The weekend

Day 3 and Day 4 fell on a weekend. Weekend meant more people, I thought. Apart from the regulars there were other people who had come to the pool to swim.

Some people were there with the whole family in attendance. The kids were having a whale of a time in the pool with their father's teaching them how to swim or egging them on to go for another round. The moms sat on plastic chairs looking on.

This meant that there were a lot of kids who were encroaching into my place at the baby pool. I was now picking up pace in floating from one end of the (baby) pool to the other. My coach asked me to flap my legs by holding the parapet. I was able to do it, but when I was floating from one end to the other, my left leg was mostly stiff and wouldn't listen to my commands. Now more kids were giving me smiles. I was growing immune to it.

By the end of the weekend I was flapping my way to glory, I mean, my legs! I was moving in the (baby) pool flapping my legs like a fish! I was ecstatic. I came home and told my wife, "I have started flapping my legs in the pool. I am able to move faster."

The reaction.....

"Still in the baby pool? You haven't started swimming with your hands?"

Puff!!!! 

Day 2

I walk into the club and the first scene I see, is a lady dancing in the water teasing her friend. It was a small dance movement, and I was able to see the upper part of her body, given that the rest was inside water. However small, it shocked me! Now you may ask me, you went to swim there why are you looking at ladies? Valid question! But my coach had asked me to keep my eyes open. Under the water of course, but I was practicing!

I did not let the shock affect me and I went ahead changing into my shorts and came back to start swimming.  Okay! Start LEARNING swimming. As I hit the water, another shock! She was not just a lady! But an old lady, rather ladies and they were infringing my space in the baby pool!

Adding to the trouble was my coach. He was asking me to float from one end of the baby pool to the other! Aunties!!!!!! I thought. But I went about floating in the baby pool on one side, leaving the rest to the aunties.

One thing about the aunties made me feel good. One of them was also learning! I made it a point not to smile at her! My service to (wo)manhood for the day!

Day 1

Here I was, wearing a black shorts and blue swimming cap, which burnt a hole in pocket. Standing on the side of the pool I looked at the water and I saw that there weren't many people in the pool. There was one small boy swimming on the other end of the pool.

I got into the pool, the baby pool actually. All of 3 feet deep. The water level did not even come to my hip! I tried avoiding the gaze of the small boy.

The deep end of the pool is six feet, my coach said. Thank God! At least I will be able to stand on my toes and keep my head high above the water, I thought.

My coach asked me to hold my breath and try to be under water. Keep your eyes open, he said. I tried that for  10 minutes and was able to hold my breath for a considerable amount of time. I felt happy. Took my head out of the water triumphantly and looked around for my coach. The small boy was standing in next to me and smiling at me!

The kind of smile which says, "Happy for what? Holding your breath under water for a few seconds, eh?"

I looked away from him. My coach said, Good, now try holding the parapet and try floating. I did and I felt good. Oh that's easy, I thought. He asked me to do the same thing for sometime

Then he asked me to push myself and start moving in the water. I did that and when I came out of the water, the boy was talking to the coach. The coach said, "Shut up and swim"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha", my inner self was laughing! I know it is kiddish, but try getting into a baby pool at my age and you see a small boy giving you a wry smile. Then you will know, that you do have an ego and it pains really bad when it hurts!

On you marks...

I had been complaining to my wife about my lack of exercise and my ever growing paunch! Although I was  telling people that, this is one asset that I have built by being in the software industry, I felt it was a lame excuse! I thought of doing something about this. And this was about 6 months back.

Six months later .....

A family friend was telling that he knew a person in a club (the sort of place where the ultra-rich go) who taught swimming. I jumped on the opportunity and said that I was interested in learning to swim. He looked at my paunch and sympathized with me. (Actually with my wife!) He said he will talk to him and passed me his number. I talked to the swimming coach and he said I can come any time I want to. I asked his name and he said Dalapathy, and I heard it as Jalapathy. I thought, "What an appropriate name" and was immediately gung-ho about my swimming. 

He asked me to buy swimming trunks, swimming cap and if I wanted, swimming goggles. I went to the local store to check whether they had swimming trunks and they said yes! I was overjoyed and went to the counter to check. He took a red one and a blue one and showed it to me. I was waiting for him to unfold and show it to me. He said, "No sir! That's all." 

"That's all" was echoing in my mind as i drove back home. I imagined myself wearing a red trunks and entering a blue tiled swimming pool (most swimming pools are blue tiled right!). I shuddered.

And by the way, if you know me and imagined me like that, "SAME PINCH". Same feeling here.

I inquired about this wardrobe predicament to my sister. My brother-in-law had learnt swimming along with my nephew, and he is as tall as me. She told, you can get a trunks which will look like a shorts and can double as swimming trunks. Her words gave me some solace.

But it was too late and I had not got my trunks. So I called Jalapathy and told him that I will be coming a week later, as I was busy with work. Ha ha ha ha!!!! He said fine but corrected me saying that his name is Dalapathy. I started having my doubts!!!!

I then went to the nearby Puma showroom. It was one of the firsts that I was going to experience that week. He showed me a swimming trunks which was even smaller than the one that my local store showed me. I had a sinking feeling. My wife showed me a a big version and I was elated. I bought a swimming cap, paid the bill and left.

Intro.....

I have started learning swimming, and that is another opportunity to write about something. It has been 2 weeks since I have started learning and it has been a very different experience. I will start off writing about what all has happened till now. I will follow it up with what happens on a daily basis.