They say that the best things happen to you when you least expect it. They come unannounced and you don't get to plan for them. Seems right to me. So all of sudden the Adventure Club of LBS came into action with the proposal to go for Bungee Jumping and Rafting the coming Saturday which in fact had almost arrived knocking on our doors. Now this weekend was already packed with lots of writing to do for the reports, essay and book review so people had a hard time making up their minds or a sadist point of view would be that they had a genuine excuse to excuse themselves from the peer pressure of indulging in that free fall.
And there we were, at the reception, on a Saturday and at 0600 hrs. Doesn't seem that difficult for the uninitiated but we are the members of the league of shadows errr i meant Officer Trainees of the 90th Foundation Course and we love these two days where we need not wake up early for that pretentious little act of PT. As I reached the designated launch pad, I could see only a couple of people there with no signs of anyone from the Adventure club and the buses that were to take us to Rishikesh. But as the sunlight broke the dullness of the night, more people crept it. And we had nearly 25 people for the Bungee Jump which was surprisingly more than those who had only signed up for rafting. Way to go 90th FC!
Starting about an hour late, we reached Jumpin Heights Elevenish. On to the bus, as that place came near and near, the heart beats went higher and higher. There are always some people who would tell you they don't feel a thing. Just ignore them. Every one experiences fear, what differentiates us is how we handle it. Wow, that's too much philosophy for this not-so serious blog post. Apologies my Lords and Queens. At jumping heights, they offered three things - Bungee itself, Giant Swing and flying fox. Now the Giant Swing was a little mellowed down version of the Bungee with more horizontal displacement for those who cannot take the sudden downfall or for those who were obsessed with the swings in their childhood. Flying fox was like pretending to be Superman without the cape, the underwear and of course the power. So all of us went only for Bungee except one who had some knee issues who took the Giant Swing.
Now their office had these screens all around which were streaming the live feed from the jumping platform and that got us all worked out. People were planning out various stances they would take at the edge and all that jazz. And then came a form which really started the freaking out phase. The indemnity bond. Jumpin height would not be responsible if you get screwed in the air or if their reliable equipment fail at the time of your jump. That's sweet. After signing our death papers, we marched towards the jumping platform and this is the time when you get that feeling. The why-the-hell-I-signed-up-for-this feeling. And then the dilemma of whether to just jump right away or to let your friends do it first so as to buy some time. But as it turned out, waiting for your turn there is more killing than the act of jumping itself. Believe you me on this.
As we were discussing the right technique to take the jump head first (as if it really matters!), it was my turn. I moved along the long walk to the tipping point pretending that all is normal. But i tell you, my heart wanted to come out of the body and would only return once I am on the ground safely. The guy putting the gear on me told me that I should not look down and just jump. Duh, as if we have a control on that. As I readied myself for the final act, a few laws of gravity passed by my head. And then came the Murphy's law. Whatever bad can happen, will happen. Swallowing that realization, I proceeded to the edge. And I tell you, it is only those 02 second when you stand at the edge and when you actually jump. Once you jump, the fall is epic and you actually enjoy it like anything. Especially the rebounds and the 360 degree swirls. You just don't feel like hitting ground zero.
Post the jump, that feeling, of having done it, is sweet. And if someone asks you would you like to do it again, your reply would only be the affirmative. Since there were so many people, we were running way behind our schedule and would have missed out on the rafting but for the efforts of Paramveer and Karan who decided that one batch should leave ASAP and the other can come afterwards. As we reached the starting point of the rafting, we could see the beautiful blue waters of Ganga and it was so difficult to resist the temptation of just jumping in that heaven. But we held our horses as our raft guy filled us in on the do's and the don'ts which BTW are very crucial and quintessential. Finally we moved into the waters and oh, it was so beautiful. And then there were the rapids, the sweet turbulence, the jumps and swims and the not so synchronized movement of the pedals.
We were fortunate enough to get the longest stretch for rafting which was about three and half hours of bliss. When we reached the place of the cliff jumping, we thought it was a very mediocre height to jump from. But as they say, you only feel the heat, when you are the one in trouble. As we got on the top of the cliff, our view of this mediocre jump magically transformed. We needed some time to convince ourselves to make the jump. And the water down was so freaking cold, i think it froze my nose for a while. It was getting dark and our guide wanted to end the raft there itself but we convinced him to continue till the end. And that view in that dusk, of those lights on the ghats of Rishikesh, from the middle of the river, on that raft, simply outstanding.
As we waited alongside the road for a conveyance to take us to our bus, a procession of sort was approaching. A truck full of people making loud tribal voices. First we thought they are some aggrieved set of local tribal people but as they came, we realized that it was the other group of Officer trainees who came late. Nothing like finding your pals in a state of "Huha Huha...". As we started the drive back to Mussoorie, we pondered upon the same thought, what a day it was. Packed with Bungee and rafting. At last, I would only pass on that one cent of wisdom we all got.
"डर के नीचे ........ जीत है !"
And there we were, at the reception, on a Saturday and at 0600 hrs. Doesn't seem that difficult for the uninitiated but we are the members of the league of shadows errr i meant Officer Trainees of the 90th Foundation Course and we love these two days where we need not wake up early for that pretentious little act of PT. As I reached the designated launch pad, I could see only a couple of people there with no signs of anyone from the Adventure club and the buses that were to take us to Rishikesh. But as the sunlight broke the dullness of the night, more people crept it. And we had nearly 25 people for the Bungee Jump which was surprisingly more than those who had only signed up for rafting. Way to go 90th FC!
Starting about an hour late, we reached Jumpin Heights Elevenish. On to the bus, as that place came near and near, the heart beats went higher and higher. There are always some people who would tell you they don't feel a thing. Just ignore them. Every one experiences fear, what differentiates us is how we handle it. Wow, that's too much philosophy for this not-so serious blog post. Apologies my Lords and Queens. At jumping heights, they offered three things - Bungee itself, Giant Swing and flying fox. Now the Giant Swing was a little mellowed down version of the Bungee with more horizontal displacement for those who cannot take the sudden downfall or for those who were obsessed with the swings in their childhood. Flying fox was like pretending to be Superman without the cape, the underwear and of course the power. So all of us went only for Bungee except one who had some knee issues who took the Giant Swing.
Now their office had these screens all around which were streaming the live feed from the jumping platform and that got us all worked out. People were planning out various stances they would take at the edge and all that jazz. And then came a form which really started the freaking out phase. The indemnity bond. Jumpin height would not be responsible if you get screwed in the air or if their reliable equipment fail at the time of your jump. That's sweet. After signing our death papers, we marched towards the jumping platform and this is the time when you get that feeling. The why-the-hell-I-signed-up-for-this feeling. And then the dilemma of whether to just jump right away or to let your friends do it first so as to buy some time. But as it turned out, waiting for your turn there is more killing than the act of jumping itself. Believe you me on this.
As we were discussing the right technique to take the jump head first (as if it really matters!), it was my turn. I moved along the long walk to the tipping point pretending that all is normal. But i tell you, my heart wanted to come out of the body and would only return once I am on the ground safely. The guy putting the gear on me told me that I should not look down and just jump. Duh, as if we have a control on that. As I readied myself for the final act, a few laws of gravity passed by my head. And then came the Murphy's law. Whatever bad can happen, will happen. Swallowing that realization, I proceeded to the edge. And I tell you, it is only those 02 second when you stand at the edge and when you actually jump. Once you jump, the fall is epic and you actually enjoy it like anything. Especially the rebounds and the 360 degree swirls. You just don't feel like hitting ground zero.
Post the jump, that feeling, of having done it, is sweet. And if someone asks you would you like to do it again, your reply would only be the affirmative. Since there were so many people, we were running way behind our schedule and would have missed out on the rafting but for the efforts of Paramveer and Karan who decided that one batch should leave ASAP and the other can come afterwards. As we reached the starting point of the rafting, we could see the beautiful blue waters of Ganga and it was so difficult to resist the temptation of just jumping in that heaven. But we held our horses as our raft guy filled us in on the do's and the don'ts which BTW are very crucial and quintessential. Finally we moved into the waters and oh, it was so beautiful. And then there were the rapids, the sweet turbulence, the jumps and swims and the not so synchronized movement of the pedals.
We were fortunate enough to get the longest stretch for rafting which was about three and half hours of bliss. When we reached the place of the cliff jumping, we thought it was a very mediocre height to jump from. But as they say, you only feel the heat, when you are the one in trouble. As we got on the top of the cliff, our view of this mediocre jump magically transformed. We needed some time to convince ourselves to make the jump. And the water down was so freaking cold, i think it froze my nose for a while. It was getting dark and our guide wanted to end the raft there itself but we convinced him to continue till the end. And that view in that dusk, of those lights on the ghats of Rishikesh, from the middle of the river, on that raft, simply outstanding.
As we waited alongside the road for a conveyance to take us to our bus, a procession of sort was approaching. A truck full of people making loud tribal voices. First we thought they are some aggrieved set of local tribal people but as they came, we realized that it was the other group of Officer trainees who came late. Nothing like finding your pals in a state of "Huha Huha...". As we started the drive back to Mussoorie, we pondered upon the same thought, what a day it was. Packed with Bungee and rafting. At last, I would only pass on that one cent of wisdom we all got.
"डर के नीचे ........ जीत है !"
1 comment:
I am beginning to admire ur writing...really awesome for you to have penned down these thoughts... dunno how u find time Swapnil :)
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