Ashima Sharma, Keekli Reporter, 20th July, 2014, Shimla
A budding scuba diver who aspires to represent his country one day !!!
‘We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them’, a famous quote by Christian Nestell Bovee perfectly describes one of rising scuba diving stars of Bishop Cotton School, Shimla — Hardik Goyal. Talking about his hydrophobia he says, “SCUBA (self contained underwater breathing apparatus) diving training course was recently introduced as part of the Bishop Cotton School’s adventure activities curriculum. I had hydrophobia at that time but somehow I gathered my strength and explored the striking world of Scuba Diving in 2013. Since then marine life has fascinated me more and more every day. It is a very strange thing that my strength and inspiration is not a person but a TV show called Marine Life aired on National Geographic channel. I got spell bounded by the marvellous under water life and when my school introduced scuba diving as a sport, I felt it was an opportunity of a lifetime and decided to be part of it”.
Under the guidance of his mentor Archana Sardana his talent flourished. Discussing about his mentors he said, “Along with Mrs Archana, my father Naresh Goyal plays a very important role in my life. More than a father he is my friend, guide, mentor and counsellor and without his help it would not have been possible for me to be a part of this sport”.
While talking us about his workshops and achievements he says, “I attended PADI courses held in USA and took few of their courses online. I worked on my confined water skills in the school and finally completed my course in Bali, Indonesia. I have successfully completed the following courses, Open Water Diver Course, Rescue Diver Course, Advanced Open Water Diver Course, Digital Underwater Photography and Enriched Air Nitro Course”.
He proudly talks about his parents, teachers and the school Headmaster’s reaction “In spite of being scared in the beginning, my parents encouraged me. Back in school, all my teachers and the Headmaster was very proud of my achieving the highest level of certification in the sport in our school. They congratulated me and even recommended me to go for Sky Diving”.
He believes that scuba diving is a very remarkable sport which should be introduced in other schools as well, as it gives a child an opportunity to appreciate the extraordinary life under water and an out of the world experience.
Sharing with us his grandeur experiences he adds, “Recently I made a trip to Bali and out of the 15 dives that I did throughout my trip, there was not even a single dive through the course of which I did not see a different sea creature or a plant. By virtue of this sport I realised I could know nature in depth and what it has offer to us. When I was under water I realised that not even a single living being touches you until you provoke the same, which is so true in our daily life and observing quietly you can see a lot. It was a great learning curve for me as I could actually see who I am through this sport by considering the amount of courage and skill to dive 30 metres under water. I would like recommend any person who wishes to explore life in its truest essence to go in for scuba diving”.
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