BHUBANESWAR: For most, scuba diving is an occasional adventure. For Priyadarshee Panigrahi and his daughter Tisya, it has become a journey of exploration of the sea and clocking milestones.
The Dubai-based Odia corporate honcho recently completed his 100th recreational scuba dive in the waters off Fuvahmulah in the Maldives, with Tisya, 16, by his side. The milestone dive took them into waters known for close encounters with tiger sharks, some measuring up to 15 feet.
For the father-daughter duo, however, the dive came after years of pursuing recreational scuba diving together and achieving milestones at a remarkably young age. Both are certified advanced open water divers and have stitched up an unusual recreational diving partnership, emerging among very few father-daughter advanced scuba diving duos of the country.
Priyadarshee began scuba diving in 2012. What began as a passion gradually became a shared interest after Tisya took to the sport. Their individual achievements have since created an unusual father-daughter diving journey.
“I could not have imagined a better way to complete my 100th dive. To be underwater with Tisya, surrounded by tiger sharks of all sizes, was an incredibly powerful and humbling experience,” Priyadarshee said.
Tisya’s journey in scuba diving has been notable. She became Odisha’s youngest scuba diver in 2020 at the age of 10 and, two years later, became the state’s youngest advanced open water diver at 12, according to her family.
Last year, she dived to a depth of 100 feet, becoming the youngest Odia to reach that depth, the family said. “Doing my father’s 100th dive with him was really special. We were surrounded by tiger sharks, and it was an incredible moment to see these magnificent creatures from such close quarters,” Tisya said.
Fuvahmulah was a fitting setting. Located in the southern Maldives, the island is known among the global diving community for encounters with tiger sharks. Its surrounding waters attract the predators throughout the year, offering divers an opportunity to observe them at close range.
During their milestone dive, the father and daughter found themselves surrounded by several tiger sharks. Some came within centimetres of the divers, turning the personal milestone into a memorable encounter.
Diving instructor Shumi, a Maldivian national and owner of Scuba Butler Diving School in Fuvahmulah, facilitated their dives on the island.
“Completing his 100th dive here in Fuvahmulah, surrounded by tiger sharks, is a fantastic milestone. It was wonderful to see Priyadarshee and Tisya complete this milestone together,” Shumi said.
Priyadarshee, son of former minister and Parliamentarian Sriballav Panigrahi and educationist Sunanda Panigrahi, was born in Bhubaneswar and grew up in Sambalpur and Delhi. His professional career eventually took him to Dubai.