During a casual talk, a Coach was vociferous on the
stress on the children by their parents.
He was describing the high stress that enthu mothers overbearing their
children, expecting each of them to become Sachin Tendulkar or at least IPL star
!!
A thing of beauty is a joy
for ever ~ and one such is ‘Marina beach’ known for its pristine beautiful sandy shores - that runs
from Fort St George to Besant Nagar. The long beach with equally long history, was conceived in 1884 and
christened by Mountstuart Elphinstone
Grant-Duff, the then governor of Madras.
The sands of marina on the Bay of Bengal is famed for the ambience and rich eco system though it stands a lot polluted now.
Early morning the famous
Marina beach offers intriguing things.
There are young, old, fast, slow, and varied people indulging in
chit-chatting, eating and drinking the various health drinks ! that are sold on
pavements. You can see people walking,
walking fasting, jogging, sprinting, skipping, doing physical exercises, yoga,
laughing out loud – more – all law unto themselves – thinking and spreading
that these are the passport to good health.
Nearer the sea, it is more
enticing ! – one can hear the sea, the sound of waves, the waves jumping and touching the shore and then
submitting themselves to the shore but trying to comeback to conquer again !
would be very interesting sight – One can see monstrous ships anchored in the middle of sea, some
fishing boats and Sun coming out as a red ball from the Sea – all great sights
to behold.
Chennai swelters a lot and
when Summer is peak - more people come to Marina to enjoy the natural cool
sea breeze……… during summer vacation - the Police control and regulate the flow of
oncoming crowds by making beach road one way and by diverting vehicles at
various points. Police struggle to
control another thing !
it is revellers – bathing at
sea. There are notice boards put up by
Police stating that bathing and swimming at Bay of Bengal, in Marine is illegal
as the undercurrent is very strong. Sadly,
we get to read news of young boys drowning in the sea also. During Kanum
Pongal, Police erect barriers all across, preventing access to sea. The spot nearer Anna Square, opposite to
Ezhilagam is vulnerable. Back in 1966, a
ship SS Damatis sank off due to a cyclone.
In my younger days, remember seeing the wreck of this shop lying in
waters, vaguely remember catamarans taking people nearer the ship too !! –
deaths have been reported near this zone; understand that the remnants have
been cut and removed and nothing is there at the spot now.
Bay of Bengal (Vanga Kadal)
is an enticer – one gets lost in its beauty watching the waves and ships. Roughly triangular, the sea borders India on
its Southern side and then Srilanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Andaman & Nicobar
islands. The sea occupies an area of
2,172,000 square kilometres (839,000 sq mi). A number of large rivers – the
Ganges and its tributaries such as the Padma and Hooghly, the Brahmaputra and
its tributaries such as the Jamuna and Meghna, other rivers such as the Irawathi,
Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna and Kaveri flow into the Bay of Bengal.
People love
sea, waves and bathe in it. It is not
totally safe – the little swimming learnt on pools, will not be of use. When news of drowning is heard, people allege
alcoholism – which may not be the real picture. There is a different cause —
rip currents. A rip current is one of the most dangerous natural phenomena one
encounters at sea. Often those caught,
do not know how to encounter, especially the currents occurring in shallow
waters with gentle sloping. At sea, the
waves returning carry more force and are dangerous. Swimming at sea requires special skills,
stamina and knowledge of the currents. Of
course fishermen are capable of swimming in strong currents – the number of
traditional fisherfolk is dwindling as more of the newer generation are not
interested in venturing into the sea.
This morning
in my regular walk, saw something unusual.
Could spot a small wave of people, in fact children around 10 years of
age – all swimming at sea. Understand that they are group of children learning
swimming at Anna Swimming pool and were under the watchful eyes of their
coaches and couple of others who were inside the sea, guarding them.
Training children
in tough environments and making them reach higher levels is laudable, still,
somehow I felt little nervy and uncomfortable – hopefully, lot of planning and
safety arrangements had been arranged when such exercises are undertaken !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
16th Oct 2016.
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