From no one to some one..
4.15 pm. Saturday, the 31st of August. I am standing at the landing near North Cove Arena, and I see a Kayak gliding in the turbulent waves of Hudson. I observe a small boat behind the Kayak. The grey colour boat has an American flag and an Indian flag on the flagpost. I suddenly see a swimmer just behind the Kayak. It is Srikanth who is just completing the 46km open ocean swimming event along the 20 bridges of Manhattan.
Aruna, another friend from Bangalore, achieved the same feat last Thursday. Both of them have completed swimming Catalina Channel near Los Angeles on the 15th of August.
Three of us receive Srikanth after the tremendous feat at 5 pm. There was neither any media nor celebrity in attendance like any other sport. Even Marathon runners get better reception.
Srikanth started at 8:15 am and completed the swim in less than eight hours. The person in Kayak navigates the swimmer and the crew in the ship supports the Kayak and the swimmer. The team in the vessel is in constant touch with the Kayak in addition to providing logistics and safety support. The support also includes providing water and food as per the food plan, which is unique to each swimmer. There is an observer in the boat who is continuously watching the swimmer. I see a lot of teamwork and coordination between the swimmer and the support team. This process is happening in real-time and spontaneously. Decisions are taken on the fly to enable the swimmer completing the assignment within the stipulated time. Because of heavy ferry traffic in Hudson, the crew in the boat is in constant touch with coast guard authorities to identify any problematic situations ahead while the swimmer is swimming.
According to the management theory, an individual derives immense benefits when he or she joins a self-directed team. The team also gets benefitted from the insights of the individual. This theory proved wrong in the case of Srikanth when he was a part of our swimming group at Indiranagar Club, Bangalore. After four years, he realised that we are not able to help him as a team to realise his aspiration. He left us and joined another spirited squad who helped him achieve his ambitions. In the last few years, he has several open Ocean swims to his credit. He swam English Channel ( 33.3 km) solo in 2018 in addition to participating in relay teams in 2015, 2016 and 2018. I encourage the readers to listen to the TED talk by Srikanth. This talk provides details of his swimming journey. He is also keen on taking the Ocean 7 challenge which includes Natu Channel, Cook Strait, Molokai Channel, English Channel, Catalina Channel, Tsugaru Strait and Strait of Gibraltar. Rohan Dattatry More is the only Asian who has achieved this feat as of now.
Srikanth left me with three messages before he left for Bangalore.
- One can achieve small things with little thinking. If you want to make significant, you need to dream high. Higher the dream, higher is the likelihood of achievement.
- You can not achieve big things by playing solo. You need the support of the team, the coaches, relatives, friends and other comrades. These provide energy and push to make things happen.
- Believe in yourself. Everyone is capable of converting passion into an obsession, but self-limiting beliefs hinder the thought process. You need to tear through these layers for a successful outcome.
Srikanth is not working towards any recognitions. He is working for himself, and I wish him all the best.
In his own words, Sreekanth has moved from,’No one to Someone ‘ in the last four years. His journey echoes with a quote from Carol Dweck, which goes like this.
“ Effort is one of those things that give meaning to life. Effort means you care for something, that something is important to you and you are willing to work for it.”- Carol Dweck
