Underwater thrills: Divers exploring the beauty beneath the oceans

If your dream is to slip into the sea, you can now take the plunge. The Arabian Sea is only a dive away, courtesy Lacadives, a scuba diving school in the Lakshadweep, set up by ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakar.

In 1995, the dive centres of Lacadives cast anchor in Bangaram and Kadmath, two of the archipelago’s dozen islands strewn across the sea. The school is the fruition of Kakar’s dream, fuelled by his discovery of an ancient copy of the Quran on a reefbed while on his first dive off the coast of Mauritius.

Another experience instrumental in his starting the school was the adman’s first dive along the 40-kilometre-long chain of coral reefs, off Amini, one of Lakshadweep’s islands. The picture that he paints of the experience is one of enchantment and mystique. The setting, he recalls, appeared like a cathedral or a temple and was nothing short of being spiritual, even religious.

This isn’t, however, the only scuba diving school around. Scuba diving courses are also run by Prime Travels in Goa under fascinating names such as Bubblemakers which includes underwater fun and games for children between eight and 11 years. It includes an underwater treasure hunt and an introduction to marine life and conservation within the safe confines of a swimming pool.

Another session over two mornings is meant for those who have limited time but still the urge to go diving. This consists of a classroom session, including three modules of the full Open Water Course, three modules of the pool session and two open water dives. The course allows one to dive under the guidance of a professional diver. For Rs 10,500, the student can then aim for the Open Water certificate course within a year of having completed this course.

Kakar’s school, on the other hand, has provisions for both certified divers who are permitted to dive by themselves as well as the uninitiated who can opt for a week-long ‘one-star’ course. This is followed by a 10-day rescue diver’s course and a fortnight-long dive master /assistant diver’s course. In order to graduate to the next level, a diver needs to complete the mandatory 25 dives. All these courses are certified by CMAS, an international underwater federation.

At each of these levels rules are well laid out for venturing into the deep. While single starrers have to stick to moving in pairs (always with the instructor), double and triple starrers are permitted to go alone. Three starrers are not permitted to lead beginners. While swimming is not a pre-requisite, practical knowledge of it would help, “as it would eliminate the fear of water”, says Sumer Verma, a diving instructor at Lacadives. Eventually, as Verma points out, everyone succeeds in taking the plunge, though gradually, from the shallow lagoon to the exhilarating deep below. “It is fitness and not age that is the requirement for older clients,” he points out.

Sasi Kumar, the chief instructor and proprietor of the Andaman Dive Club on Havelock Island in the Andamans, agrees. “While most of my students are in the 23 to 45 age group, my oldest student was 73,” he says. As far as children are concerned, according to Kumar, the minimum age stipulated for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) course is 12 years and for that run by the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) 14 years.

But more than declaring one’s age, it is important to declare details of one’s physical condition before diving. Pregnant women could also do with some caution.

“The pressure difference in the deep could harm the foetus,” adds Kumar. He also warns of the ill-effects of dissolved nitrogen (from the 12-litre tank carried by the diver), which he says could range from joint pains to paralysis.

To avoid this, he says, it is important to consult the dive table, which advises the diver on how long he or she can stay at a particular depth. “It is important for the diver to stop at gradual intervals at different depths to allow the excess nitrogen to escape from the body,” he says.

The cost of the package (stay and travel included) is not exactly chicken feed. At Lacadives, there are plans to subsidise these rates for children with autism, who could benefit from the therapeutic value of dabbling with the many dolphins around the Lakshadweep waters. In fact, according to Kakar, Reefwatch Marine Conservation, an NGO based in Mumbai, under the leadership of his wife, Mitali, has been trying to get schools to bring on board their curriculum the subject of marine conservation “so that they would not have to wait for the vacations to take their students diving around Lakshadweep but do it during the academic year”. The cost? “Rs 5,000 per child per week, all inclusive,” informs Kakar.

This school also serves to sensitise its students to the environment. “Witnessing gentle creatures like turtles helps students understand the killer effect of garbage like plastic on them,” says Verma. And then, there is the spiritual experience of pottering about the seabed that both Kakar and Verma can’t stop talking about. “Down there, the mind goes still and thoughts cease. Everything is in slow motion ? floating, hovering. It’s a pure state of joy,” says Verma.

Dos & Don’ts

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers these tips for safe diving:

• Gently equalise your ears and mask as you descend.

• Never hold your breath while ascending. Ascend slowly, breathing normally.

• Always dive with a buddy. Never drink alcohol before a dive.

• If you’re taking medication, check with a doctor before diving.

• Consult your doctor if you have any medical conditions.

• Don’t fly for 12 hours after a no-decompression dive, 24 hours if your dive required decompression stops.

• If you don’t feel well after your dive, get to the nearest emergency room.