WHEN WE first met at the Belapur office of Dolphin Offshore Enterprise, which recruits, trains and places divers in jobs, Arjun Shetty's T-shirt declared: "I'm sotally tober."

At our next meeting at his Dombivli home, his red tee said, "I fear no beer."

His favourite one, though, reads, "I'm not drunk; I'm chemically off balance." The 24-year-old has had this one for five years, almost as long as he has been working.

If you work under water for 28 days at a stretch on eight-hour shifts, it is possible to identify with fish, and perhaps even drink like one. "We divers do drink a bit," Shetty said impishly "But at work, I have to be . totally sober and very alert."

Three hundred feet under water, hanging by the umbilical cord that supplies essentials like the gases one breathes and the communication links to the world above, one does not take chances. Regardless of how much or how well one trains, ultimately one has to think on one's feet, or fins to be accurate.

Shetty is in a profession few know about, and even fewer understand. So if you meet him at a party, he is likely to say he is an interior designer or salesman. Why the white lie? "If I mention diving, people ask which car I drive. It is time-consuming to explain what saturation diving is about. I opt for the easy way out," he said.

High-pressure job

Shetty dives in to the sea to check oil rigs, platforms, and whatever else is underwater and needs to be repaired and maintened. When a field engineer suspects there is a fault in a rig or platform, divers like Shetty fix it for him by making the structural modifications he has asked for. In short, Shetty is the engineer's arm under water, as well as the diving supervisor on board the ship that takes him to the relevant spot in the sea.

Sounds like child's play for those who love to swim or dive, right? Far from it, when you learn about the elaborate preparation that goes into the seemingly simple repair and maintenance procedure.

Shetty's team comprises six or nine divers, a mechanical and an electrical technician, a diving supervisor and a superintendent. At ground level, the atmospheric pressure on the body is one. It rises by one bar every 10 metres under water. So when a diver like Shetty is 50 metres under water, the pressure on the body will be six bars.

If the pressure on the body rises suddenly, its blood vessels could burst. So Shetty's body has to be acclimatised to the pressure he'd be exposed to. He is therefore placed in a sealed saturation or ‘sat' chamber on the ship. The chamber is a capsule-like structure comprising a sleeping-cum-living area and another space with a shower and toilet. Its pressure is gradually increased to match the pressure at the level he will be diving to. This can take up to three days.

Then his work begins, and he is ready to go under water daily to carry out the repairs. He usually spends eight hours under water, and when he returns from his shift, he goes back into the ‘sat' cham ber on the ship. This routine can go on for a month.

He reaches his destination under water in a "bell", a lift of sorts, which lowers him to the point where work awaits him. His 10-kg diver's cap supplies him the right mix of gases to keep his blood chemistry in balance, and provides a communication link with the crew on board the ship.

"We work alone for eight hours, sometimes in a zero-vision environment. Being a loner helps, but one also has to be a good team player," said Shetty. Once under water, his only contact with the world is the team of technicians, superintendent and supervisor on the ship, who monitor his every movement. They are his lifeline. He must trust them implicitly .

How did Shetty get here? His mother Yashoda, a homemaker, pushed her only child to train in swimming to wean him off television. He inherited his father Dr Haresh Shetty's passion for sports, and represented his school, Vidya Niketan, in Dombivli (East), as well as Maharashtra state in swimming.

Barely 18, and inspired by images on Animal Planet, Shetty decided to be a diver. "The myth was shattered after my first job," he recalled. But it also fetched him his first pay cheque of Rs 17,000.

In 2002, with a little help from a benevolent uncle, Shetty did his first air-diving course (see career ladder on the right) at Underwater Centre in Scotland. Four years later, when he enrolled for the saturation diving course that cost nearly Rs 10 lakh, he didn't need any help.

Growing up fast

The long periods of separation from terra firma, from family and friends, changed Shetty. "I got to know myself. I feel I grew up much before my contemporaries," he said. "My receding hairline reminds me of that."

He used to have a tough time holding on to friends when he was younger. That changed in the past five years since he has been diving. "We have a group of six very close friends outside my work. It is a group where I can be myself," he said. "We go out for long drives and holidays abroad. Or just chill." He has visited 15 countries on business and leisure.

Shetty will not say how much he makes, but said it was no small change. How has the money helped? "I don't ask anybody for anything I want," he said. What was his most extravagant splurge? "The Casio G-shock watch I bought five years ago. It cost me a bomb then. The prices have fallen since but it is my favourite splurge," he said.

What else does he want to splurge on? "I don't know if this will ever happen. But if one day, I can afford it, I'd like to make a trip in space."

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Case Study

BYE-BYE SUNSHINE: Arjun Shetty gets ready to enter the ‘sat' chamber on the ship

CHATROOM: DIVER ARJUN SHETTY ON WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE CUT OFF FROM THE WORLD

"Of course, it is exhausting. But at the end of the day, I can look back and say, ‘I've earned my keep today'... (Also) under water, there are so many fish and in so many brilliant colours... ARJUN SHETTY, 24 Job: Saturation diver Annual salary: In tens of lakhs

What I miss the most is my space, and the fresh air and sunlight that we take for granted, and simple pleasures like cutting chai and vada pav.

You don't need much education to be a diver, do you?

True, but being educated is being aware and being aware is being safe and safety is paramount in the diver's job.

Cut off from the world, don't you worry that something drastic may happen?

I cannot let even a hint of that thought enter my head. If I did, I couldn't work. I have to think positive. Always.

What if you don't like some guys you are holed in with in saturation chamber?

You keep to yourself and not get into each other's way .

Holed in the sat chamber what do you miss the most?

My space, the fresh air and sunlight that we take for granted, simple pleasures like cutting chai and vada pav.

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Case Study

COMING UP FOR AIR: ZENO LUIS LOVES THE DEEP BLUE SEA  ZENO CRAIG LUIS, 22 Job: Air diver Annual Salary: In tens of lakhs

HIS 12-YEAR-OLD sister Anika thinks he is a scuba-diving instructor on a cruise liner, but air diver Zeno Craig Luis doesn't bother to correct her. "It is too much of an effort to explain what I do," he said.

Luis dives up to 50 metres under the sea to fix oil rigs and platforms. Just as a construction worker on a 50-metre-high building would go up in a lift to fix something, Luis uses a wet bell - a lift that takes him under sea to his workplace. Apart from his diving suit, Luis dons a heavy helmet, ironically called the Superlite 17, with all the necessary connections - the air supply, video camera and radio or communication line. There is only so long that one can stay under water, so the challenge, said Luis, was in executing the job quickly, precisely, efficiently .

At 15, Luis had decided he wanted to be a sub-sea diver when he learnt of the profession from his cousin Patrick Rodricks, a sub-sea-diver-turned-instructor. "For two years, I worked as a tender, fetching tea and cleaning the decks - basically, doing all the dirty work," he recalled with a smile. "It was clean, hard work that kept me busy the whole day. There was something new to learn every day ."

Luis decided to back up his hands-on experience with a formal air-diving course from Underwater Centre in Tasmania, Australia, and paid his fee with a Rs 6.5 lakh loan that he is now repaying.

Air divers work in 12-hour shifts. Occasionally, when the sea is choppy, they get pushed against the underwater marine growth and get some cuts and gashes. But that is a small price to pay, said Luis, for doing what he loves: being underwater and getting paid for it.

"Of course it is exhausting, but at the end of the day, I can look back and say ‘I've earned my keep today'," he said.

To that is the added pleasure of swimming with exotic marine life.

"This is the best time to be under water. The fish are breeding, and there are so many of them and in so many brilliant colours," Luis said.

After the rigorous work, it is time-out. According to the rules, divers are not supposed to do hard work after deep diving because it can lead to decompression illness.

"So, I sit out on the deck and just chill, looking at the sunset and soaking in the fresh air," said Luis.

Born in 1986 on Republic Day, Luis owes his first name Zeno to Saint Zeon in a calendar. Only his name was misspelt. His mother was a radio personality in Muscat, his late father a technician with the Royal Oman Police and brother Zeon ??? an employee in the hospitality business.

What does he do when he is off work?

"Hang out with friends and play basketball," he said. "In Muscat, I spent hours on the beach swimming and snorkeling, but there are no good beaches in Mumbai."

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Case study

rapidfire

Sun sign: Sagittarius

The most amazing change you see in people in the ‘sat' chamber? We sound like Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse, and even for those of us who have been there for some time, it takes some getting used to. (Go to this series' website to hear Shetty in the sat chamber.)

 Imagine there were women divers on board. (Perks up) The work place would be visually much more appealing. But this is something that is not going to happen, at least in my lifetime.

Do you like bungee jumping or paragliding? Bungee jumping, for the sudden rush of adrenalin. But I'm going to go paragliding soon.

What is God to you? God, to me, is someone inside me who directs me to do the right thing.

Indoor games or outdoors? Outdoors, any day: football, tennis and cricket, the all-time favourite.

Your dream date? Actress Jessica Alba and journalist Barkha Dutt

What you think of most when diving? ‘Don't worry be happy' plays constantly in my head.

Your best assignment? A year ago when we flew to Cyprus, took a boat to Malta, and went to Libya via the Mediterranean. This was a five-star assignment, with great food, accommodation and working conditions.

Your worst? When I didn't get paid for four months of work in Nigeria.

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news you can use

Show me the money

ASSISTANT LIFE-SUPPORT TECHNICIANS

Orderlies who run errands for the team  while learning on the job.

Pay: $15 to $20 a day. (This industry quotes salaries per day, in US $)

 LIFE-SUPPORT TECHNICIANS

They ensure equipment and systems used in diving are in top shape.

Pay: $600 to $800 a day

AIR DIVERS

 They are trained to dive up to 50 metres. They stay in cabins after their shifts.

Pay: $170 to $220 a day

 SATURATION DIVERS

They dive more than 50 metres, and stay in the saturation chamber for the entire operation, which can last up to a month.

Pay: $225 to $350 a day

AIR SUPERVISOR

They stay on the ship, and direct the air  divers.

Pay: $500 to $600 a day

SATURATION SUPERVISOR

They stay on the ship, and use their experience to guide saturation divers.

Pay: $800 to $1,000 a day

DIVE SUPERINTENDENT

A dive superintendent is the overall in charge of the diving operation.

Pay: $1,200 to $1,400  a day

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SKILLS

Physical fitness: The work can be physically exhausting and hence it is important to be physically fit.

Dexterity: An ability to work with your hands helps when you are trying to manipulate equipment on the oil rigs and platforms under water.

Team player: One has to be a good team player.

Mental toughness: Calls for a certain bloody-mindedness to complete a certain task, sometimes in complete isolation. You have to be happy with your own company.

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TRAINING

THE UNDERWATER CENTRE, FORT WILLIAM

Inverness-shire, Scotland PH33 6AN

Tel: +44 (0) 1397 703 786

Fax: +44 (0) 1397 704 969

General enquiries: info@theunderwatercentre.co.uk (Conducts courses in Scotland and in Australia.)

INPP INSTITUT NATIONAL DE PLONGEE PROFESSIONNELLE (INPP)

Entrée n° 3 - Port de la Pointe Rouge BP 157 - 13 267 MARSEILLE - FRANCE

Tel: + 33 (0) 496 140 940 - Fax: + 33 (0) 491 73 83 01

Website: http://www.inpp.org info@inpp.org

INDIAN NAVY

Indian Diving Standard I course on the lines of Health and Safety Executive, UK, Part I. Five weeks

Cost: Rs 1 lakh approx Officer-in-charge, Diving School, INS Venduruthy Naval Base, Kochi 682004

>> More on www.hindustantimes.com/ hotnewcareers

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GO GLOBAL

The McKinsey Global Institute has projected a 2.2 per cent annual increase in the demand for oil a year for at least another 20 years. According to petroleum giant Exxon Mobil, energy demand worldwide is likely to be 325 million barrels a day by 2030, of which hydrocarbons will account for 80 per cent. Engineering and construction activity will accelerate in all sectors of petrole um in the Middle East, Russia, Africa, South East Asia and America and Canada. As oil production and exploration increases, there will be more demand for inspecting maintaining and repairing installations, resulting in a huge demand for sub-sea divers. Due to an acute shortage of divers, global firms in the sector are looking to India for their manpower needs.

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PLUSES AND MINUSES

One can start working as early as 18 years.

It is not a 9-to-5 job, and you do not wear a stuffy jacket and tie to work.

One makes a neat packet.

One gets to travel to different parts of the world and meet different people.

Because divers experience so much more at such an early age, they do not get easily rattled by challenges later in life.

One has to be meticulous about the do's and dont's, otherwise one can suffer from decompression illness.

The long periods away from home can take a toll.

The work can be physically strenuous and mentally challenging.

>> More on www.hindustantimes.com/ hotnewcareers

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