The boys of his age would perhaps shudder to go near the waves. For eight-year-old Kaustubh Vemuri, the sea is meant to be conquered, not enjoyed
The boys of his age would perhaps shudder to go near the waves. This lad is different. He looks at the sea not at the waves. One Tuesday, he decided he would conquer it.
Kaustubh Vemuri, barely 9, walked confidently to the Gateway of India and took a plunge into the waters. Thud. Amazed?
So was the motely crowd at the Gateway of India. The shouts by the boat-men asking for the passengers for a sea cruise and to Elephanta caves suddenly went silent.
The Pune lad refused to return. He has vowed he would come ashore only after conquering the 72km stretch to Dharamtar Jetty and back.
Kaustubh took the plunge at around 3:30 pm with a crew of 15-odd people, including his coach Vinay Marathe and mother Dr Reena Gollapudy. They following him on a different boat.
What prompted him to go for such daredevil act? "It was just a thought for me but it caught his mind immediately when I suggested," said Reena, who is a scientist at the Pune-based Free Lifesciences Pvt Ltd. "The coach endorsed the idea and so here we are." The mother's voice was choked with emotion and understandable anxiety.
What amazes even more about the Sulochana Natu Vidya Mandir student is that a year ago, he had no idea about how to swim. "I am really amazed at his progress," said the coach, applying grease to Kaustubh's body.
Marathe's another protege, Aditya Rawat, had swum the same distance in 21 hours and 28 minutes at the age of nine in 2003. Vemuri aims at surpassing that timing.
Before making the attempt, Vemuri practiced for six months. "He swum continuously for 22 hours two weeks back in the swimming pool back home. On a regular basis he practices for around six hours everyday," said Marathe.
The feat is being supervised by the officials of the Maharashtra State Amateur Aquatic Association (MSAAA). Sanjay Kohli, the boatman whose expertise is being sought by the coach, said, "The sea should be favourable. We were supposed to start yesterday but we didn't because the wind was too forceful," he said.
So what timing the boy is he aiming for? "Seventeen hours," he says with beaming confidence. He is scheduled to come back by Wednesday morning.
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