Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
Kadak spirit
THE UNDULATING waves in the ocean always fascinated them. Sitting in their home, located right in front of Florida coast, they romanced with the sea and the bold and beauty that lay within. The roar of the waves stirred many an emotion in the young minds and that childhood romance with the ocean led to the birth of some adventurism in them. And it was no mean adventure. A sea-scooter ride buzzing through the Pacific from San Francisco to Dana harbour and in between braving the man-eating sharks. And the brave sailers of this first of its kind in the United States were not professionals but a teenaged brother-sister duo of Indian parents.
Even after two years they undertook the journey surprising the top adventure sports professionals, they are still being talked about in America. Shivani Kadakia and Neil Kadakia who are in their motherland and the city of their father, Hyderabad, on vacation are unassuming yet enthusiastic about their trip through the dangerous sea.
``Everything is attainable if one follows the gut feeling and is driven by the endeavour to excel and set high standards in any walk of human life,'' says Shivani. Just 17 years old, Shivani thinks big, as always. And yeah, the duo's adventure had a mission. They embarked on this magnanimous mission to help serve the cause of children of muscular dystrophy association to ensure that they enrol in the local summer camps. A part of the $ 2 lakh proceeds was earmarked for acquiring infrastructure for the school's laboratory.
Neil says the spirit of adventure is a legacy acquired from their father, Rajesh, a doctor who was an ace driver when he was in India. Apart from studying in medicine in Warangal he was racing off-road rallies along the cliffs of the Himalayas. So, do they consider themselves as Americans or Indians? Americans but with Indian culture and traditions imbedded deeply. American spirit, desi drive, huh?
By Ravikanth Reddy R.
Photo: K. Ramesh Babu
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
|
