Pittsburgh Patrika January 2022

The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol. 27 No 2, January 2022
Recalling My Own Aquatic Skills Growing Up
in My Village in Gujarat
By Harilal Patel, Monroeville, PA
Editor’s note: Mr. Harilal Patel, a long-time and successful entrepreneur in our area, is
also active in the Pittsburgh Gujarati Samaj and the Hindu-Jain Temple. In 1978 he displayed
his aquatic skills at the Three River Regatta by swimming across the Allegheny River from
the North Side to Point State Park.
The story in the last issue on our instincts to
display our skills in front of the public brought
memories of my own younger days. Like Todittalai
Vizhuttandinaar recalling the aquatic skills of his
young days in his 2000-year old Tamil poem, I too
remember my own younger days growing up in Valam,
a large village with a long history, in Mehsana
District, 50 miles north of Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
We had — and still have — a large talaab (lake) approximately 0.7
mile wide when it is full after the monsoon, with water 50 feet
deep at several spots. One side of the lake had four large ghats for people
to bathe. The opposite side was for buffaloes, cows, goats, and camels
for their water needs. Around the talaab, we had a hospital, and rows of
jamun, mango, and tamarind trees. And three temples.
Summertime drew us to the talaab, not just for bathing, but also for
displaying our swimming skills. Competition among us was keen. Holding
our breath
and staying under
water for the
longest period
was a game we
reveled in. The
daring among us
swam to the deepest
spots. Like
the Tamil poet
Vizhuttandinaar,
we would reach the bottom of the talaab and come out with a fistful of
gravel as proof that we had reached the bottom.
During August-September the village celebrated a festival with over 100
skilled swimmers carrying, while swimming, a palki (palanquin) with
the deity (Krishna) across the talaab, with hundreds of villagers admiringly
watching from the banks. The event ended with people carrying the palki
in a procession into the village while chanting Bhajans. •
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