By Shobha Rao Smilemaker

Mar 7: Weekend is the time to explore and find smiles in places around Mangalore and this time we decided to rise early morning to go Kayaking at a village called Kolachikambala, off Mulki.

Once we got off the National highway at Hejmadi, the drive at dawn to this place itself was amazing. We admired in silence, the wild natural scenic beauty of the beautiful backwaters of the Shambahvi River.

We entered the compound of the Mantra Beach camping and Kayaking site - the name I saw on the internet, and was surprised to see a board called ' The Surfing Swami'.

Did you know that Indian surfing history was created at this remote village of Karnataka? This is the site of India's first ever Surf school called Mantra Surf Club which was started by Americans Jack 'Swami' Hebner & Rick Perry way back in 2004 when Surfing as a sport was extremely rare with only 12 Indian surfers and 7 from Mantra Surf Club during those times.

Without wasting time, we filled the online declaration forms, listened to the instructions from our guide Charan, wore our colourful life jackets and got on to the even more colourful kayaks along with our paddles.

The warm morning rays of the rising sun, the clean waters all around, the vast expanse of the sky, the cool breeze, the mangroves of the
Nadikudru island - yes we felt completely united with all the five elements of nature.

Once you sit erect and use your upper forearm for paddling, this seemingly difficult sport turned out to be quite easy for all our team members except one.

At one point the water became very shallow and I did see Captain Haddocks 'billions of brown blistering barnacles' on the river bed, we were warned not to step on them, as they do creates blisters.

The return trip around the other side of the Nadikudru island was quite easy, possibly to to the assistance of a river current in the same direction. Suddenly I found myself alone on the river, just seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting the sights, sounds, smells, and the wonder around me. I said a small prayer of gratitude in my head and felt a spiritually uplifting moment within me.

I had to return quickly before the water level reduced. This unique place adds a Spiritual touch to the Sporty experience. The founders believed in ancients Indian texts which state that the natural elements are part of an organic spiritual dimension. Such water sports can become more of a Spiritual Experience that help people to seek higher levels of enlightenment. The unque Spiritual aspect of the Surfing Swami founder still continues, in this place that is thankfully free of crowds.

The water adventure sports package at the resort also offers stay facilities in rooms or event in tents on the nearby beach. They offer meditation, yoga or massage sessions along with only vegetarian food, and a policy of strictly no smoking or alcohol consumption on the premises.

Clean toilets and changing rooms were ready fir us. We had a healthy breakfast of a variety of healthy energy laddus, sprouts, whole wheat sandwiches and more.

We just soaked in the simplicity of the place and took back amazing memories of kayaking with a smile.

Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.