Save Marine Life! 8-year-old Thaaragai Aarathana Dives With Father To Free Up Ocean From Plastic Waste

Thaaragai Aarathana and Aravind Tharunsri, a father-daughter duo, are willing to go to any length to bring attention to the critical issue of endangered marine species and depleted aquatic life.

Thaaragai, an 8-year-old from Karappakam in Chennai, appears to have a special connection with the sea. She initiated scuba diving at the age of five. Aravind Tharunsri, a scuba diving instructor, assured his young daughter was exposed to the rich marine biodiversity.

The childhood passion of Thaaragai for scuba diving resulted in making a difference in the marine world, as she holds up the record under the theme 'Save the Ocean' in Assist World Records Attempt for swimming across Covelong to Neelankari, an 18-km stretch.

Origin of Mission

Thaaragai never feared water because she was exposed to it when she was only three days old. Even when she was under one, she began to float conveniently.

Aravind, an avid scuba diver, has always wanted to teach his daughter to dive. His dream came true when she qualified to scuba dive in shallow waters and had an affection for marine bio-diversity. Aravind was determined to make her daughter a personified scuba diver because the future generation must save and preserve its resources.

'Save The Ocean'

Thaaragai can now reach any length to draw attention to the critical issue of endangered marine species and depleted aquatic life. On National Girl Child Day, the eight-year-eco activists made an audacious attempt to draw our attention to her ongoing battle against water pollution (January 24). She set a world record in the Assist World Records Attempt for swimming an 18-kilometre stretch from Covelong to Neelankari with the theme "Save the Ocean."

Thaaragi shared her adventurous experience of scuba diving, "It was raining when I started swimming, I had cramps underwater, it was extremely cold, but I enjoyed the seven-hour journey. Being in and around waterbodies excites me to do more for its future," as reported by The New Indian Express.

Recent Feat

The eight-year-old girl celebrated her eighth birthday by scuba diving for the first time. She saw jellyfish, a shoal of colourful fish, jackfish, grouper, and corals during her first scuba dive. The diving session did not end there because the young girl noticed plastics and, being a marine life admirer, it was impossible for them to look at such an alarming ocean situation.

The duo then planned for underwater clean-ups regularly; since then, they have gathered over 600 kg of plastic bottles from mixed clean-ups. Then they plan to donate the proceeds from the sale of the scrap to the Government of Tamil Nadu's Department of Environment.

After the movement for marine biodiversity, the father-daughter duo launched a short documentary on marine pollution for awareness in schools and beaches. Arvind, a true ocean lover, has dedicated himself to ocean-free pollution since 2010 and raised the Indian Flag underwater on the current year's Independence Day.

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