New Delhi, Dec. 27 -- One sunny day, there I was, being lowered into the deep blue sea in a cage, to look some sharks in the eye. Just as in the movie, Jaws, which I remember watching with my eyes closed and ears plugged with fingers. The sharks circled my cage, bumping it, rocking it wildly, battering it so they could get at me. One came close to severing a metal bar and breaking into the cage. My heart jumped out of my chest, and I screamed-prompting a visit from an alarmed neighbour.

The sharks around me were only virtual, circling around in my new Samsung virtual reality (VR) headset. But I'm not exaggerating when I say this was a real traumatic experience. I no longer step into the real sea.

Swimming with sharks in 2015 was a simul...