Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara… An iconic movie revolving around an iconic trio. A movie about the trio’s journey of experiencing and tackling the various ups and downs of life. Visually enticing their journey through picturesque Spain was a bonus. A movie which is my wife’s all-time favourite, I’ve watched that movie so many times that I’ve lost count. This movie added scuba diving to her bucket list, who is a passionate swimmer.
The poem recited by Farhan Akhtar’s character after the scuba diving scene was elusive to me. I could never grasp the meaning of it. That is until I experienced scuba diving myself.
To strike off one of the items from her bucket list, my wife planned a weekend getaway to Devbag, a bustling touristy village near Malvan, on the southern coast of Maharashtra. Devbag and her twin sister Tarkali are known for their water sports activities, especially scuba diving. This village is sandwiched between 2 water bodies, the calm and composed Karli River on one side and the feisty Arabian Sea on the other.
2nd day of the trip was reserved exclusively for scuba diving. We booked the activity with Heramb Scuba Diving, a local team of divers who knew the best spots to go scuba diving. The air was thick with excitement. I think it was the humidity, but who cares, I was excited.
I can’t swim. Forget backstroke and butterfly stroke, I couldn’t dog paddle even if my life depended on it. If I fell in the water I would just sink to the bottom like a stone. I do fear drowning and hence I have a healthy respect for the water bodies. But that day was different. I felt no fear. I was high as a happy kite, with excitement, just from the idea of going underwater and exploring a new world altogether, a different dimension of our planet.
Our boat ride was 15 minutes, a fun roller coaster ride. We reached the diving spot and the scuba diving instructor started explaining the dos and don’ts. I was like an impatient kid at a toy store just waiting for my mom to give me permission to pick up my favorite toy and start playing with it.
Ohhh… by the way did I tell you that my mom also joined us on this trip. And she did scuba diving… at the age of 70… She was apprehensive at first, but my wife, ever the sweet loving daughter-in-law, persuaded her to experience it, which she did and loved every moment of it. The rest of the visitors were in awe of her.
Now back to the topic… At last, the instructor finished his spiel and instructed us to get in the water one after the other. Weights were tied around my waist as I stood on the last rung of the ladder. Then went on the oxygen cylinders with the vest, on my back. And let me tell you, those things are heavy. It’s like carrying a teen on your back. Slowly I stepped off the rung and let go of the ladder. My vest was filled with air, so I was floating, and learning to breathe through the oxygen mask. The water was lukewarm and pleasant. Once I gave the OK signal, the diver took me underwater.
I was transported into an extraordinary world, to an alien and exotic universe where I was surrounded by different shades of turquoise. The thing that hit me hard and fast was the deafening silence. The only sound I could hear was my breathing through the oxygen mask. Akin to Lord Darth Vader’s breathing.
The divers carried some food to attract the fish and we were swarmed by a pool of yellow-green fishes. I was so spellbound by this experience that I forgot to ask the diving team, the name of the fish. The divers took me to a depth of 40 feet where I saw the red and black coral reef. There were a few statues and other pieces laid at the bottom for the corals to form their colonies.
The part that mesmerized me the most was neither the exotic fish nor the coral reef. It was the lack of sound, complete silence. Though surrounded by other divers and visitors, I felt truly alone. Now I understand the meaning of the phrase “being alone in a crowded room”. I experienced solitude in its true nature, and I fell in love with it. It felt like I was in a transparent cocoon, detached from the rest of the world, a cocoon which neither had a top nor a bottom. My mind was empty of its usual clutter. I was like a sponge just absorbing this new experience synonymous with meditative silence.
I was underwater for 15-20 minutes after which I had to surface back. As soon as I hit the surface and took off my mask, I was lambasted with all the sounds around me. It was like a punch in my gut and I wanted to escape back to my cocoon, back to my silent turquoise world. I climbed back on the ladder, took off the oxygen cylinder and got back in the boat. It took me a moment to steady myself, especially after experiencing the weightlessness underwater. I sat quietly reminiscing about this new mind-blowing experience.
I could finally grasp the meaning of Farhan Aktar’s poem from the movie.
“Pighlay neelam sa behta hua yeh samaan
Neeli si khamoshiyaan
Na kahin hai zameen
Na kahin aasmaan
Sarsaraati huyi tehniyaan, pattiyaan
Keh rahi hain ki bas ek tum ho yahaan
Sirf main hoon meri saansein hain aur meri dhadkanein
Aisi gehraiyaan
Aisi tanhaiyaan
Aur main sirf main
Apne honay pe mujhko yaqeen aa gaya”
This poem beautifully encompasses the experience of being submerged underwater and how it forces us to acknowledge our existence by detaching ourselves from the world around us. In the rat race that is our daily life, we just go with the flow, we live day to day sometimes without any aim or direction. In our daily struggle, we forget who we are, what we need and what we want.
We need to pause, take a step back… Breathe… Re-orient and then move on…