By Harsh Thakor
LEGACY OF
ARATI SAHA
Arati Saha is amongst the most legendary woman in Indian sport’s history. She deserves a biography written about her. She received her main inspiration from swimmer Brojen Das. She excelled in the National swimming competitions and was given great assistance and encouragement by Mihir Sen. Aarti took part in long distance swimming competitions in the Ganges. On 29th September 1959 she became the 1st Indian woman to make a successful Channel crossing. She failed on her first attempt but brilliantly resurrected herself to triumph in the end. To practice Arti used to train for eight hours in the pool at Deshbandu park. Later she went on to do a 16 hour swim.
On 24 July 1959, she
left for England along with her manager Dr. Arun Gupta. She started her final
practice in the English Channel on the 13 August. During this time, she was
mentored by Dr. Bimal Chandra, who was also participating at the 1959 Butlin
International Cross Channel Swimming Race.
A total of 58
participants including five women from 23 countries took part in the
competition. The race was scheduled for 27 August 1959 at 1 am local time
from Cape Gris Nez France to Sandgate, England. However, the pilot boat of
Arati Saha did not arrive in time. She had to start 40 minutes later and lost
the optimum condition. By 11 am, she had swum more than 40 miles and came
within 5 miles of the England coast. At that point she faced a strong current
from the opposite direction. As a result, by 4 pm, she could only swim about
two more miles. While she was still determined to carry on, she had to quit.
In spite of the
failure, Arati was determined not to give up. She prepared herself for a second
attempt. Her manager Dr. Arun Gupta was ill, but she carried on with her practice.
On 29 September 1959, she made her second attempt. Starting from France, she
swam for 16 hours and 20 minutes, battling tough waves and covered 42 miles to
reach England. On reaching the coast of England, she hoisted the Indian flag.
To be continued=>
Pix by The
Hindu.
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