Marshalling swimmers

"My job was the only one where an official is in direct contact with all the swimmers, which turned out to be great fun. I got to know all the swimmers from all the countries. Talk to them, learn about them…When I had problems calling out the names with funny pronunciations —I had a little language barrier with the Maldiveans and the Nepalese — we used the universal language that is the smile and managed fine!” notes Ratasha Tampal in What’s On. Tampal was invited to be a technical official at the first South Asian Swimming and Waterpolo Competition held in Islamabad from September 3-10, 2007. India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan were the participating countries.

(Right) International swimming competitors; (inset) Ratasha Tampal

Tampal was required to organize the swimmers, allot them lanes and send them to the starting point. "All the officials would start the day with a march-past representing their country, which made me feel very proud,” she notes.

A source of delight and communication was music. It kept everyone on their toes and though the Nepalese didn’t understand Indian music or the Sri Lankans, Pakistani music, "we all danced and rocked together.” Dining together was also a source of pleasure even though most Indians were vegetarians, the Pakistanis, meat lovers and the Sri Lankans, fruitarians, she notes, describing the whole experience as "fabulous.”

Sadly, there was not a single Zoroastrian participant. When swimming competitions started in Karachi, Parsis used to rule. But now there is not a single one at the national level, notes Tampal.