Make a pact with the waves

Get an adrenaline surge gliding to the shore on a wave's crest with salt spray in your face

The first time Tushar Pathiyan(21) rode the swell of a wavelying on his surfboard, he hadan epiphany. Nothing, herealised, would ever top whathe felt just then. "You always rememberyour first wave," says the third-yeararchitecture student of ManipalUniversity, Karnataka. "At that time,nothing else mattered. It was just me,my board and the ocean."

A short distance away, his friendIshita Malaviya (21) let out a shortwhoop. The waves rose and fell betweenthe two beginners, and their instructorspaddled on their surfboards closeby, watching them with a hawk eye.

That night, Malaviya got what shecalls the 'surfer's dream'. "Everyonewho tries it for the first time gets thedream. You feel like you're riding a wavethroughout." Pathiyan agrees. He gotthe dream too. That's when the duodecided to sell off whatever they couldlay their hands on to buy themselves asecond-hand board.

Malaviya sold the old sewing machineback home in Mumbai and got hermother to wire her the money. Pathiyansold his gym equipment. "I sold my AbKing Pro," he says, sounding only a littlesorry about it. "Surfing is nothingshort of an entire body workout -- bythe end of it you don't realise just howtired you've got," Pathiyan says. "That'sprobably because you're too busy havingpure fun," says Malaviya.

Armed with a second-hand board,the duo and a few friends started visitingthe Ashram Surf Retreat close by,where the Indian and American devoteeresidents double as surfboardinstructors.Two years later, their small grouphas grown to a bunch of serious surfers,who slip in an hour or two of surfingbefore classes every day, and a wholeSunday morning worth of wave ridingand paddling on surfboards.

Searching for the Surf
Kirtan Kumar (22) is one of the devoteesof the Ashram at Mulki (nearMangalore) who teaches kids how tosurf. He and his brother were taughtthe sport when they were adolescentsby the guru instrumental in setting upthe ashram, Swami Bhakti GauravaNarasingha. "When I first saw the foreignerssurf, I was blown away," saysKumar. "When you surf, your mind iscompletely relaxed. It's not going in amillion directions." Kumar travelled allalong the east coast with his guru insearch of good surf. For two years, theystayed at Mahabalipuram, leaving shortlybefore the tsunami struck. They travelledall the way down to Kanyakumariand then came back up towards theeast coast to Mulki, where they startedsurfing lessons in 2008.

Daruka Dasa, a devotee who used togo by the name Dustin Ellison beforehe left San Diego four years ago, isanother instructor. "When we started,there were more foreign backpackersthan Indians who came to learn. Butthe numbers have grown steadily. Tilldate, we've taught close to 60 Indians,"he says.

Daruka has surfed in many placesaround the world and says that theIndian coastline is an undiscovered minefor surfers. "Especially in the monthsleading up to the monsoons and themonths that immediately follow it, thesea is spectacular. The water is clear,the waves are comparable to anythingI've seen in California." For a beginnerthough, the months from November toApril are good to get their feet wet inthe sport. "It's best to stay away duringthe monsoons, because the wavesare choppy and crash faster. So there'snot much to surf on," says Pathiyan.

Overcome your fear
But for a beginner, even the manageablewaves of the rest of the year canbe scary. "When I first started, I wasthwacked around a lot," laughsMalaviya. "I came up with many bruises,but that's because I couldn't controlmy board." With time, he says, "you andthe board become one."

Pathiyan admits big waves still scarehim. But the trick is to always staycalm. "You can't fight the waves, so it'suseless trying to resist the sea."

Now the duo regard their surf timeas nothing less than playtime -- andhave come up with their own ways ofstaying safe in the sea. Like never goingalone into the sea but only in a group.They've also learnt to respect the sea,the underwater life and the beach. Theyreap their rewards when after a goodfour-hour session of riding the wavesthey stop paddling to watch the dolphinsswim into the horizon.

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