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His acrobatic displays on the cricket field may be a thing of the past, but he can now be caught surfing the waves. Some lucky persons in Mulki managed to see former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes get his wave time. CHANGING ROLES: Former cricketer Jonty Rhodes enjoys surfing in Mulki.

His acrobatic displays on the cricket field may be a thing of the past, but he can now be caught surfing the waves. Some lucky persons in Mulki managed to see former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes get his wave time. 

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 On his first visit to the Mangalore coast, Rhodes visited the Surfing Swami’s Retreat at Mulki, 30km from Mangalore.

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Jonty Rhodes with the Mantra Surf Club

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The Kaliya Mardana Krishna Ashram was founded by 69-year-old American Swami Bhakti Gaurava Narasingha Maharaja (Jack ‘Swami’ Hebner). The Surfing Swami has been actively surfing and, incidentally, this will be his 50th year of surfing the waves. He currently lives at Sri Narasingha Chaitanya Ashram, a devotional sanctuary on the banks of the Cauvery at Sri Rangapatna but came to the retreat during Rhodes’ visit. 

Rhodes is the ambassador of the Surfing Federation of India of which Hebner is the patron. Retreat manager Gaura Nataraj told Times of India, “We were extremely happy to welcome the brand ambassador to our retreat. He spent most of the time surfing. He liked the place and the atmosphere and indicated he’d like to visit the place more often.” 

 Rhodes was served vegetarian food at the retreat. Nataraj said the former cricketer had visited Kovalam in Kerala recently to inaugurate the country’s first national surfing competition organised by the Surfing Federation of India. 

    The retreat, set up in 2004, offers Surfing, Stand-Up Paddle, Kayaking, Body-boarding, Wake-boarding, Swimming, Volleyball, Mantra meditation, Yogasanas, Surf film entertainment and environmental awareness documentary presentations. The ashram also offers backwater tours and snorkelling. 

 Another famous visitor in the beginning of the year was Sandy Hobson, the 30-year-old intrepid adventurer from Australia.