Got "Best Speaker" title for my 7th project speech at Toastmasters session.

Title: On the Other Side of God’s World

The objectives for this speech project were to conduct appropriate research and then incorporate this research into your speech to provide support for your key arguments.

Finally my turn!!! I was wondering what made me say “yes” for this!!! The instructor came. See here madam, he said, take deep breadth from mouth. Inhale! Exhale! Don’t use nose!

OK! he said. Ready to go? I held up my thumb! Yes! I put on my mask and sent up a silent prayer to God “Oh God, help me – show me this other side of your world today”

Slowly I let go of the handle bars I was holding and we embarked on the journey.  I could immediately feel a sense of weightlessness like an astronaut orbiting the Earth.

Toastmasters, friends and guests- I’m afraid to swim with my face under water even in our small pool, and here I found myself in an underwater, scuba diving adventure in the Arabian Sea near Malvan. Within minutes I was 10 feet underwater exploring the amazing underwater world with my diving buddy guide.

Very soon I got adjusted to breathing underwater through an oxygen mouthpiece that was connected to a diver’s umbilical, which is a long pipe attached to a diver’s breathing regulator fixed on a boat.

As I began to enjoy the undersea wonders, it felt like I was suspended in a greenish blue aquatic world.

The whole new underwater world of exotic marine life is recently discovered in Sindhudurg near the shallow waters of Tarkarli.  Tarkarli is a coastal village 8 km south of Malvan and 546 km from Mumbai on the west coast of India.

On a sunny day here, you can see the sea- bed up to a depth of 20 feet. The coastline around Tarkarli has sparkling lagoons and backwaters that provide breathtaking landscapes, seascapes  and rockscapes. It has a variety of marine life including  shark, dolphins, Groupers, Butterfly fish, Fusiliers, Puffer Fish, Snappers, Cobia and beautiful coral reefs.  

Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, and contain colonies of marine animals.

So why the name SCUBA diving? "SCUBA"  is an acronym for "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus")  which allows the diver to breathe while diving.

It is not enough simply to supply air to breathe comfortably underwater. As one descends, in addition to the normal atmospheric pressure, the water exerts increasing hydrostatic pressure of approximately 1 bar (14.7 pounds per square inch) for every 10 m (33 feet) of depth. The pressure of the inhaled breath must balance the surrounding pressure to allow inflation of the lungs. You constantly need to take very deep breadths. And, while diving is a treat for your eyes, your ears might hurt due to the pressure!

A recreational diver’s kit consists of breathing apparatus, a wet suit and a half mask which covers the eyes and nose. Talking is impossible under water! So what do divers do? Use hand signals, of course! 
Problem! 
OK! 
Great! 

For me it the whole experience was great!

I realized that we human beings are the luckiest creatures because of all the experiences that we can enjoy. Sometimes we can go gliding and fly just like a bird high in the sky, Sometimes we can go scuba diving and swim deep underwater, just like a fish and enjoy the other side of God’s beautiful world!