Surfing demands strength, or as so do everyone said. I, being a human who is barely 5 feet with a strength of a ripe jackfruit decided to dive-in for the surfing lessons. Reaching the shores, prepping myself for the activity, walking into the shallow waters of the Arabian Sea didn’t look difficult at all unless one thing changed all.
Last week of May and early June was when we decided to take in the surfing classes at Indica Surf School, Mulki, Udupi. We were living in the glory of the thrill of learning and performing an adventure sport. We were excited even though we didn’t know how to swim. But well, well, well, the trainers at the school did mention that we don’t exactly need to know swimming to learn surfing as we would be taught in the shallow waters.
The passage to the beach wasn’t just walking to it but involved a river, sight of the mangroves, admiring white-bellied sea eagles, birds, diving fishes, and a boat ride. The thrill of experiencing an adventure sport fueled our soul and we started the training with a warm-up exercise and instructions from the trainers. Easy at it sounded and looked, with pumped-up energy we started to tow our surf boards into the sea and kicked off our paddling lessons to learn that this isn’t going to be a smooth affair.
As the day started gaining pace, the paddling with the board to reach further into the sea under the glowing sun became a tedious exercise in itself. Battling the rough waves that indicated the arrival of the monsoon, we switched to the surfer mode and started to try ride the waves. But the very first attempt to ride the waves really hit me hard when a huge wave toppled me over and then my body gave in to the force.
It was the gurgling sound of the water and then sudden silence under the waves that made my body realize that I need to ask for help to get out of this and survive. I just couldn’t get myself out of the water, even though I tried, at least that’s what my brain thought I was doing. I was literally just stuck, numb doing nothing but gasping for breath and trying to get to the beach, which was less than a meter away. I was pulled out by my fellow trainee but by that time I learnt the best lesson of my life.
Gasping for breath, shaking body and pounding heart, I felt nature at its rage. I sat at the beach watching the happy people riding the waves and learning to surf and then I saw myself sitting at the safe distance from the waves, the surfing board still attached to my ankle with waves of thought rushing through my brain.
Nature is calm, nature is kind, but it can be ferocious and definitely be powerful. We cannot argue with nature especially with the water. Water bodies have a charm of their own but if you try to not oblige when needed, it can be ravening. This moment was when I knew my anxiety will never make a tough human, though I will try to fight it away, but at the moment I felt happy to be alive, to live and be human.
Don’t get anxious by the above narration of mine, as this is my own personal experience but my partner, my friends and fellow trainees had lots of fun learning how to ride the waves of the sea.
Monsoon tend to soak earth with life, but this season is considered to be not so good for the surfers as the waves are very rough and tides can be mean. So, best time to learn or surf is before monsoon arrives and after monsoon ends as the waves are calmer. Do learn how to surf as it’s the best thing to learn if you love water. You will feel like flying high and living the dream. I enjoy playing in the beach, but water sports (as of now) is just not my cup of tea; maybe later somewhere when I am comfortable of water or facing my anxiety with a calmer heart and attentive brain, I will attempt it again. if you wanna see the pictures, really cool one, check tinygypsie on insta. Till then, I really admire everybody who have the courage to learn something new especially when it involves the sea, height, mountains, and jungles. I will stick to my realms and enjoy a calm nature.
