Click to play videoMumbai: A seven-year-old girl and a nine-year-old boy swam against the strength of the entire Arabian Sea battling waves since 0500 hrs IST on Saturday.
Akshat Bhargava and Pooja Bhangire began the 22-kilometre stretch from Rewas in Alibag.
Akshat took six hours and 10 minutes to reach the Gateway of India in Mumbai.
“When I reached the destination I felt very happy. I was thinking, this event should end quickly,” Akshat says.
An exhausted seven-year-old Pooja Bhangire wasn’t far behind. She touched land a few minutes later than Akshat amidst much cheer and celebration.
The celebration was an answer to criticism that while such feats may make the parents and coaches proud, they are cruel to the kids.
Even Akshat's father, Sanjay Bhargava discards all criticisms.
“If the kid does it out of his happiness, I don't think its wrong,” he says.
But Dr Rajendra Barve, a Child Psychologist disagrees.
“Many times the parents of average or gifted children use them to fulfill their own dreams,” he says.
The theory can be a valid one because the parents seem to be more delighted and the kid too lost to even talk.
So while swimming 22 kms in the mighty Arabian Sea under the unforgiving Mumbai sun is no ordinary feat. But the question to ask the parents is - Is it fair to the kids? Because achieving is one thing and pushing a child to extra-ordinary limits to achieve it is another.
(With Inputs from Mosiqi Acharya)
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