Is It Possible ?

For more than 13 years now, I have been writing code for TCS. The most adventurous thing that I had done in my life was "The Batman ride" at Six Flags amusement park. And then came 30th Dec 2015. I stood on the edge of the Dharamtar Jetty about to plunge into the cold and shivery waters of the Arabian Sea; about to attempt the most adventurous thing in my life; planning to swim for 12 hours and 36 km till I reached the steps of the Gateway of India. It was 3 AM in the morning and I could hardly see anything beyond few meters. During the swim, I was not supposed to get out of water or touch any boat or person. I was to be escorted by a boat carrying an MSAAA (Maharashtra State Armature Aquatic Association) observer who was to monitor the whole swim. The question that was on top of my mind ,”Is it possible?”.

3:30 am to 6:30 am
In order to make me ready, coach covered my entire body with grease. This is actual grease used in machines . It is applied on the swimmer as protection from small fishes. At 3:30 in the morning, with slight nervousness, I entered into the water. Water temperature was 23 degrees. It was slightly cold but not punishing. Just a couple of days before then, Mumbai had recorded its second coldest day ever. Considering that, the weather on that day, was much better.

During first three hours of the swim, only thing that I could see was the portable torch on the boat. In that darkness, I was often surprised by sea debris, small fishes or some leaves. Initially I felt creepy when something touched me. Soon I got used to anything touching my body and my only aim I was to swim parallel to the boat. During first hour, the torch was accidentally switched off for few minutes. I could not see anything. In search of my boat, I saw right then left but could see nothing at all. Then suddenly, the boat appeared right on top of me. I quickly moved to my left but was slight bruised by collision with the boat. That made be more nervous, but I continued. 

Exactly 10 years ago, I read a newspaper article about an attempt to swim from Dharamtar to Gateway. I was instantly hooked to that idea. Back in the day, I couldn’t even swim 15 meters in a swimming pool without stopping to catch my breath. Without an athletic body and with a desk bound job this dream almost seemed impossible. Nevertheless, I started learning freestyle swimming by watching online videos. 

For the last few years, I have been slowly building myself for this day. Last year alone I had spent numerous hours in the swimming pool clocking around 1,500 km. Some of the training sessions were really brutal which tested my endurance both physical and mental in every possible way. In one of the sessions, I was supposed to swim for 8 hours in 37 degrees! With sun shining directly over my head, I was about to break down. In fact I made up my mind to quit training altogether. At that time my wife suggested me to continue for few more minutes and see what happens. As I continued swimming, my determination took over me and I came out of pool after 8 hours. It was real test of my physical, mental and emotional strength. 

Some years ago, one of the veteran swimmers got entangled in the fishing net in darkness. The tragic death of swimmer shook whole swimming community. It made us more alert during our attempt. Vasu, the local fisherman who was guiding me in this swim is a veteran fisherman. He knew that there is very little margin for error. His eyes never left me, even a single minute during entire swim. I could see everyone relaxed after first rays of sun hit us.

6:30 am to 9:30 am
It was really important for me to cross an major milestone “Kashacha Khadak” in first six hours. Tide turns every 6 hours. If a swimmer cannot make it to first milestone before tide change, then he/she cannot make it to Gateway. In the first three hours, I was able to swim 15 km. Next 2 hours were really crucial for the success of the swim. I gathered all strength and pushed myself hard for next 2 hours. At the end of 5 hours I had crossed the milestone. The sea is very turbulent at this spot since water is flowing from three different direction. We stopped at that spot for a moment to give homage to the people died during the “Ramdas Ship Disaster” 

Before the swim many people had asked me,” What if sharks attack you?” I told them that, no self-respecting shark is ever found in the area. In fact it very busy shipping lane. I could not see anything even few feet down. Their second concern was “what if you get tired ?” I was clearly told by my coach that he not will let me on the boat unless I finish. Over the years, I have developed myself to swim smooth rather than wrestle with water. I splash less water and do not get tired for a long time.

In fact the more pressing issues for me were really different. One of the most important skills that I had to learn was to attend nature’s call while swimming. I managed to master the art just couple of months prior to swim. The other hindrance was sea water which I had consumed during the course of the long swim. Within a few hours, my throat became soar, my tongue became numb and my nose became completely red from inside. 

9:30 am to 12:30 pm
As I crossed my first milestone, sun started shining on top of my head. It drained all the energy. I could see the skyline of Mumbai. But there was still a 10 km swim ahead of me. I kept pushing myself. Finally I could see the tiny Gateway of India on the horizon. With the carrot dangling in front of me I started pushing myself. The most frustrating part was that no matter how hard I swam, the Gateway did not grow bigger. As I came near the Gateway, I could feel my heart pumping as hard as ever. Was it excitement, nervousness or sheer exhaustion, I couldn’t say. But when I touched the steps of Gateway, I was really overwhelmed by feeling of relief , joy and accomplishment. As I was trying to get upright after really long hours on slippery surface, I lost balance. But slowly and steadily I made it on dry land.To everyone’s amusement, I was able to finish in 9 hours !!!

As I am comfortably sitting in front of the screen, a plethora of thoughts seem to flow through my mind. But I have realized one thing. There are many goals that seem way out of your league in the beginning. It may be running a full marathon, losing weight , starting your own business. In my case, it was swimming from Dharamtar to Gateway. Over the years I kept pushing myself slowly but patiently towards my dream. The dream which was a distant possibility at the age of 25 became reality at 35. So only thing which I would like say is ,” It is possible. ”