A natural swimming pool in a coconut grove in Karumam makes a splash

  • | Wednesday | 22nd November, 2017

This ‘natural’ swimming pool, seemingly carved into the lush landscape and fed and rejuvenated by underground springs, has been a local haunt for the last two decades or so and home to many a swimming champion from the locality. It was Balakrishnan who turned what was once a small pond in his family plot into the Olympic-size (50 m) swimming pool that it is today. Others dripping water from their efforts in the pool are drying themselves and occasionally helping the kids with their exercises. Several others, teenagers and senior citizens, are already in the water, steadily making their way down the swimming lanes, stroke by stroke. “I love swimming and through swimming I want to get a job in the Railways,” says Karthik, before skipping off to join his batchmates.

The early morning quietude at Karumam, a picturesque suburb of the city that borders Vellayani lake and the Punchakkari wetlands, is interrupted only by birdsong and cheerful chatter of children in swimsuits at Trivandrum Aquatic Centre (TRAC). This ‘natural’ swimming pool, seemingly carved into the lush landscape and fed and rejuvenated by underground springs, has been a local haunt for the last two decades or so and home to many a swimming champion from the locality. At present, given that it is the rainy season, the underground spring is in spate and the water has breached the sides of the pool, submerging the platform and partially submerging the starting blocks. As we pick our way through an overgrown country path inside a coconut grove to the pool, a bunch of kids are on the ground, being put through a warm-up session. Having already run a couple of laps, they are now stretching their arms, legs, hips and shoulders and mimicking the actions of swimming, all under the watchful eye of a coach. “A warm-up session is absolutely essential before one dives into the water, to iron out the chinks in the muscles,” explains another swimming coach Parasurama Babu, a retired CISF inspector. Several others, teenagers and senior citizens, are already in the water, steadily making their way down the swimming lanes, stroke by stroke. Others dripping water from their efforts in the pool are drying themselves and occasionally helping the kids with their exercises. “The pool opens at 5 am and already dozens of regulars have finished their swims,” adds Parasu. A few parents and locals have also parked themselves on cement benches facing the pool, to get a bird’s eye view of the morning’s practise session and also to catch up with TRAC’s sprightly owner, septuagenarian swimming enthusiast Balakrishnan Nair. It was Balakrishnan who turned what was once a small pond in his family plot into the Olympic-size (50 m) swimming pool that it is today. He actually dug this pool for his children, Aswathy and Arun, some 21 years ago. “They both learnt swimming while accompanying me for my morning bath in the river at Thiruvallam. I wanted somewhere where they could practise safely and came up with the idea for a pool. One by one kids from the locality started showing up to swim/learn to swim at the pool and before we knew it TRAC had became a fully-fledged swimming club. It is the first such private swimming club in the district. At present we have 80 kids on our rolls and have been recognised by the Kerala State Sports Council,” says Balakrishnan. He breaks off to give one of TRAC’s young swimmers, Karthik Ram B.S., a pat on his back. He won four gold medals at a CBSE schools’ swim meet the day before. “This youngster like the rest of this bunch, has been with us for a year or so now. All of them are enthusiastic about swimming and diligent about practise,” adds Balakrishnan. “I love swimming and through swimming I want to get a job in the Railways,” says Karthik, before skipping off to join his batchmates. Fastening their swimming caps one by one the boys and girls neatly dive into the pool. As the water is not chlorinated, eyes won’t sting and hence only a couple of them are wearing goggles. Their task for the day is to swim 1000 m freestyle — that’s 10 km, that’s 20 laps — in an hour! “We’ve nurtured several other state champions and many of them now have government jobs as well, my son included. We teach all the four strokes here - freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly,” says Balakrisnnan. In the first lane, at the shallow end of the pool, Parasu is training three precocious youngsters, who couldn’t be more than four years old. Two of them are ducking their heads in and out of the pool in a bid to correct their breathing techniques. The other one, Adwaith, on only his third day of training, is attempting to jump into the pool, looking a little apprehensive even though the coach says he will catch him. “It’s the right age to begin training them in the water for they have no concept of fear or the consequences. The kids are charged only ?10 a day,” explains Balakrishnan as we watch Adwaith take a leap of faith into the pool and break into smiles as soon as he hits the water. With the coach’s help he paddles his way to a starting block and holding onto it, he starts kicking his bony little legs with all his might. Meanwhile, young national swimmer and local star Suneesh S., a final year student of Mar Ivanios College, has turned up for his daily practice session, along with his father N. Suresh, a former state-level diving champ. “I’ve been swimming before I could walk!” says Suneesh, all lean and muscle, as he flexes his muscles and rotates his shoulders before diving into the water without so much as a ripple. “We both like the ambience here and that’s why we come to TRAC, even though the Sports Council has not allotted an accredited coach for the centre,” adds his proud father. TRAC is set to get a makeover soon. Plans are under way to build another Olympic-size pool and gym complex in the same plot that will be open 24x7, whilst retaining the natural pool as it is. “I dream of nurturing more swimming champions,” says Balakrishnan. Contact: 9447215826 (A ringside view of people and places in the city)

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