By Harsh Thakor
In 1988 on August 22nd, I became the 16th Indian to swim the English Channel and in this work I am summing up the challenge involved and how its experience or training for it has so many similarities with that of a the life of a Marxist[1] or social revolutionary. On 75th anniversary of Independence in Sport perhaps India has done itself prouder at the English Channel than anyone else. Above all the Indian woman have qualitatively overshadowed the Indian men at the Channel, as well as many an underdog from the lower echelons of society have transcended this barrier by countering the current.
Few feats are as daunting as swimming the English Channel. It is not only about the distance but
confronting the bitter cold and the most powerful currents. I can never forget the grueling hours I spent in acclimatizing myself to the conditions before swimming it, like all the Channel Swimmers. The feat literally takes mental resilience or tenacity to its highest scale of intensity. It reminds one of meditation. virtually making a swimmer touch the core of his soul. The experience of skimming through the choppy sea is like exhibiting poetry in motion.
Till today 1881 swimmers have swum the English Channel, with 63 percent male, and 37 percent female. Overall 2,428 solo swim shave been accomplished.
There is an abject or striking similarity in the mindset, mental tenacity or resilience of revolutionaries striving for liberation, with the task of swimming the English Channel. Revolutionary experiences the same twists and turns as a swimmer when crossing the Channel as well as traverses tortuous paths as hazardous as the choppiest seas of the English Channel. The changes in the tides or weather remind us of the journey or path of life or a revolutionary movement itself, with its' incredible twists and turns or change in fortunes. Few feats are more a manifestation of spiritual energy or an expression of the soldier will to overcome a barrier. It reminds one of the ups and down seven of the life of a revolutionary or a movement in terms of reviving from dire straits. The very battle with the water is reminiscence of the struggle of life or within a revolutionary movement itself, not only to reach a goal but to survive against all odds. In fact I find a perfect symmetry between the struggle of a Marxist or social revolutionary with that of a Channel swimmer not only in the waters but in actual life itself. The transition period of someone evolving into a Channel swimmer could make a book in itself. Above all a Channel swim gives a sportsman the sense of oneness and detachment, traversing in the realms of divinity. The Channel swimmer takes spirit of relentlessness or self-realisation to unscaled heights or unparalleled proportions, just like a political revolutionary confronting an enemy. The intensity of hurt, pain and agony is scaled in equal magnitude between a channel swimmer and a revolutionary. No challenges are more a battle with one’s own self. Witnessing the sheer consistency of a swimmer in a channel crossing is a spectacle itself.
Less people have swum the English Channel than climbed Mount Everest. Only one in every twelve who attempt to cross it, succeed. It is ironic that many an Olympic swimmer has failed when attempting it. In the ultimate analysis more than anything a swimmer wins a battle with himself.
A channel swimmer is not the most talented, physically strong or athletic person but one who can simply challenge the most fatal hurdles However laboriously he has practiced the actual swim brings out the biggest test of will power and inner spirit. In many ways the swim reminds you of the course of life itself, confronting the various barriers. One moment you are cruising along effortlessly like a swan caressing the water, the next moment you felt you were almost imprisoned by the stormy waves or currents. It is hard to find an adjective describing the sheer flux in my movements during my channel swim, like a storm intervening on the sunniest of days. Few tasks posses that inherent element of unpredictability or mysteriousness as the Channel. Arguably in no other sport does a person transcend spiritual regions in such depth. There are no set training methods for swimming the English Channel or prescribed diet. The workouts and diet have to be diagnosed in accordance with the unique characteristic s of each swimmer. To some it is ideal to practice in the cold water of the rivers and the lakes, to others the swimming pool. Similarly some swimmers are more suited to long distance training, while others are suited to interval training, where sets are broken.
It’s a Treacherous stretch of water, one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. Those who swim these 21.5 miles must accept that o the way they will swim through sewage, oil slicks and patches of seaweed. They know that the brine will make their tongues and throats swell, making breathing difficult. They know that if enough salt water gets into the stomach, they may throw up. They know that they will have to fight the Channel’s micro-climate, caused by being sandwiched between 2 water bodies. They know that they must battle the tides that come and go every 6 hours. Everyone has heard of the swimmer who has been in the water for 10 hours with he French Coast close at hand only to be pulled away by a flood tide. Dangers include the cold, jellyfish, sewage, seaweed, ships, adverse weather and floating debris.
But on the chilly morning that I first dipped my body into the Channel, I realised that for a boy from the subcontinent, it was going to be a battle with the temperature. After a few hours in the water even the best swimmers become confused and are unable to respond to simple questions from the Escort pilot, lips turn blue, bodies shake uncontrollably. Adrian Moorhouse, a British Olympic Champ, fresh from the Barcelona Games, lasted only for two and a half hours. Quoting Adrian Moorhose.’When I first entered the Channel and attempted to swim I thought I was going to drown. The cold completely knocked the wind out of me. I could not catch my breath. I was bringing up bile and I had a blinding headache. “Long Distance Swimming is a prolonged state of mind. It is you against the elements. It is a real explorer’s job. You think about keeping your stroke –rate going. You do not think of anything else till something touches your foot. Sprint Swimmers do not realize how hard it is. I may have been an Olympic Champion but I terms of the Channel, I am a nobody and I have to respect that. ”I virtually rose as the first chilly green waves and made contact.”
In history I am amazed how people have overcome all odds to achieve this glory, be it it a physical handicap, disease or a psychological trauma. It is most important the reasons for which every swimmer swum the Channel, which could be like chapters of a book. It is incredible to read about how a channel swim has transformed the entire life of persons, or virtually infused a new spirit. I was very happy to read that so many swam the channel to raise charities.
Some of the most intriguing or heart touching autobiographical books has been written on Swimming the English Channel. I recommend everyone to read the autobiography of the youngest ever in 1988 by Tom Gregory and first woman swimmer Gertrude Ederle. Rarely does one ever feel as much oneness with the very characters.
Above all a Channel swim gives a sportsman the sense of oneness and detachment, traversing in the realms of divinity. The Channel swimmer takes spirit of relentlessness to unscaled heights just like a political revolutionary.
It is also worth mentioning that the best achievements of women have overshadowed that of men. Alison Streeter has swum the Channel a record 43 times, including a non –stop 3 way swim.
I visualize or experience
how even applying dialectics of Mao Zedong thought can create a successful
Channel crossing. In many ways swimming the Channel had the same ingredients as
the long March led by the Chinese Communist party in 1935.Although being
involved with revolutionary activism morally supporting Marxism-Leninism my
swimming experience had more spiritual overtones. I remember even leftist
activists asking me what a fantastic experience it was to swim the Channel. At
the time when I accomplished the feat I was not so inspired towards
revolutionary ideology as in earlier times, but a series of events rekindled my
spirit into the fold of the revolutionary movement. I see a dialectical link
between my inclination towards Mao Zedong thought and swimming the Channel, and
how in turn my swimming the Channel paved the way to my pursuit of Mao thought.
I can't forget the conflicts in my mind in the year before crossing the
channel, on the personal and political level. There was a continuous heated
debate within me about the legitimacy of Socialism in USSR in Joseph Stalin's
era, on Perestroika, on the Role of Gandhi in independence etc.
To be continued=>
[1] Of Karl Marx or of Marx and VI Lenin.
No comments:
Post a Comment