HAIL the SAIL

Way back in the fifties, when I was staying in Ulsoor, close to my office, I was fascinated by the Ulsoor Lake, one of the biggest lakes in Bengaluru, spread over 123 acres with several islands in it. It was a picturesque recreation area and the available boating facilities was an additional attraction. It gave me ample opportunity to develope my navigating skills in manovering the oars and sailing around the large lake. The beautiful islands inside the lake gave excellent resting ground for me to relax and enjoy the scenery. Within a few weeks I was able to master the art of handling the oars with my left and right hands and also gain speed and direction in cruising around the lake for hours together on holidays. I perfected the basics of taking advantage of the current being in my favour when the wind is not, or vice versa. Sailing between wind and water in the open lake was indeed a real challenge, because it's life or death. It was a strenuous excercise and a great source of relaxation. I even took some of my friends on sight-seeing voyages around the lake. No doubt, the strain of carrying a passenger was compensated by the pleasure of company and the scope for relaxation in the islands. Never before in my life, have I experienced such thrill and fear at the same time.I cannot forget those wonderful experiences of those times.

Later in the seventies, when we were picnicking in Mahabaleshwar hills, the boating facilites at the lake there, provoked my latent skill to embark on a solo boating trip in the lake, to the astonishment of my office colleagues and staff. When I was about to disembark, some of my office staff forced me to take them all for a small ride and it was such a strain to navigate all of them in the lake, sometimes against the current, and to bring them all back safe and aground. What a wonderful day it was.

Again in the Nineties, the small lake near the Recreation Hall at my office at Bhandara was inducing me to take part in my languishing pastime. There was a small boat anchored but almost abandoned as no one was interested in using the facility. I was able to restart the boating, to the surprise of my colleagues, and sailed around the lake wading through all its weeds and lotus flowers. The lake was un-used to boating events and the acquatic life was accustomed to a peaceful period for a long time. A long water-snake was curious about the strange event and was following me during the entire cruise. Some water-birds, living quite an undisturbed life in their settlements, were surprised to find suddenly, a boat intruding into their area. The alarmed birds were diving inside the water and emerging elsewhere far away from my boat. What a lovely experience it was. I cannot forget the day when I took my wife and son for a gliding sojourn in the boat, pulling a few lotus flowers on the way back to the shores.

Before the advent of 21st century, my unabating desire to navigate the boat found another chance in picturesque SAPUTARA Hill Resort in Gujarat perched on a plateau at an altitude of about 1000m in the Dang forest area of the Sahyadari, a wild-life resort, where we encountered another chance for a boat-ride in the lake. While the tourists were excited about the boating in the lake, they were apprehensive about an old retired man taking over the oars. I was not allowed to try my hands in the navigation of the boat. Almost throughout the ride, I was sitting restless and unhappy. It was the opposite current in the lake that decided my chance. The boat-man was finding it difficult to propel the boat with oars against the current, carrying many passengers. I grabbed the chance to lend a helping hand. It was not a smooth affair and with great difficulty, we managed to sail ashore. It was the last time that my skill was put into use.

Eventhough I had memorble sailing experiences of all varieties,{cruise to motor-boats} mostly on mechanised sails, none was comparable to the thrill of a solo-self-navigating sailing delight of manovering with an oar in each of my hands, propelling the boat backwards, keeping an eye behind me, sailing with or against the current, witnessing un-seen acquatic life styles at close quarters,or simply lie down in the floating boat and stare at the sky while gliding through the placid waters..

" The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving - we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it - but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor."