CHENNAI: If the mercury levels near the Temple Cove in Mamallapuram went through the roof on a bright Sunday morning, it was still not on par with the soaring spirit that the surfers exhibited while attacking the waves. Despite the waves being a tad shorter than on Saturday, heat after heat of surfers handling the waves played out to the delight of the gathered surfing community. “The waves are only rising to about four feet today, compared to a good five-odd feet yesterday,” estimated Cedric, a French surfer who took part in the championship. “But that hasn’t stopped us from having a blast.” With surfers hitting the beach from as early as 6.30 am, unbelievably early after a late Saturday night, a lot of sunscreen lotion and cold water was passed around to beat the heat. “We’re just about as sunburned as we can be,” grinned an almost red Rob Partridge, the joint organiser of the Ocean and Earth Surfing Championship. It was quite evident that all the boys from the local villages, visitors to Mamallapuram and a large number of expats and tourists were treated to a spectacle that most of them had not expected to see.The event had its positive spin-off. “Today alone I’ve had to turn away more than 15 people who want to have a surfing lesson here and have made appointments for next week,” said Mukesh, the local surf-instructor. This was one of the most important reasons for holding the carnival, added Dave, another organiser-surfer. “We want Indian kids to realise what a cool sport surfing is and get involved in it.”While the foreigners in the competition, mostly from Auroville, had a good outing at the championship, the participants from Kerala, Vizag, Bhubaneshwar and Mangalore did not ride their boards enough to surf into the final rounds, but that didn’t quite matter, they said collectively. Andy, who has been surfing for four years off the coast of Vizag, opined, “Just being here with all these guys is great. The spirit of surfing is totally alive here.” He also mentioned how this meet had spurred him on to think of organising a surf meet in Vizag next month. “The waves back home are humongous compared to here and it will be awesome!” he exclaimed.Dylan Imhoff (14), said, “I took a month to learn how to surf, after going out on the waves everyday.” He added, for those who are inhibited to learn, “In your first class, I guarantee you will be standing on a board in half an hour, so it really isn’t all that tough.”The demand for surfing has seen a massive spurt over the last year in particular, agreed both the Surfing Swami and Mukesh. “These days I handle as many as four classes per week for interested Indians. The expats usually just rent boards from us,” he explained, adding that he charges anywhere between `500-700 for an hour-and-a-half surf session. Safety is the catchword. “But I give them the theory of how to handle a fall, play them a safety video and then brief them before taking them into the water,” he informed. Weak swimmers are discouraged from surfing unless they can pick up their breaststrokes.“There is a hell of a lot of potential for surfing in India, considering the number of beaches here,” said the swami, who went on to explain that some of the world’s best surfers from Bali were of Indian origin; “all it took was years of practice and love for the waves.” Tamil Nadu and Kerala have some of the best swimmers in the country and should produce real world-class surfers in the next few years, says the grizzly old surf guru. “Remember, India can excel in more than just cricket,” he said with a crooked grin.Even as the sun went down and the surfboards were being carried inland, there was consensus that this event was just the beginning. “Next time we’re sure it’s only going to get bigger and better,” said Dave, before the little surf trophies were handed out at Shanti Cafe, these surfers’ preferred haunt. “There’s a term we use in the surfing world called ‘Stoke’,” elucidated the swami. “It’s like the spirit and karma that every surfer ought to have. So if you ask me if these lads here (in Mamallapuram) have it, I’d say YES.”
Comments
0 comment