Atharva’s journey through the swimming pools of Pune was the turning point in this struggling dyslexic’s voyage for self-realization.
Grappling with the predictable ordeal of reading, spelling and writing Atharva realised his Learning Disability after doing the usual rounds of tests at an early age. “My mother put it across to me in such a simple way that I just thought of it as a minor setback, like having difficulty in mastering a stroke in the swimming pool”.
Having always been fascinated with open water swimming, Atharva’s interest in the sport got kindled while watching a student train for sea swimming. “I had heard deep sea swimmers witnessed dolphins jumping out of the water in the Arabian Sea” he says innocently.
Vigorous evening swimming practice sessions and competitions in and out of Pune city where he resides, meant missing school often. More difficult than the grueling practice was trying to keep up with his incomplete class work. While some teachers were understanding, others would constantly get him to re-do his work because of spelling mistakes and bad handwriting, often making him stay back after school. On one occasion his class teacher even refused to give him leave to participate in a swimming competition because his notes were incomplete. But the spirited lad, went ahead (not telling his mother about the teacher’s instructions), participated and even won a silver medal at that competition!
A doctor by profession, Daya Rakshe has played a crucial role in supporting her son’s passion. With 3 to 4 hours of daily swimming practice and travel to various places for competitions, Dr. Rakshe took on the role of teaching him at home, during their travels, adjusting his schedule between school hours, rest time, remedial classes and swimming practice. Talk of multi tasking!
His first dream came true when, as a very young nine year old, he swam a distance of 12 kms from Mora jetty to the Gateway of India in record time. “It’s not that I wasn’t afraid during this swim. I was in fact quite nervous in the beginning because all around me, I could only water. Although the boat carrying the navigator and my family was sailing beside me, there was no sight of land anywhere. There was a point when I kept drifting away from the boat, due to the current, and I became quite anxious. But I soon crossed that area and the faint outline of the Gateway of India became visible. This encouraged me and I rushed towards the finish!” he recounts of his first long distance swim.
Friends, family and unknown bystanders eagerly congratulated the young achiever. His name along with his photograph appeared in the leading newspapers, and the biggest vindication came when his achievement was put up on the notice board in school and stayed there for a week with friends, teachers and school staff congratulating him. Atharva had achieved what none of his classmates had even attempted! Atharva had arrived!
From then onwards there was no turning back. Atharva credits his coach, Jitendra Khasnis, or Dada as he fondly calls him, for inspiring him to continuously improve and for sharing all his knowledge with young swimmers. Since his first taste of success, Atharva has more than 11 national swims to his credit, as well as one international swim, where he participated in the Cliffton Cold Mile Swim in Cape Town, South Africa. Atharva was the only Indian and the youngest swimmer to participate, where he finished in 3rd place, an amazing feat.
Atharva now aspires to swim the various oceans around the globe, including the English Channel. Like any young teenager, Atharva enjoys playing computer games or just hanging out with his friends, to unwind. He also loves astronomy and enjoys learning about the subject on Google.
“I am too young to give anyone a message, but all I can tell other kids with dyslexia is to find their calling and don’t ever give up on your dreams” he says wisely.