In a crepuscular setting at the harbour, four young sailors work on their boats. The day’s races are over and another morning beckons.
The light, even as the sun gradually melts, adds lustre to their visages. And their hair bobs in the strong gust. Visible is a sense of expectation from a land with a heartbeat and a soul.
For Denmark’s Casper Ledefoged and Jakob Precht, the voyage to India is one about learning to cope with the sea and exploring a unique culture. Frida Winzell and Ella von Melen of Sweden hope their trip to this part of the world will enable them understand India and its people better.
They are already bonding well with their Indian competitors. These events for the youth are as much about winning as building bridges across contrasting lifestyles.
“The people in Chennai, they are so kind,” says the 19-year-old Winzell in a chat with The Hindu on Wednesday. von Melen, also 19, says: “I am fascinated by the traffic here. There are so many more people and vehicles.”
Apart from duelling it out in the India International Regatta, the duo wants to “just see the city.” Ledefoged, 18, talks about watching Bollywood movies “in bits” back home. He has seen Slumdog Millionaire but comprehends that the movie was more of Hollywood’s take on India. Actually, he is relieved to travel from the “cold Denmark” to the much “warmer” India.
Precht, 17, is drawn by the Bay of Bengal. “There are big waves and swells here. Back home, you get the huge waves only when it is very windy. It’s challenging,” he says.
Winzell cannot wait to try out Indian cuisine. “I don’t really know whether the Indian food we sometimes eat in Sweden is authentic. I am sure it will be here,” she says.
von Melen is just “curious” about Chennai. She has not visited any of the temples or the malls here though.
Cricket is the premier game in India. In Sweden, she says, “Zlatan Ibrahimovic (star footballer) is the closest thing we have to God.”
Wednesday was one of contrasting fortunes for the aspirants. Ledefoged and Precht were leading in the 29ers. It was a forgettable outing for the Swedish girls.
But then, their journey is not only about podium finishes.
