It has been several months since I left my island home in the Andamans, and yet memories of the past two years keep flooding me at unexpected moments delightfully and sometimes nostalgically, urging me to savor those little and big events over and over again. How did I come to live there one might ask? So here is a peek into my early experiences as a diving professional.
Day off at Radhanagar Beach
Do we not sometimes have this intuition, this belief that what is to come in the future is meant to be so, that it happens for a reason? My heart reinforced this feeling in January 2009 as I caught the first glimpse of those emerald islands floating in a vast expanse of blue oceanic waters from the airplane window. Somehow I knew those islands would be my home for a long time to come.
I had arrived in Andamans that month in 2009 to advance my scuba certification. I was already a certified diver, having got my first taste of diving in 2003 in a swimming pool in Pune (there were instructors who came from Lakshadweep then), getting my Open Water Diver certification in 2006 and eventually my Advanced Open Water certification in 2007. I had done a few recreational dives thereafter in some dive sites in India and New Zealand. This time however, I came to do my Rescue Diver course and upgrade to the first level of professional diving – the Divemaster’s course. Not that I foresaw myself becoming a part of the diving tourism industry; all I expected from this course was to improve my underwater sense of observation which I hoped would help me in my future research in marine biology (I had just completed my post graduation in marine biology six months before). Little did I realize then that my one and half months itinerary would stretch out to several months and see me go up the ladder in professional diving.
What goes inside a dive boat
Working with several instructors from different countries as an intern at the dive centre was probably the starting of becoming the person I am today. Of course there are also so many other experiences before this that have contributed as well, but in truth nothing as much as the diving lifestyle. Working in a dive centre is a fun job yet many people do not really understand the amount of planning, physical labor and responsibility that is invested to give our diving clients an unforgettable experience. Yet I loved it all – from waking up at 6:00 am in the morning to help with opening up the dive centre, cross checking the layout of equipment for divers, helping load the boats and greeting customers to coming back from diving late afternoon, sitting in the restaurant to log our dives, washing equipment, office work and preparing for the next day’s routine till 8:00 pm in the evening. There were obviously times when the team would get exhausted and I would wish to get a break, but never have I or will I ever regret having spent those days under the open sky by the seashore, away from a city life, away from television, newspapers and even a decent internet service.
Diving made me physically stronger both while above and under the water surface. I learnt so much about team work and how a wonderful team dynamics reflects upon our clients who enjoyed diving with our team and some of whom would come back again. It made me realize that there is dignity of labor and respect for the work done by each and every team member whether at the reservations desk or the boat handling or teaching clients. Being a travelling lifestyle I came in contact with people who have travelled many countries or freelanced at different dive destinations. The dive boats would be filled with divers of all types – backpackers on a budgeted holiday, those having come exclusively for a luxurious dive holiday, divers of all ages, of different countries and professional backgrounds, all with one common interest – their passion for diving. And this was when and where my outlook towards travel and meeting people started taking form.
A longfin bannerfish
My diving internship got over towards the end of February and I was offered a job at the dive centre from the very next day. I had no fixed plans back in mainland India so decided to work for them for the next few months till the end of May when the season ends due to the arrival of monsoons. That turned out to be a whole new experience. So far as an intern I would be under the supervision of instructors while handling clients, but as an employee now I was on my own. I confess I was very nervous those first few weeks working as a divemaster taking certified divers on a guided underwater tour at dive sites. My main concerns would be if I could find my way back to the diveboat (I was terrible in underwater navigation then !), were my clients comfortable with the pace (I would constantly check the rate of their exhaled bubbles or body movements to make sure they were not over exhausted or low on air supply), would I get seasick (my first few times in somewhat rough conditions would drain out all my energy and I would not even be able to lift a finger – not good if I had to look after my guests !)? In time though I found myself – as a divemaster I learnt my personal style of diving and approaching divers of varying experience levels, as a team member I understood how one can help each other out and yet maintain an individuality, as a person I started evolving emotionally and physically.
No doubt I made mistakes (thankfully nothing serious) which I would immediately confess to the dive centre manager. I would expect to get an earful but what surprised me is that he would always say “We all make mistakes and learn from them.” So diving also taught me that in any profession there is a constant learning process. One must learn to strike a balance between knowing what new skills or ideas to incorporate and to stand by the principles that we firmly believe in. I still learn with every diving course I take today (I am an instructor now) be it from my students or the dive environment; that propels me to be the best that I can and discover myself over and over again.
Whenever people ask me whether I enjoyed diving in the Andamans I tell them that I had the best first job at Barefoot Scuba. I had worked alongside supportive employers, encouraging colleagues, trustworthy boat boys and interacted with interesting and knowledgeable clients and local islanders. I got to dive six times a week (including night dives!!), observe underwater life up close, somersault and experience weightlessness, and watch my exhaled bubbles reach up to the water surface and burst. I even dived when the surface waters were full of millions of harmless jellyfish and on our ascent at the end of the dive watch the sun’s rays shine through their translucent bodies. I fell into a trance when I saw my first turtle underwater, got scared out of my wits when a diver of mine screamed as my first manta swooshed past me effortlessly, had an unexpected encounter with a dugong (sea cow) who entertained us for 40 minutes until he finally got bored and swam off. My dives with Rajan, the 61 year old elephant and one of Asia’s last sea swimming elephants, were memorable. It was like swimming with Michael Phelps – all the divers would fin furiously to keep up with him. On my off days I would wake up to watch the sky take on a pinkish tinge at dawn and transform to a pure electric blue at mid day. These days would be spent on a cycle ride down to a quiet village Kalapatthar, with the forest on one side of the road, the ocean on the other and their affiliated sounds intermingling with the humidity and sea breeze. Or else I would laze in my hammock at Radhanagar beach with a book in hand and shift my gaze from the tall mahua trees to the white sandy beach to the blue green waters. I had an idyllic existence most people can only dream of; I was living the dream.
My abode during my internship
Eventually I went back to work for Barefoot Scuba the next season as well and this time after some months I took the Instructors’ Exam held in November 2009 (it was the first ever to be held in India). I had many doubts regarding my capability to become a scuba diving instructor initially but my colleagues, Anne and Oli, along with Sean (the manager) sat down and had a chat with me to convince me why I was more than ready for this. Towards the end of the previous season and the beginning of that particular season I had assisted Anne and Oli in translating the dive theory to Hindi for the boat boys to grasp and had been an integral part in their dive training of the first three levels. With the patience and time all of us had invested in making divers out of our boat crew, they assured me that I had bucketfuls of patience required for an instructor! After two months of anxious preparation for the exam it turned out not so scary after all. And Anne still tells me today “You are the first female Indian instructor to be certified in India”, which is rather hilarious while also embarrassing since it is a pretty long descriptive sentence and there have been three other female Indian instructors before me. But I accept the complement !
Life as an instructor as again elevated me to experience a whole new level. The extra responsibilities of handling complete newbies (some of us instructors term them “laddoos”), their safety, the liability and the teaching of new set of skills to students took time for me to adjust to and feel comfortable with. But then I had a great supportive team to turn to when I needed a second opinion; I relied on their immense experience to tackle certain training challenges and for finding the best solution that worked with my teaching style. Unlike what I had expected, I started loving the challenges and rewards of teaching students (not to forget the chocolates I would be treated to by some of them !), of rediscovering myself as a professional and as an individual.
Before the end of the season I left Barefoot Scuba and Andamans for personal reasons. I have to confess that several times I had doubts as to my decision and thought of returning. Instead I chose to trek and travel for few months before joining another diving company that stationed me in the Lakshadweep islands initially. Little did I know I would meet my ex-colleagues and see the emerald islands again, soon after Lakshadweep, only in a different role and at a different location.
That is a separate story after all…..
