Swimming with the sharks

Sandip Somany, joint managing director of Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Limited (HSIL), isn't into regular sports. He says, "I used to play cricket, hockey, tennis, badminton "" all the regular sports "" when I was younger. But I haven't picked up a cricket bat in the last 20 years." That decision hasn't meant that Somany hasn't been into sports. It's just that now he is into adventure sports of almost every hue, and with an enthusiasm that could be infectious if these sports weren't so arduous.

Talking about the first of his many passions, Somany says, "I was always interested in automotive technology, and my cousin and I, when we were younger and India had only the Fiat and the Ambassador, would open up the engines and soup them up and manage to get much more out of them."

Cut from then to now, when Somany and his bunch of friends from time to time hire a race track somewhere abroad for a day and race fast cars to their heart's content. Says Somany, "I have done normal road cars for racing and I have done smaller cars fitted for racing." If racing is a passion, then can go-karting be far behind? Says Somany, "I regularly do go-karting abroad."

Moving from motorsports, Somany is also fond of shooting. He adds, "I have trained for archery. I did a two-week course in the UK. Whenever I am abroad I practice archery." And after that there is fencing. Says Somany, "I trained for this in the US and UK."

But if there is one adventure sport that Somany is really, really passionate about, it is scuba-diving. Says Somany, "I go scuba-diving once a year and I do about four or five dives on each trip. I can do dives of upto 40 to 50 metres. I am now two courses away from being a dive master." To be a dive master, says Somany, he needs to do things like rescue dives, night dives and going down to a shipwreck. Says he, "Once I do this I can teach."

The best place to dive, says Somany, is the Maldives, although Lakshadweep in India is also spectacular for diving. Somany's first dive was at the age of 18 in Thailand. He says there is nothing to match the beauty there is underwater. Says he, "Aquatic beauty is unparalleled. Sitting cross-legged on the ocean floor is the most relaxing thing to do. And the fish that you see are so beautiful and gentle." He adds, "There are only 30 kinds of sharks that are man-eaters. And the thumb rule is that if you don't disturb them they are unlikely to attack you. I have swum next to sharks. With marine life, you have to respect its privacy and it leaves you alone."

Along with this piece of advice, Somany has some more. He says, "You should always have a diving partner. And don't dive if you are even vaguely claustrophobic or scared of the dark. For if the sun goes down, say because of sudden cloud cover, it gets very dark."

For Somany, passion for water doesn't stop with just scuba-diving. He is also an enthusiastic sailor and goes kayaking and canoeing regularly as well. He recalls one trip on which he sailed a lot and says, "We were on a yacht for almost 10 days and we would go down in the water in a sail boat. I can pretty much do everything on a sail boat from hoisting the sail to navigating the boat, and so on."

Is there a common thread that runs between all his passions? He says, "Racing is purely to get the adrenaline rush. Speed is thrilling and racing is a test of man and machine, but it is a noisy sport." About shooting and archery he says, "These are skill-based and require great concentration." And scuba-diving? He says, "You get a very good night's sleep after a dive, as it is physically very challenging." And he adds that all the sports that he is into are, "very relaxing".

Most of these sports Somany is able to enjoy while he is abroad. So what does he do when he is in India, his homebase? He says, "Three days a week I jog in a park. I can't jog on a treadmill. And the other three days I do weights with a personal trainer." Has he considered slowing down, given that all the sports he likes are physically very demanding? He says with a smile, "It is good to know that you are physically fit."