You’ve walked through INS Kursura on RK Beach. Here’s what life on a submarine is really like

If you live in Vizag, you have probably climbed down into INS Kursura on RK Beach. You walked through in ten minutes, ducked through a few round hatches and came out into the sea breeze. Now imagine staying inside for weeks, under the sea, with no window and no way out.

That was ordinary working life for the submariners of the Indian Navy. Dr. GPR Krishna volunteered for the submarine arm in 1997, earned his Dolphin Badge in 1998 and served fifteen years in the Navy. Here is what that world is like, and why it shapes how he coaches people today.

A museum today, a home for 75 people once

INS Kursura was commissioned on 18 December 1969 and served for over 31 years, including in the 1971 war. She was decommissioned in February 2001 and opened as a museum on RK Beach in August 2002. The boat you walk through was built for a crew of about 75.

No sunlight, no clock

Once a submarine dives, day and night stop meaning anything. The crew is split into groups that take turns: each works a six-hour shift and then keeps watch, round after round. Submariners describe sleeping four to six hours at a stretch, and on some days hardly at all. Every day is a working day until the boat reaches port.

Water everywhere, but not to bathe

“None of us take a bath till we reach a port for replenishing.” — a junior officer of the Indian Navy, speaking to Salute magazine

The sea is all around, yet fresh water is the most precious thing on board. It goes to drinking and cooking first. Everything else waits.

Tight, hot and never quiet

Every wall is covered in valves, gauges and pipes. You move through hatches bent double. Only two decks are air-conditioned. The rest of the boat stays at around 30–35°C, and the crew works through it.

Why only a few are chosen

Not everyone can serve in a submarine. It takes systematic mental and physical conditioning, then training at the Submarine Training School. The Dolphin Badge on a submariner’s chest means they have passed it and can be trusted with every other life on board.

What a submarine teaches the rest of us

• Calm is a skill, not a mood. In a sealed boat, panic spreads faster than any fire. Crews drill until the right action comes before the fear does.
• Speak up early. One officer told Salute: “There is no privacy or secrets here. We talk to everybody, otherwise isolation will eat into our lives.” Teams at work need the same honesty.
• Routine carries you on bad days. When there is no sunrise to wake you, the watch schedule does. A fixed routine does the same for a student before exams or a manager in a hard quarter.

This is what Dr. GPR Krishna brings to personality, leadership and sales coaching in Visakhapatnam: pressure handled calmly, by habit. If you want to build that for yourself or your team, book a discovery call.

Sources: Salute magazine, “Life inside a submarine” (salute.co.in); Indian Navy, Submarine Museum INS Kursura (indiannavy.nic.in); INS Kursura (Wikipedia). Next time you visit RK Beach, look at the bunks and think of three months at sea.