Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (MS)
Puttur, Nov 22: In one more case of software engineers giving up their lucrative career for some off-beat but noble cause, a woman, who hails from Puttur in the district of Dakshina Kannada quit her well-paying job, took up swimming lessons in order to coach her daughter and subsequently took up coaching as her profession.
Nirala Bopanna Rai is the woman who has given priority to the happiness of her daughter than the highly paying job. It all started five years ago, when Nirala saw her four-year-old daughter Deetya being made to jump forcefully into the deep end of the swimming pool by her coach. Deetya was so scared that she just refused to go to swimming classes after the incident. Swimming was a passion for Nirala. So she wanted her daughter, who is nine-years-old now also to learn and enjoy swimming.
Once decided, Nirala approached Partha Varanasi, coach at the Puttur Aquatic Club. In addition to being a coach, Partha is also an Austswim presenter. Partha advised Nirala to take up the Austswim course, which will help her to coach her own daughter. Austswim is recognized in many countries as the industry standard for tutors or coaches of swimming and water safety.
After completing her Austswim course, Nirala started coaching her daughter Deetya and she started to love swimming again after the fearful incident that took place five years ago. This encouraged Nirala to do something more. So when second daughter Nyra was born, Nirala quit her job and did infant swimming course under Austswim presenter Ceri Weeks. Nirala started teaching swimming to her children at Bengaluru Club. Many club members who saw Nirala teaching her children wanted her to coach their children too. This turned Nirala to become a professional swimming coach from a software engineer. Her husband Bopanna Kalengada has a major role to play in her decision as he supported her to what she liked.
When Nirala came to know that many parents wanted their children to take to swimming at a very young age, Nirala started a parent-child programme called 'Bubbling Fish' three years ago. This course helps the children and babies feel comfortable in water and learn the swimming in the right manner. Now Nirala coaches at sports centres and clubs of Bengaluru. Nirala is of the opinion that she finds immense job satisfaction in being a coach of swimming that the highly paying IT job, which she did for more than 10 years.
In addition to normal coaching in clubs and sports centres, Nirala and coach Partha took a group of around five kids and their parents to the Maldives as a part of fun activity where the parents took up snorkelling and diving. This helped both the parents and the children to understand the ocean more. According to Nirala it is essential for children to learn swimming at a very young age not only in clubs but also in oceans along with the necessary safety techniques.