While taking swimming classes as a kid, Tarun Murugesh had no idea that one day he would save two people from imminent death at a pool party, several years later. It is commonly said that swimming is a skill everyone must learn for safety, but it can also translate to saving others’ lives too, Tarun believes. “I’ve been a swimmer all my life, and after that incident, someone told me that it could have gone either way — I could have drowned too! That’s why I decided to officially get into life-saving,” he says. That was in 2007.
Today, Tarun is one of the foremost full-time lifeguard trainers in the city and conducts workshops about water safety and first-aid across schools, hotels and other venues in the country. A member of Rashtriya Life Saving Society, the Indian branch of the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS), UK Commonwealth, Tarun was recently awarded the ‘Lifesaver of the year’ rolling cup, the third recipient to receive it, at the ‘Rescue INDIA 2017’ National Pool, Beach & Ocean Lifesaving Sports Championships in Goa and Maharashtra. He was also awarded a service cross medal from the RLSS, UK, with the Queen of England as patron. Humbled by these recognitions, Tarun is happy to be a full time lifeguard. “But it’s not as easy or as cool as it looks like in Baywatch,” he grins. “It is physically and mentally stressful sometimes.
Many people don’t look at lifeguards as a profession. They just think we are someone sitting in the sun all the time,” he opines. “People in foreign countries respect a lifeguard so much. Here, most people we save don’t even say so much as a ‘Thank you’ sometimes,” he rues, agreeing that in most cases, the people saved feel embarrassed as it’s a public environment. “There’s not much money involved either. But the satisfaction you get when you save someone feels like a million dollars,” he says.
Safety in water is a whole different ballgame. If you recall most incidents, someone who jumps in to save a drowning victim ends up becoming a victim themselves. “The first attempt should be a dry-rescue — lie down and throw in a stick, pole or a dupatta. This reduces your risk of becoming the next victim,” Tarun advises.
The next step would be to approach the victim from the back, using a chin-to, headtow or an underarm two. “Never pull using the hair — you might dislocate the victim’s spine,” he advises. Tarun notes that Chennai’s facilities could do better in terms of water safety, especially the beaches which don’t have official lifeguards. “The fishermen are the unsung heroes, who have saved countless lives,” he says.
YOU CAN BE A LIFEGUARD TOO
The RLSS provides courses for everyone. The life-saving course is a four-day course, involving two days of first-aid and two days of water and pool rescue. The lifeguard course is for those who want to get employment in that field and is a five-day course. For details and to register for a course visit: www. rlss.org.u