He swims to glory even in his twilight years

For most of the people life comes to end after retirement. But for 72-year-old

MVV Swamy, life began only after his retirement ! Swamy unmindful of his age, indulged himself in various adventure sports after his retirement, bagging around 300 medals, of which two third of them at national level games.

After retiring as Civil Engineer, Karnataka Public Works Development, he thought of achieving something in life and began his life from 'ground zero' in adventure activities. He took to swimming, cycling, boating, rock climbing, bungi jumping, parasailing, running, walking, and trekking.

In a span of just 12 years he became an astounding sportsperson to the extent of representing the State several times at national level athletic events held in several places all over the country such as Assam, Rajasthan, Harayana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Bombay and Madhya Pradesh.

Having mastered swimming he became an expert in free style, back

stroke, butterfly, breast stroke, diving winning medals in events like the 100 mts swimming, 200 mts, 400 mts, back stroke and individual medley. He swims very gracefully and enthusiastically in the pool drawing the attention of budding sports persons.

He keeps himself busy everyday in various activities. He exercises everyday for three hours which involves swimming, walking and running. Once in a week he practices rowing and cycling and climbs the Chamundi Hills once a month. Being a member of Youth Hostel Association of India, Gangotri, he frequently goes for

trekking with the group.

His another hobby is reading. He can read any newspaper or book at a stretch without taking any break. He says, by reading, he can enrich his knowledge and learn new things. He also took part in a life saving course held at Bangalore recently. His life companion 65-year-old wife Prema Swamy is a musician.

'I thought of doing something, which incidentally began after I retired. Now I can walk, run, swim continuously for 3 to 4 hours and I am free from several health ailments. Age is not a barrier for achievement, it all depends on the mind. If health is lost everything is lost. Specially, aging people should remain fit and lead a happy life.'

'For several people life becomes dull after retirement. They sit in park suffering loneliness. Instead they can involve themselves in one or other activity keeping themselves engaged and adding colour to life,' he adds.