CHENNAI: Waves kept washing his feet as Selvam walked along the sandy Kovalam beach. The sea and its waves have been his world all these years.
It was in the stormy tides of the Bay of Bengal that Selvam learned how to pull tourists out of the treacherous clasp of death.
His acquaintance with the water world had saved hundreds of Chennai residents who were stranded in the marooned city during the 2015 floods. A trained lifeguard and surfer, Selvam is now struggling to tide over a crisis from which he is not able to rescue himself.
The 42-year-old father of two kids was earning a decent livelihood from the sea before the coronavirus swept across the world in the beginning of this year.
His job as a lifeguard at the Taj Fisherman’s Cove and a parttime trainer in the Bay of Life Surf School in Kovalam used to earn him around Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per month.
With the beaches turning off limits to visitors, as part of Covid- control measures, Selvam suddenly found himself trapped in a financial whirlpool. Having lost his lifeguard job to the virus, Selvam is currently venturing into sea with fishermen to feed his wife and children. “I am able to earn hardly Rs 300 a day,” he laments.
Not letting the waves eat away his life
"I am able to earn hardly Rs 300 a day which is just enough to feed my family. If I had my own boat, I could earn more," says Selvam. Selvam is rich when it comes to accolades and achievements. Having received training at the National Institute of Water Sports, Goa, he has carried out over 3,000 rescues till date. "I was the first graduate from my family and would have easily gotten some secured white collar job," he says, adding that he always felt that he belonged to the sea.
"I never repented becoming a lifeguard," says Selvam who holds a degree in public administration. One of the first from the fishermen community to have entered the Limca Book of Records, Selvam, along with M Kumaran, had set a record last year for stand-up paddling seven kilometres in 90 minutes in the sea. They are said to be the first in the world to have attempted such a feat in the Bay of Bengal.
In recognition of his services during the Chennai floods, Selvam received a national award in 2016 for being the "best rescuer".
He is also the recipient of Best Lifeguard State Award in 2014. He was one of the special invitees to the World Conference on Drowning Prevention that was held in Durban, South Africa in October last year. Optimistic about tiding over the crisis, Selvam says he is pinning hopes on the State government and well wishers. What worries him most is the education of his children.
"My daughter is studying in class 11 and son in class 8. I had to change my son's school as I couldn't afford his fees. I have requested my daughter's school to give more time to pay up her fees," he says while stating, "Whenever I am pushed to a corner, help comes from somewhere."
With the State government developing Kovalam for international Blue Flag certification, Selvam feels it would throw up a sea of opportunities for people like him.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Raj, president of the Indian Rescue and Disaster Management Society (IRD MS) and the Indian Lifesaving Sports Federation, says Selvam is one of the first responders whenever disaster strikes.
"It was not just Chennai floods, he was the best rescuer during the 2018 and 2019 Kerala floods," he says. Despite his intimate knowledge about the mood swings of the sea, Selvam almost lost his life while rescuing three IT employees off Kovalam beach last year.
"On one Sunday in March last year, I saw three youth drowning. By the time I reached towards them, they were already exhausted. I had to literally carry all three of them on the tube and swim back to the shore," Selvam says, adding that he never took any money from the people he rescued.