Meghana at one of the freediving sessions | Photo credit: Special arrangement
For 33-year-old Meghana Rajsekhar, whose life reads like a quiet defiance of fate, life has come to a close. She was 12 when a 9.3 earthquake on December 26, 2004 triggered tsunami waves that wiped out her family, neighborhood and almost all villages in Car Nicobar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The waves swept her away from everything she knew, leaving her alone in a world suddenly emptied of familiarity.
For years, water remained her adversary. A reminder of loss, terror and survival. In time, however, the very element that once threatened to consume her became the one that made her learn to breathe again.
After the tsunami, Meghana survived through instinct and determination. On the fourth day, weak but alert, she saw a man standing on a cliff and called out. He guided her to Indian Air Force personnel who arranged for medical care and her return to Hyderabad. There, her father’s friend, Group Captain GJ Rao, secured her admission to a boarding school in Vikarabad at her own request.
Meghana studied architecture at Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University and envisioned a future shaped by sustainable design. In 2018, as she prepared to leave for the University of Helsinki, her body faltered. A sudden and severe drop in hemoglobin to a count of 2 forced her to abandon her plans and reckon with mortality again.
In that fragile interlude, she found herself longing to be reunited with the man who saved her life years ago.
A chance phone call from Rao’s group captain triggered a search that led her back to Car Nicobar in December 2018. There, moderated by Air Commodore Bhullar, she met Basil, a tribal fisherman who pulled her from the brink of death. Over the weeks that turned into months, they formed a bond that needed no explanation. She also reconnects with Beulah, a classmate she last saw on Christmas 2004.
Speaking to The Hindu, Meghana said, “You only fear things you don’t understand. Repeated exposure was the only way out.” She started going back to it on purpose. One course at a time, one descent at a time starting in 2019. What started as scuba diving has slowly evolved into something deeper over the course of 200 dives and countless swims. During the first COVID-19 lockdown, a brief stay at Shaheed Dweep turned into months of isolation when she was stuck there, forcing her to confront both solitude and the sea more intimately.
Freediving naturally followed in 2023. Descending on a single breath required more than strength; it required inner peace. “You’ll meet there,” she said later. Beneath the surface devoid of noise, dependent only on calmness and trust.
By 2024, she has slipped into the blue sky alongside sperm whales and humpback whales. Later that year, she swam the perimeter of Car Nicobar with a team led by group captain Param Vir, tracking the edge of the island at her own steady pace over a period of 3 days.
This year, training in Thailand took her even deeper, to 30 meters on one breath. Injuries from last year and this year added up and temporarily pulled her from the sea. For now, he is resting, healing, training in water bodies and waiting, ideally to return to the ocean by March 2026.
When not in the water, Meghana faces out. Illustrating his underwater journeys, he works with a handful of orphanages in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, offering academic support, teaching soft skills and assisting with medical assistance. In the second half of that year, she teamed up with Group Captain GJ Rao to contribute to his suicide prevention mission.
Meghana also writes about her journey to the sea along with the stories of those who have inspired her forward. With his words, he hopes to honor children without parents, coastlines without protection, and communities whose survival depends on caring for both land and sea. Education, nature conservation, responsible travel and sustainable living form the backbone of this vision.
Once the ocean took everything from her. Now she enters it voluntarily, not to escape the past, but to find herself, breath by breath.
Published – 25 Dec 2025 19:21 IST
