It all began on a quiet evening when 10-year-old Sreshta Chandrra was watching a documentary with her father. On the screen, divers swam peacefully with turtles and sharks. She couldn’t take her eyes off it. “Wow! I want to do that,” she told her dad right away. He smiled and said, “Let’s see.”
That small moment sparked something big. Today, Sreshta, a Malayali girl from Trivandrum is Dubai's youngest certified scuba diver for the year 2025. She is also now the second youngest scuba diver in the world.
But this is also a story about two sisters. Sreshta’s 13-year-old sister, Sloka, was the one who first inspired her. Sloka had always loved adventures. When she joined a scuba diving class at the Bermuda Diving Centre, Sreshta wanted to be part of it too. “I grew up watching her do all this,” says Sreshta. “When she joined, I said I want to go too. That’s how it started.”
It wasn’t easy at first. Sreshta was scared of deep water. “I used to think, what if something pulls me down?” she says. But learning how the diving gear works gave her confidence. “And I kept reminding myself I’m brave. My sister gave me high-fives too, which helped a lot!”
With that, she joined Sloka at the diving centre. The first time underwater, Sreshta says, was something she’ll never forget. “It was so cool,” she smiles. “At first, it felt strange breathing through my mouth with the regulator. But when I saw the bubbles and the fish swimming all around, I forgot everything else. It felt like I was in a different world quiet, floaty, and magical.”
Training, however, came with its tough parts. One of the hardest for Sreshta was learning how to take off her mask underwater and put it back on. “The first time, water got into my nose, I panicked a bit. But my instructor stayed calm. I kept trying again and again until I got it right.”
Another time, she thought she saw a shark. “I saw this big shadow underwater and got nervous. But I remembered what my instructor had said ‘Breathe slowly, stay calm.’ I kept floating and breathing... then I realised it was just a rock!” she laughs.
Even so, sharks didn’t scare her away. In fact, now she wants to dive with them. “Sharks are so cool! They’re not scary like in the movies. They’re shy and graceful. I want to see them up close but safely! And the Red Sea has such beautiful coral. It’s like a big underwater rainbow.”
While Sreshta was learning to dive, Sloka was always there by her side. Watching her younger sister dive for the first time made her feel proud. “Even when she’s doing fine, I still give her a thumbs-up or hold her hand underwater. It makes us both feel safe,” says Sloka.
The sisters even have a little dive ritual they do before going underwater. “We made it up ourselves,” says Sloka. “First, we clap hands, then a fist bump. And just before going deep, we make a heart shape with our hands. It’s our way of saying, Let’s go! We got this.’”
When both of them were finally certified, they were filled with joy. Then came the even bigger news they were the youngest sister duo in the UAE to get certified. “We just looked at each other and screamed,” Sloka laughs. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Sreshta and Sloka’s bond grew even stronger through diving. “We’re a team,” says Sloka. “This brought us much closer.”
Their parents, Satish Chandran and Saranya Satish, had no idea that signing up for a summer activity would become such a big turning point in their daughters’ lives. “We thought it would just be something fun,” they say.
Satish admits he was scared at first when Sreshta joined the diving classes. “She was only 10. I was worried about her safety, how she would handle the pressure underwater. But after I met the instructors and saw how well they trained the kids, my fear slowly changed to excitement.”
Seeing them dive together filled him with pride. “They supported each other, challenged each other, and even had these little rituals. Watching them gear up and go underwater together it showed me how strong their bond is.”
When Sreshta’s name was added to the record books, Satish was speechless. “I always knew she could do it, but seeing her become the youngest diver in Dubai it felt unreal. I got emotional. She worked so hard for it.”
And there’s one moment Satish says he will never forget. “After their final dive, they came out of the water, took off their masks, looked at each other and just started laughing. No words, just happiness. That moment said it all.”
Now that both sisters are certified divers, what’s next? “The shark part still makes me a bit nervous,” Satish admits, “but I believe in letting kids dream big. If they want to dive with sharks or explore coral reefs in the Philippines, I’ll be right behind them probably diving with them and cheering them on.”
Two young sisters, one shared dream, and a deep blue ocean filled with stories still waiting to be told the journey of Sreshta and Sloka has only just begun.