Won at the Seas, Failed by Politics

The land and the ocean are separate places. When a man born on the land conquered the seas, he returned to witness defeat at the hand of cruel politics.

The swimmer, Mihir Sen; Source: The Print

The oceans and the seas hold a special place in India’s history. One of the earliest mentions of the vast and perilous oceans was the Samudra Manthan that gave rise to the eternal ambrosia. The epic saga of Rama also notes how he and his army crossed the sea to reach the land of the golden Lanka. Next came the East India Company sailing the seven seas in their giant iron boat.

Furthermore, many a Hindu’s life finally culminates with the ashes being submerged into the rivers and the seas. The point is that water bodies seem to have a deeper connection with Indian people. Worshipped as Varuna in India and Poseidon in Greek myths, the god of the oceans, these endless waterbodies govern and master the life of people on the Earth. Unending and vast, they are the master of their own selves. However, the past century has seen a few mortals undertaking the task of taming the wild waves.

While many such journeys have ended in failure, a fellow Indian, Mihir Bose did the unimaginable when he became the first man to cross the oceans of five continents in one single year. The modern Varuna was born.

A man who was born in one of Bengal’s hottest places, Purulia, Mihir Sen came to the earth on 16th November 1930. A life that was far removed from the shores of the seas, Sen would go on to become one of the greatest names who had crossed multiple oceans. His childhood was nothing extraordinary and showed no such inclination to swimming. Born to a physician and his wife, they had usual dreams for their son. Deciding to give their child every chance for better education, they further moved to Cuttack when Mihir was barely eight.

Mihir just like the youth of his time dreamt of sailing to England. Before he realized what he was meant for, he was motivated to pursue higher studies.

The then CM of Orissa Biju Patnaik further gathered funds to send this boy to England. Off he went to study law.

Even though he had managed to step on that distant shore, life became increasingly challenging.

Not able to afford lectures, the young man self-studied from the library. However, everything was soon going to take a completely different turn.

A newspaper article about Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to cross the English Channel came under Mihir’s attention. Possessed by zeal, he too wanted to achieve the same. As if the oceans were calling to their son. At the same time, another fire burned in his young mind. The fire of nationalism. Mihir desperately wanted to do something for his newly independent country. Deciding to take this mammoth challenge, he wanted to prove that Indians were no less than anyone. Thus, the risky waters of the sea became his way of telling his fellow countrymen that it is worth the risk to serve their nation.

However first things first, Mihir’s swimming skills were nothing extraordinary, and to survive such adverse conditions, he needed to start from scratch. Thus began his training at the YMCA and after gruelling sessions of practice, he finally felt ready to take the first plunge. So he dived. Dived into the dangerous waters of the English Channel, known for its unpredictable currents and poisonous jellyfish. The first try ended in failure. But Sen was not going to accept defeat.

Three years later in 1958, he became the first Asian to cross the English channel. India and the whole world saw the rise of their new hero.

The hero was not going to stop anytime soon. He went on to take further challenges. Almost 8 years after crossing the English Channel, Sen swam multiple oceans belonging to five continents. The Palk Strait, the strait of Gibraltar, the Dardenelles, the Bosphorous, and the Panama Channel, all became Mihir’s very own playground. An unimaginable task, he recorded his name in the Guinness Book of World Records for the Herculean feat.

Padma Sri and Padma Bhushan Mihir Sen also started an Explorer’s club to inspire young people to take his path. One of his sponsored expeditions was a rowboat adventure to the islands of the Andaman. However, there lay a notorious phase of his life when everything turned upside-down. Returning to India after his first feat, Mihir Sen had to witness many upheavals. Firstly he was denied entry into the white men’s club due to which he led a campaign. It bore fruit when all such clubs were forced to allow Indians. Secondly, Jyoti Basu, a high-profile leader of the CPIM offered him a seat in his party to which Sen refused. Instead, Sen filed an independent nomination. Eventually, Sen lost. What happened next destroyed his entire life.

After CPIM’s victory, Sen who had started a silk business had to go through tremendous humiliation. His silk merchandise was set to fire. Slogans and graffiti made it to his office and factories. Reports say that false cases were charged upon him which led to his bankruptcy. Every single penny of his was confiscated. Such torture and humiliation resulted in this legend’s deteriorating health and caused dementia.

Finally, the swimmer saw an early death at the age of 66 on 11th June 1997 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The swimmer who once brought his country fame passed away in poverty and oblivion. The man who controlled the seas was finally doused by the fire of politics.