird, we broke the surface pretty uneventfully. So now, back to sweet tea, which now I felt was good for counteracting the salinity of the sea, which Mom found to be too sweet. In no time the boat was being tied to the jetty and we were trudging up the sand. 
Two days later, in the shadow of a palm tree, on the beach, sitting on a wooden chair and a small cosy wooden table, me and my brother were writing the exam which would qualify for the diving license. Dress code was shorts and sleeveless tees. Two months after any semblance of studies, holding a pen in the hand was a difficult task, far less studying. In this exam, my brother beat me by two marks. Understandably he was on cloud nine. I did not have the advantage of age, or unequal time of studying or any of that balderdash. When both of us had equal opportunity, he bested me. The next day the wind picked up and all sea based activity was suspended. We had finished our diving just in time. The next day, 17th June of 2010, we were certified as licensed scuba divers.
No comments:
Post a Comment