Discovery of the Unknown Lakes: Stand-Up Paddle Boarding in the Lakes of Chennai - Part 2: The Hustle

After discovering what I wanted to do and why I wanted to do it, then what to and what not to do, I started focusing on how to do it. I went about laying the groundwork of Paddle for Future – on how to improve paddling skills, how to establish a bridge to the people, how to make my passion a viable business model, how to brand the initiative, and how to reach people via media. I would write one media article every month, so that we don’t fade out of relevance.

The article in the Hindu – Lakes Lost and Found. It was amazing to read, and really highlighted my work. I realized why they say the pen is mightier than the sword; I started blogging my experiences one at a time. The reach of the article was huge, and I started getting a lot of calls from interested people.

The Chronology

In August, I went to Thanjavur, wherein I had a near-death experience, taught me the importance of safety.

In September, I had the opportunity to go to one of the most beautiful wetlands in between Pondicherry and Chennai – Kaliveli. I have crossed this a multitude of times, but it took me until 2015 to actually paddle in it. However, as much as I would have loved to stand-up paddle in the huge body of water besides the mangroves in a literal bird sanctuary, the presence of large sandbars meant that the water bed was undulating and the waters were super shallow. A proper SUP session could not happen when I went there.

Having grown up in the Chola capital of Thanjavur and being fascinated and inspired by the great Chola kings who discovered the naval route of exploration, I turned my attention overseas. In October, I went on an expedition to Langkawi, where I encountered another safety issue. I paddled alone from one island to another, with no life jacket. The limestone corals in the waters were sharp, and I didn’t have much knowledge about the practical implications of high and low tides. Thankfully it was high tide when I reached the uninhabited island, for if it had been low tide, the corals would have punctured my board and I would have been stranded.

After Langkawi, I understood that all backwaters, all oceans, and all rivers won’t be the same. In the next month, November, I went to Srinagar. At Dal Lake, it was less about paddling and more about the geography of the Kashmir region. The next week, I went to Srilanka, where I paddled in the Madu Ganga estuary.

All this while I was basking in the glory of my previous stand-up paddling records, but nothing like

Nature to quickly humble me. Every paddling expedition that I had set out smug, I would have either narrowly escaped from or made a mistake from which I needed help being rescued. This wasn’t a healthy sustainable approach; I needed confidence through and through. At Srilanka, the waters where I paddled had lots of crocodiles. Although I had obtained the numbers of all rescue officials, it was still a rescue situation. In the same month, I stand-up paddled in River Nuanai, Odisha.

In a short period I covered all types of water bodies: lakes, estuaries, seas, high-altitude lakes, rivers, wetlands, and so on, and documented the sensitivity of the geography. At Srinagar, I faced a lot of security issues for my paddle board. At Srilanka, my paddleboard was mistaken for a pipe bomb; an incident was averted because my name was Google-searchable as a stand-up paddler. I thanked my stars for the branding I had done for myself which literally helped me out of a sticky situation.

At the time, I was with Bay of Life, handling the SUP division. However, that was at the sea, and I wished to establish a setup where I would have access to large swathes of inland water. My team and I went back to Kaliveli and then to Odiyur Lake at Mudalairkuppam. This time, it was with the intent of more than recon, it was to scale. As I have experienced in most cases, it’s not about the place but about the people at the place. The waters of Kaliveli were shallow, but even more than that, it was a fishing area, and although paddling could be arranged, I didn’t want to disturb the fisherfolk of the place. If I were to establish a school there, I would risk running into issues with them in the longer run, and thus I ruled out the possibility. I realized – we couldn’t paddle in the sea waters nor in the polluted backwaters.

Then it happened, the 2015 floods. A horrible, horrible, nightmare. We quickly put our paddleboards to work, enabling rescue and relief. The importance of team play cannot be overstated.

The Grind

Once the flood receded, I realized that all the lakes would be full, as the rain waters and floodwaters would find their natural home. This was a golden opportunity to go discover and paddle in all the lakes that I couldn’t otherwise. That’s when we discovered a hidden lake and christened it Lat 12 40, based on its geographic coordinates. I specifically chose the name 12-40, as there were so many lakes in that region within 2 to 3 kilometers of the other. The lakes were all used for irrigation purposes. There were many neatly arranged fields and waterways in the backdrop of the hills. I always wished that my native Thanjavur was in the backdrop of a mountain range, and I could see my vision here.

I trained a kid at Vengaivasal Lake, he was at school back then. After that I had sessions at both Srikundram (Ponniyin Selvan) Lake and Periya Putheri (Bhajrangi Bhaijan) Lake. One day, when I had a session with a family, we lost one of the visitor’s specs and the paddle. When I went into a paddle rescue mission, one adult slipped into the waters, and another adult was stuck in the waters. I  had to do a triage, and somehow rescued all the people first, then I took my snorkel and went into the waters to rescue the items. That’s when I saw the beauty of the undersurface of the lake.

In March 2016, I discovered Lake Kolavai. This was a huge lake I have seen since childhood. It is the only freshwater lake which is perennial.

I then went along with a colleague to Mahindra City. I thought of establishing a school there, as I found a lot of retired people. However, once I stepped into Kolavai I realized the lake was super polluted. To the south of the lake all sewage, medical waste etc were stagnated. It was not the ideal place for SUP training. In April, we discovered Sonalur Lake, near Thaiyyur, a semi-perennial freshwater lake. While I could not make any immediate plans for paddling there, I definitely plan to revisit it sometime soon, or in infamous corporate jargon – I’ll circle back to it.

Mid-April, the days started becoming hotter, and Lake Bhajrangi Bhaijan started getting dry, so I shifted Stand-Up Paddle sessions to Lake Ponniyin Selvan. But it was only a matter of time before this dries up as well, and while the season wasn’t exactly the best to find lakes overflowing with water, I wasn’t ready to give up. That’s when I discovered Lake Kayar, which I christened Lake Kundavai. It was amazing. It was behind the Singaperumalkovil, RF. The levee was very beautiful. However, as expected, the water was quite less than it would be in monsoon. It was here where Shakthi learnt to stand-up paddle. It wasn’t a cakewalk though, the structure of the lake made it difficult for launching and to conduct discover Stand-Up Paddle sessions in general. Despite very little scope for urbanization, the proximity to people and settlements made navigating a little difficult, thus I did not proceed. However, the possibility is not closed forever. Again, I hope to circle-back.

The peak of summer notwithstanding, I paused my discovery of new lakes for two months, only to pick it up at Gurgaon, the place where I then worked. I started developing a community of people who wanted to Stand-Up Paddle regularly, and explore different lakes. In Gurgaon, there is a huge potential for water sports, but there is no infrastructure, as the closest river Yamuna is not that close, and is also heavily polluted. I looked at the map and identified six lakes, of which I crossed out five. I paddled in an abandoned quarry in ASOLA wildlife sanctuary – it’s a very thrilling experience with the threat of leopards frequenting.

In July, I was posted at Rajamundhry, and so I utilized that opportunity to paddle and create a world record at River Godavari. I then went to Uttarakhand and paddled in the Sattal lake.

July ends, and back home, I went once more to the community lake near my place. I wished to train my son, who was 6 at the time, to become the youngest stand-up paddler.

I was called to paddle at a community lake at Perungulathur - Lake Abdul Kalam, by the area Councillor. Although the lake was a super polluted lake, they were in the process of purifying it. The Councillor being a very proactive person, he wanted to introduce water sports in the lake. I went there with a friend from the BBC, and this was covered in the press. By now I had a close knit community of people from almost all walks of life who aligned with PFF’s goals and ideas.

Lake Ponniyin Selvan became bone-dry in 2017 due to monsoon failure in 2016. I went to the community lake in Perungudi. The lake was cleared of all sewage, it had a decent launching point, but then, it was in the middle of the city, and it would not provide the aesthetic necessary for a SUP experience. People come from the concrete jungle in hopes of seeing elements of Nature, and to see not just buildings again but to see their reflection as well would be a bummer.

In February 2017, I went to Mhadei Wildlife sanctuary in Goa where I met a friend with whom I discussed business plans and blueprints. 8 years later, I had a similar conversation with Jehan of Bay of Life, as they plan to establish Surf and paddle school. Later in 2017, I went on a once in a lifetime experience to an expedition in the River Ganges. I can go on and on about it, but suffice to say, I returned from the expedition as a much different person.

The Discovery of all Discoveries

It was the 13^th of May, 2018. The date I discovered Lake Shakthi. A freshwater lake, I found out that it was very close to my place. It had everything I needed in an ideal location for a Stand-Up Paddle session – connectivity, launching area, ambience, depth, the water – it was just amazing. The discovery of this lake redefined the entire PFF program and expanded the community.

From 2015 to mid-2017, lots of R n D was going on to figure out all the logistics for PFF. As I write this, I look back at all the hard work we have done in literally every step of the way. If today an expedition can be planned and executed almost flawlessly, it is because of all the planning, grinding, and actually getting our hands dirty back then.

Like Rome, Paddle For Future was built on all the exploration, patience, and hard work over time.

To be continued...