As a family on a short-term stay in India, we have noticed that swimming pools at hotels and apartment complexes remain mostly unused. On sunny, hot days they sparkle and seem so inviting, yet remain empty. Perhaps pools in India function more as a decoration?
When I posted a picture on Facebook of the pool at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, people were impressed at how pretty it looked. Real estate advertisements for flats show pristine buildings with a pool filled with clear, blue water. Those ads make me want to buy a flat there! The high-rise building next to ours has an attractive pool, but all summer we never saw anyone swimming in it. By the end of the summer, the water began to look green, a tell-tale sign of neglect and lack of use.
Whenever and wherever we travel, we look for hotels with swimming pools in order to entertain our eight-year-old daughter. Like most American kids, she can spend hours in the pool having fun by herself or making friends with whoever else is swimming. We have found that it is somewhat rare to see Indian children swimming. At beaches too, it is mostly Westerners enjoying the waves while Indians wade in shallow water in their sarees and street clothes. With such a hot climate here, why aren’t people more inclined to seek relief in the water?
An Indian friend of ours shared with me that when she was growing up, classical music and dance were the activities she and her friends participated in. Most people in urban India, she explained, do not have access to pools and therefore never learn to swim. When I wondered about all the beaches here and why all that water wouldn’t be a motivation to learn, she rightly pointed out that the ocean does not lend itself to swimming lessons.
So, why all the swimming pools? Our friends live in an upper middle class gated community here with amenities including a chic swimming pool. At one time it was probably very appealing, but now it lies abandoned and engulfed by weeds.
This summer, I signed up my daughter for swimming lessons at a club in Thiruvananthapuram. I went to check it out and make sure the pool was in good shape — and it was. My daughter and I were excited to have a place to swim for a month. In our small town in New York State, we join our town pool every summer, where we spend almost every day swimming and hanging out with friends. It is a pleasant way to beat the heat and while away the afternoon.
As it turned out, at the club pool the coaching was very basic and my daughter was not really challenged, having already learned the fundamentals back in the U.S. That left us with the option of swimming during the “Ladies Swim” time which was for a duration of one hour a day, at the end of the day. We took advantage of that one hour though while we could.
We go to hotels for the day and pay just to utilise even not-so-fancy pools. In our travels in India, we have been privileged to stay in beautiful hotels with shimmering pools and have always made it our business to enjoy them. We love going for brunch at a new hotel in Thiruvananthapuram where the price includes using their lovely, sparkling pool.
Sadly, we will be heading back to the U.S. soon, but until then, we’ll be using the unused swimming pools as much as possible during our last days in India.
amyjcolley@aol.com
