Exploring Palk Bay: A Conservation Adventure through Stand up Paddle boarding in Tamilnadu
- Kumaran Geopaddler
- Mar 11, 2017
- 5 min read
Updated: May 25
One cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.
In search of my Vitamin Sea, I started towards the NGO OMCAR (Organization for Marine Conservation Awareness and Research) Palk Bay Conservation Centre in the southeastern coastal state, Pattukottai, Thanjavur District. It was to create awareness about stand-up paddling and to challenge and change the slant our society has on conserving water bodies to develop water sports.
Palk Strait lies in between India and Sri Lanka. It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast near Tamil Nadu with the Palk Bay and thence with the Gulf of Mannar in the southwest, the northernmost part of Sri Lanka. This shallow enclosed water body is ornamented with seagrass beds and mangroves on the northern side, which serve as a habitat for a diverse array of sea life, supporting local fishery and also protecting the fragile ecosystems of this region.
My morning of March 13th, 2017 started with packing my paddleboards and the camping set on my favorite vehicle with a schedule to start by afternoon to this wonderful place near my hometown Thanjavur. Ready, set, go, and, I ventured on my journey with a drive on the bypass road with stunning views of nature radiating different shades of its color on us. A drive sounds nice down the lonely road with music on, drowning in my own thoughts on the preparation for the next day at the beautiful coast. I reached this place at 9 pm where Mr. Balaji, director of OMCAR, greeted me and introduced the place, the student group from the mountains, and the plan for the next day.
The group of NFLC (Nilgiris Field Learning Centre) students, who were part of Western Ghats tribal youth, was traveling there for the first time and had never had any experience on the ocean, and that stirred my soul to train them in paddling sport. After a wonderful dinner, I went for a walk to the beach with the moonlight. Just the moonlight. I could hear ocean to ocean, full heart to full heart, clear quiet mind, blossoming with light with trees dancing sway insatiably exposing invisible secrets. Enjoyed the peaceful night's sleep there at the center.
Paddle! Paddle! Paddle!
It was a miraculous sunny day to set out for paddling in the beautiful shallow water body. The weather was perfect with the sun rising, burnt orange skies with a crystal calm sea ahead of us. I gave a brief instruction to Balaji and the tribal youth on paddling and taught them the do’s and don't s. Balaji and I started on different paddleboards that I carried from Chennai and gushed into the glistening sea.
Land lesson and Introduction of Stand Up Paddle boarding to Omcar Staff and Locals by Kumaran Mahalingam
We both came back and I started training the tribal youth again and cheered them on to paddle in the magnificent waters that we could not see anywhere in the south. Enjoying the stinging sea salt on my lips, I set the students on my paddleboard, instructed them to first lie on the board and paddle with their hands and then sit to use the real paddle. The group was so terrified by this tremendous experience and showed their interest in learning this sport in the new horizon. We also had the native children of the village with big eyes roam through their dream that carries smiles of unrest hauntingly beautiful and dark, enjoying the paddling.
Never stand still. Move in a direction even if you crash or fall.
With an impressive experience and involvement from the youths, we ended the session and came back to the centre for refreshments, moving on to the next plan for the day. I had brought a few presentations on my recent expedition in Ganges to demonstrate to the team the necessity of conserving the water bodies and took them through the basics of the expeditions and a light touch on geo-basics. Well, time was running out and we had no stopwatch to stop it. All the eyes were fixed on the screen with complete absence of sound. We took a break for a healthy tea by the cook at the centre.
Balaji gave a short presentation about the Organization – the foundation is a registered non-profit organization working on coastal ecosystem conservation issues through public awareness, research targeting the youths and children of the fisherfolk community. They work on ecological mangrove restoration, children's environmental education programs, and also fisherwomen empowerment programs with research programs on mangroves, seagrass meadows by providing internship programs for both national and international research students to explore the natural resources of coastal and adjacent areas with field trips.
The Greatness… It does not come in big packages, it is, that small little steps and small little things you do with your heart !!!
We had a great session followed by a fulfilling lunch prepared by the cook. Had a good rest in the afternoon. Evening started with a group picture. A picture is worth a thousand words. I have these pictures in my head that give me a road map to the life I want to have. We left again for the paddling, this time with one of the Palk center security Muthu who is a native fisherman. The sea as I close my eyes.. and in I breathe the salty air, of summer breeze.. the sound of waves kissing the shore, as crabs scuttle.. Oh the beauty, where the sea meets land.. I went paddling again and this time with a snorkeling kit. The sea was muddy, so we could not take any photos. Back to the shore, my heart ripped out by the breeze and was carried away miles of the wind, driving me insane. I spent some quality time interviewing Muthu on how fishing helps their community and he gave clear insights about it.
Stand up Paddle boarding in Tamilnadu
The next session on camping at the Center; I started the session late evening with my camping kit ready for the training and a live demo. The students were trained with the basics of camping by explaining the kit displayed and the technique to assemble the camping tent. The basic requirements for good camping were also taught. The learning session ended with a group activity by splitting the students into two different groups and making them assemble and dismantle the camping tent. It was an energetic and active knowledge-sharing session at the end of the day.
The sun sees your body and the moon sees your soul, was a perfect closing for the day and I went to bed with a content soul with the moon watching above me.
The next morning, admiring the way the light of the early dawn merges with the dying darkness, I made my walk to the sea to paddle. This time, the entire group of students and the kids from the village accompanied me. I saw my vision of the quest to learn paddling in the eyes of each and every student present that morning with me which filled my soul with unexplained pleasure. Every student did the paddling with me with more confidence than the previous day. It gave me immense delight that I have am on the right track to achieving my purpose of creating awareness of the importance of water sports, though to a smaller group, but I believe that this was going to reach heights. I also paddled with the village kids who showed deep interest to paddle, as this shallow water body is a part of their family.
The minutes turned to hours and soon, it was time to get started back to Chennai. Sea water flows and with the sunshine it glows, adventure follows! Deep from my heart looking at her “Sea you Soon”
Watch our video on Stand up Paddle Exploration in Palk Bay here.
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