When you see through the big blue!

I had always been afraid of large water bodies.  To face this fear I decided to have a maximum experience of the sea, the largest water body. So I jumped onto a plane, and landed on the Andaman and Nicobar islands. I was literally trapped and surrounded by the big blue (and the water was actually blue). It was refreshing to see real sea green and sky blue for the first time. Now I had to get rid of the fear of actually going into the water. Challenge accepted! I rode only the steamers and boats which was a lot. Secondly, I chose to play at least one water sport and the easiest one available was snorkelling (definitely not easy for me). There was also scuba diving but it was off season and there were no instructors. So in the middle of the ocean, in an island named Havelock, I was getting ready for a life changing moment. I slowly moved into the water, upon the encouragement of the instructor who was a local swimmer, an expert one too.

                I put on the life jacket, the floating tube which would help me float on the surface, my head gear, consisting of the snorkel, the long tube typically 20-30 cms long usually L- shaped or J- shaped and fitted with a mouthpiece at the lower end and made of either rubber or plastic. The mask is fitted with a tempered glass plate which enables the snorkeler to see clearly underwater. If you don’t know how to swim, a pair of fins adds up to the equipment. All set, I stepped into the water which was surprisingly crystal clear. I floated in the shallows, and dared to go only a little further, (because honestly, I didn’t know how to swim). My instructor generously pointed out the coral reef, which was yet to burst into colour, the beautiful fish, and other sea fauna and flora- all seen while I was half submerged in the water. That is when I could feel my every breath taken through my mouth! The silence, the whole new different world, beneath the ocean.

For the first time in years, water attracted me with its mysteries and the beauty it had hidden all along. I wish, we respected nature more, it has so many wonders. They are to be adored not feared and abused. My time amidst the aquatic blue was really wonderful. If I have the chance maybe I would return to the sea for some more sporting adventure maybe it would be scuba diving next time. A word about the Andamans, the isles are beautiful and succeeded in preserving nature beautifully, they are mysterious, adventurous and more importantly, historic. As the waves power the ocean, I would say, the place made me go with the flow!