First Jump off the Cliff...

21st January, 2010

“There…look at that!”

…& everyone has his eyes fixed on this guy about to jump off the cliff! As everyone gives an open-mouth stare, the guy comes down the cliff & hits water…with almost a musical splash. Yes. Musical…!!!

“Wow…we’ll do that too!” No one says it, but then sometimes when we all think the same thought, it seems like an announcement. We agree to that too, without words - just with that glare in the eyes!

As we paddle our raft passionately to get closer to the cliff, the impatience start rising…from somewhere deep in belly, upwards…Coming out of the raft on to the rocks on riverside, we still have our focus on the cliff, where others are lined up for their turn. “Careful...!” shouts someone from behind - a little too late perhaps, as I already have lost my balance on extremely slippery rocks, too fascinated at the prospect of another dream getting fulfilled. Banging a round one with my palms, I gain back my balance. Strong stench of sulphur in the hot stream running down is adding the spice. I make my way to the cliff-top with mouth half-open in awe & eyes switching rapidly between other adventure-buffs on top & the slippery rocks down my feet.

I am 3rd in row, a nervous girl & an eager guy ahead of me. 3 minutes taken by the girl - nervous, agitated but still adamant to jump. 30 seconds taken by the guy, hungry for the thrill. Now it’s my turn - “Stand straight. Hold the straps up on your life-jacket - left one with right hand, right one with left. See in front, not down, front…& jump” guide utters. I know that as I have heard him saying that to the girl. Talking to me, he’s making no sense – I can hardly focus now…

Moving my right leg out from cliff edge & looking down…‘20 meters at least’, I wonder. As the heart-beat slows down with that view & thought of the jump, I step back. Deep-breath. Another couple of deep ones, a short close-eyed prayer & am ready again; this time looking straight to the mountain on the other side of the Ganges. Left feet out, a little bend in right leg, small thrust against the cliff…

As my body loses support under feet & as I start free-falling, the adrenalin is pumping at its peak, the acceleration is nothing but pure…unadulterated thrill. Feet search land for a couple of breaths & then they too start enjoying my fall. As I am gaining speed, I can feel the rush of air...racing through my body at an odd angle…downward-up! I can feel the complete aerodynamics of my fall, with closed eyes. Air tickling underneath my feet…rushing passionately through my groin…stroking hard my chest as challenge…eddying on my eyelids like some dream…raising excitement in my hairs…Gosh!

Crashing the water, I sense a contest between the crashing sound & the water itself, to reach my ears first. Both reach together, mixing into enticing musical blip fading into watery silence. Then begins another struggle...struggle between my gravity pull & bouncy push. Strange feeling it is, to churn between two natural forces. You can hardly do anything but to panic in despair or enjoying the experience. I chose to enjoy! As I bounce out, & air replaces the water in my ears, I can hear the blip again...fading back into more familiar sounds...sounds of water-rapids, of birds playing around, sounds of chattering on the rocks & sound of my breaths gasping for air. But most prominent is the sound of satisfaction ringing with a psychedelic effect!

As I swim back to my gang on the rocks, I realize that it will take me another couple of jumps to satisfy my thirst...but trust me...nothing like the first shot!

Searching at 4000 Meters…

02nd January, 2009

Huh….Huhh…Huhhh…Am choking…!!! Need to get out of here…God! How to come out of this sleeping bag? …No!!! More zips??? Getting out of this tent is such hard work. I’ll get choked before I get out for sure! …Ooooffff….Fuuuu…Fuuu…Fuu…Huhhh!!! That was close! It’s chilling out here but at least enough oxygen now! Wow…Look at the stars…haven’t seen that many ever. All this looks majical…! Taking out my high-neck pullover, I am going back inside. I need some sleep before sunrise.

It’s 4 am in my torch-lit watch-dial & somehow temperature inside here is too low to let me sleep! Hmmm…have to wake up! Coming out here, can you too hear this silence? Never experienced anything of this sort…! I can hear all noises…even my heart beat, as if using a stethoscope! Even fingers rubbing with each other are making sounds…Strange! Stars…uncountable…blinking at varying rate…that one is too bright…may be some planet!

This place…”Devariya Tal” – “The Lake of Gods” (2000 meters) is situated in to the inner Himalayan range of Uttarkhand on a peak surrounded by snow-clad mountains on one side & dense forest on other. No one knows about the source of water here, giving it a mysterious touch.

The darkness, the star-glittered sky is giving way to breathtaking view of glowing mountain peaks with snow. Clouds on top. Fog into the valley! The deafening silence is giving way to subtle voices…birds perhaps. Is this snow out here? Not exactly! It’s the dew that has frozen at sub-zero temperatures of the night. Even our sleeping bags have snow over them. No wonder I couldn’t sleep. The whole landscape, hidden in an ordinary-looking mountain forest, is picturesque. You can actually see the fabulous reflection of Himalayan peaks into the lake. The beauty around is mesmerizing enough to make an amateur like me to aspire being a nature-photographer. Meru-Sumeru, Kedarnath, Chaukhamba & many other famous Himalayan peaks are looking so close. Listening to the mythological & adventure tales by our guide, we trek 2.5 km down the hill to the village and are heading in our car to the base camp “Chopta” for the next trek : Tungnath.

Chopta (2500 meters) is smaller & emptier than our expectation. “Off-season…” we’ve been told. The place is famous for its sun-set views. After spending a lazy day here we are now walking to the “Sun-set Point” to check out the claims. The mountain peaks are changing colours, both rocky & snow-clad. Brown & white has suddenly turned into orange. It’s changing each minute to more tempting shades. Subtle patterns of clouds are making the view just perfect for us…merging the ‘gray-turning-to-red’ shade of sky to the ‘brown, green, white-turning-to-orange’ shade of mountains with the most smoothening effect we could have expected. As the sun starts setting far behind the peaks, the colours become uncountable in sky. Purple??? I didn’t know a purple in the sky! A sense of understanding settles within, about the emotions that artists go through on seeing such scenes that prompts them to create something…anything…whatever they are capable of – to share the experience with all. All of a sudden, it becomes all so important to share. As if something will spill out, if not transferred in parts…!

6:30 in the morning & we are ready for the trek after a good 10 hour sleep. Still not very bright outside. The chilling weather is reminding us that we are here for adventure, not for a visit. 3.5 km ascend to “Tungnath – The Temple” (3600 meters) is a well-paved path but next 2 km of trek to “Chandrashila – The Summit” (4000 meters) will be a wild one. The Himalayan peaks are changing cloths again as we move our way up admiring & photographing the beauty. Chaukhamba Peak in particular is there since the beginning of the excursion & somehow looks like coming closer & growing big…more majestic. Taking my right hand out of the gloves to click a photograph every now & then is tuff task in such cold. 1 km of trek & we can see the patches of snow on pavement. Another km & everything seems covered with snow!

Closer to Tungnath & snow cover is getting thicker…haven’t seen so much snow ever…my first! Just took out my hand to click another photograph &…&…something’s wrong! My fingers…! They’re loosing sensation…!!! They began swelling up few minutes back but I thought of minor hypothermia that I am used to. But now it’s turning dangerous…swelling, loss of sensation & mild shade of blue…!!! 1st stage of “Frost Bite”…is it??? Amid panic attack I start heating it up…back to gloves…rubbing…putting fingertips in mouth & exhaling…everything that I can think of! Oh god! Not this…Please! …5 minutes down, with Sun out…it’s getting better. Adventure…???

Offering our prayers at the Highest Shiv temple on earth & to the Idols of Pandavs (who came here searching for Lord Shiv), we are moving ahead to the 2 km long, steep, wild, snow-covered & less frequented trek to the summit, ascending another 500 meters of altitude. Some stretches are really dangerous. Only half a meter wide trek around the mountain, full of loose rocks, hardened & slippery snow. Mind numbing depth on the other-side. Out of water, we found all the water sources here freezed. So we are filling snow in a bottle now n trying 2 melt...no use…Eating snow to relieve thirst!

After 3 hours of trek since morning, we are finally at Chandrashila. “4000 meter : height from the sea level” says a board next to the temple of goddess Ganga. We’ve been told that when not freezed, many streams come out of mountain. No one knows the source. So they are called “Akashganga” – “Heavenly Ganges”.

Getting to the other side of the temple riskily through barely a foot wide way, we come face to face with the view that pulled us here…panoramic view of Himalayan Snow-peaks… Grey…White…Blue… it’s so beautiful that it’s injecting a sense of peace in my mind…my body…goose bumps are developing all over… feeling them through multiple layers of woolens…all 4 of us are ecstatic…”wow” word is popping out of mouths… more then once. Listening to each sound of my respiratory system in the silence…listening to wind… almost musical… Clouds are drifting around…preparing for more snow it seems…

That’s the Nanda Devi peak… you are looking as beautiful as ever Nanda…distinguished among similar looking others…most mesmerizing…most attractive. There’s something about you that no one else come even close to. Not allowed to trek there anymore I am told…Eluding Again?

After gazing the peak for some time…letting the view, the beauty sink in…after enjoying the accomplishment…after observing furiously fast moving cloud formations…& after gifting birthday bumps, we are trekking back…slowly & carefully…inquiring about next possible excursion…

Shadow of the Clouds…

08th June, 2008

No. You are not late. In fact we are!

Its already 1830 hrs, and we have just started our biking trip to ‘Kalsi’. Seasonal-traffic of pilgrims is only adding to the time lag. I’ll catch you back at Mussouri check-post; need to reach there before it’s too late…

‘Kalsi’ is a valley-village in Shivalik mountain-range & is the convergence point for Tons & Yamuna rivers. It was one of the furthest end of Ashoka’s Province & so a place of archaeological importance too. We are a gang of 9 Roadies on 5 bikes & are going to reach Mussouri by 2100 hrs tonight (as per plans…). The idea is to taste the waters for our next month’s Laddakh-trip & to cover half the trip in night time! We’ll halt at mussouri in night and start our way down in morning.

…Just crossed the check-post. It’s past 2130 hrs already and hotel is still at an hour's distance. What’s more? The Queen-of-Hills has more adventure planned up for us. It’s fog out here & is pretty thick at places. Our gang is already shivering in unanticipated cold as we zip-zap past the curves of Mussouri Hill.

…at 2 AM, its time to sleep with dreams of next morning’s drive.

Good Morning! We have started our trip down-hill to Kempty-Fall with washed out roads. It’s raining here and we are moving slowly to start with. Getting past the residential area & rain, we can finally see the beauty of the hills. Still at some 7000 feet above sea level we can see why Mussouri is called Queen-of-Hills. Water-washed, well maintained roads; splendid view of Shivalik range, blue in colour, garlanded with white clouds & greenery; fabulous road curves & 5 motorbikes taking turns one after another. That’s how they say heaven is like, isn’t it? Once the sun is out with its calming softness, it only adds to the addiction. Can you see these patches on the hills? Shades of this extra detailing - as if some art-work? These are shadows…Shadow of the Clouds! Changing in intensity with the clouds’ density. Riding alongside such a landscape fills up something in you, a longing perhaps for something serene, something to bring you closer to yourself.

We are now driving to Kalsi after taking a good two hour break at Kempty-Fall to bath away the exhaustion. Passing past this land-slide out here, it finally comes to our mind that we are actually carrying another risk in our kitty. We are passing the rubble with care, as the cars & trucks get helplessly stuck-up!

Close to ‘kalsi’ now, we can see confluence area of Tons & Yamuna… Huge plains with two rivers shaping a giant catapult…throwing pulses of ecstasy aimed at us! Besides rivers, it’s the beauty of looking at long-laid plains from the top of a mountain that makes it such a breathtaking sight. There…that red shaped dome out there…that’s were our destination is. King Ashoka is waiting for us, with a piece of history to tell us…

“The Mauryan king Ashoka (273 BC – 232 BC) of Magadh got his fourteenth edict engraved on this rock…This rock edict is in Prakerit language & Brahmi script…generally speaking the principals of buddhism…”

Exhausted by the 305 km long trip & content with the accomplishment, we are now drifting back to pavilion. Last 26 hours have helped us both shed-off the fears & apprehension & strengthened the desire to go a step further.

Oh…almost forgot…! Did I tell you that even the dustbin in that Edict premise had a touch of Mauryan Architecture? Though I still wonder if King Ashoka would have used a dustbin…Next expedition is poised at Laddakh next month. Will catch you there…

Ecstasy of the Fall...

13th April, 2008

Man…this was an experience of lifetime!

How many times in life you do something that puts you on that level of ‘High’? Level that makes you think back and relive the moment ‘n’ number of times…again & again…how it happened…what else could have happened…worse…better…? How many times have you planned an exhilarating event and everything went haywire and still it came out as a moment of lifetime, better than your plans? All that happened to us today and much more…

As we had already done the 16 km stretch in Rishikesh from Shivpuri, we decided to raise the bars and try out the longer 38 km stretch upstream of Ganges from Kudiyala to Ram-Jhula, ending up in the same Shivpuri stretch.

Though there is a lot that we experienced & imbibed in that Voyage of turbulence, this blog is about the first and the most elating Grade 4+ 'rapid' named “The Wall”. This 'rapid' is like a hole in the river creating a huge bowl of turbulence with rocks on one side and mountain on the other. What makes it most dangerous is the fact that the underside of the mountain has caves kind of profile, that acts like a trap for rafters. If trapped, it’s tough to rescue because of accessibility issues - with water turbulence only adding up to the problems.

We can hear the roar of the 'rapid' from quite a distance…tearing apart the serene ambiance of the landscape, challenging us to it. The turbulence of the 'rapid' is at its peak this time, making the river shake up from a good distance before the actual 'rapid'. Just the sight of the 'rapid' is making the adrenaline in our body rush full throttle. ‘Oh man…that looks great…!’ thought is working in this slowed-down moment of thrill & anticipation, soaking-in the images of the 'rapid' in ultra slow motion. The contrast of the furiousness of 'rapid' and unimaginable calmness of surroundings is making it a picture of a lifetime. It’s as if we are gladiators being watched by a mesmerized audience in the stands around. “Ganga Mayiya ki Jai…” we all yell out in excitement just before entering the 'rapid' to pay our tribute to the holiness & greatness of the river.

Eddies of the river are thudding the floor of our raft to add beats to the music of the water. The paddles are rowing fast forward towards the bowl of turbulence in full speed, only able to balance the direction for the raft being sucked by the centre of the chaos. Up and down we go uncountable times with the flow towards the heart of the 'rapid'. “There it is…the hole of the river”. An eddy of flow throws us up in air just on the edge of the bowl and down we go inside the bowl…now a part of it, with water from other end coming towards us like the fingers of a hand trying to grab a feather in palm. Moments apart we are on top of those fingers surfing on the concave profile, just about to get out of the grip…a slight flip of the middle finger and we are going back down to the middle. “All Down…” someone is shouting…may be the guide! All of us are inside the raft now, with side rope in our hand. We are a part of the contents of the bowl now…being mixed like sugar in coffee! Are we ingredients of a recipe now?

Down in raft, every one is flaunting different expressions…tension, fear, horror. Who’s this guy in aviators shouting "Yeehhh...!"…excitement? I am calm, devoid of thoughts. I have spilled them in water I suppose, observing everything like a movie. Everyone is a character it seems. The water is showing us its power, shouting with deafening roars, hammering itself on us from each side...huge splashes. Much to the contrast of our anticipation we are not getting toppled. We are getting churned! The great Ganges want to do some value addition to us it seems… one…two…three…

We are into our sixth churn & here comes another character in the movie to spice it all up…another raft! We are about to get crashed. A dying down eddy from the bottom of this raft throws us out of the bowl, toppling us out of the rapid. Down we go into cold water. Few feet down and I finally find my thoughts back…‘One hour’…it will take another hour for us to be rescued I am thinking. In these few fractions of second that it’s taking me to come back to the surface, I can count 1 to 100 I bet…it’s too slowed-down. Oooh…! I am finally out. ‘Where is the right side? I am supposed to swim towards right!’ The flow of water is making it all the more tiring to swim past the width. Few meters swim across and I get a paddle of help from another raft.

Getting on the raft I can see everyone holding on to any help they can, except one…he’s stuck up. “There’s another guy out there…!” I shout. “We’ll save him” they say & row me to the rocks.

The sheer ecstasy of the moment starts hitting now. Every one of us is sharing a big Five with a yell of joy…“That was great, isn’t it?” We do a head count and are relieved that everyone is safe…except the one who, though safe now, is still floating in water…drifting with the flow!

Everyone is busy digesting the moment in his own way now...staring the rapid…shouting, yelling…laying down on white beach. ‘That actually happened to us. This dangerous rapid…we just survived it…’ thoughts are taking rounds. Some minds though are planning for another take next time to conquer it. While one is still busy thinking about the next rapid he’s flowing into, waiting to be saved!

One thing, one thought, one emotion common to all at the end though is ecstasy...ecstasy of getting over the fears…ecstasy of a fight well fought…ecstasy of living that moment of lifetime…

Ecstasy of the Fall…!

Later we got back, with that guy obviously, and completed our 32 km voyage ahead of “The Wall”, facing more rapids of lower grade but the thrill & the excitement - the moment of the day was that half an hour that we are going to live many more times in our minds. A moment that surely will change our lives, adding to the chaos…in a positive way I hope…!