Technology hasn’t only
made information available about objects that could only be known through
scholars or travellers, but it has now brought everything at your finger tips.
Google is not merely a web portal, but has become a synonym for a term like ‘search’.
All you require is to type in ‘holiday
destination around Delhi’ and it will list you over a dozen options with
reviews, maps, hotels, food, weather conditions and everything else that you
might want to know about. Among the various options I had, one of them always seems
perfect for a weekend getaway, Rishikesh. Besides being known for its temples
and religious virtues, it also offers a range of adventure sport activities
such as, White Water Rafting, Trekking, Bungee Jumping, Para Gliding etc.
I had heard that, “when
you are young you must travel and see the world, all you will need is a book
and a pillow”, but this time I wanted to take a friend along. Unfortunately
very few among the list of acquaintances I have, share the belief that
sometimes all you need to rejuvenate is some peace and quiet of the wilderness.
I managed to convince my friend Vival, who himself needed a break from the
routine life that he was following.
The ideal time to leave
Delhi is around 3am, when the roads are clear of traffic. At 11 o’clock in the
night when I picked him up from the train station, we had a few hours to kill.
After having burgers for dinner and a cup of coffee to keep us awake, we made
last minute calls to see if anyone else wanted to join us. Before we could
change our minds about the trip, we hit the highway an hour early. At about
3.30am we stopped at a roadside dhaba for some tea. In that hour long break we
discussed how life had changed from what it used to be when we were still in
our University in London, weighing our option that had to follow. We both
understood the depth of our troubles, but as strange as it may sound, we
narrated our stories as if they belonged to someone else, because neither of us
at that moment was worried about anything in life.
We had covered half the
distance already and would have reached our destination a bit early from the
stipulated time. As much as we were in rush to crash on a bed, we knew we won’t
find anything before sunrise. We drove at a nominal speed and took a second
break near a cliff to catch a breath of fresh air and listen to the sound of
the river which gushed a few hundred feet below us. Our calculations were
accurate at 7am when we arrived at the camping site, the area was deserted. We
looked around and woke up a few attendants. While Vival did the paper work, I
grabbed a burger that we had got packed from McDonald’s before we left Delhi
and after another cup of tea and a Hearty North Indian Breakfast, we both dozed
off.
I woke up around noon,
and looked outside, it was cloudy, which meant we would not be able to go
rafting today. The facilities at the camping site did not look comfortable at
all, so we headed out to explore the other options which could match our lazy
ass lifestyles of the city. As we drove up the rocky terrain to get on to a
real road, we spotted a Resort right next door to the camping site. We looked
at each other and blamed our lethargy for the inconvenience we caused
ourselves. After a bit of bargaining we managed to get a room for less than
half the price. We had to let go the option of free meals, but we figured that
we were going to eat out anyways. After lunch we continued our lame expedition
and before we even realised it was time for dinner. We headed to our previous
camping site for dinner assuming that there might be more travellers out there
around the bonfire, but curse our luck, that due to expected rain all of them
had cancelled. The camp owner was rather sympathetic of our bored faces and set
up a miniaturise bon fire right outside our camp. After dinner we told him that
we might not stay over at night as we will head out to Mussoorie, and will
return in the morning, we dint want to tell him the truth, although we had
already paid him, but still felt bad, as he had lost a lot of business due to the
unpredicted change in weather. We checked in our rooms at the resort and for
once the luck was in our favour, it rained heavily last night and we could see
the camping sight below fighting with strong winds.
The next morning when
we woke up it was still raining, our trip was turning out to be a bit lull, but
again, we din’t regret it. The peace and quiet of the wilderness was working
after all. As we were discussing our day the sun shone bright and I saw a raft
filled with excited and over whelmed youngsters howling away as they hit the
first rapid. I looked at Vival and he knew the question I was going to ask, and
his instant response with conviction in his voice was ‘no’. After checking out
we went down to the beach and were having tea when a couple of more rafts
showed up. What amused me was the fact that out of the two of us, it’s me who
doesn’t know how to swim and Vival’s excuse, that the cold water would make us
sick sounded too phony, I think he was scared. I had made up my mind and was
not going back to Delhi without getting a feel of adrenalin rush and fear run
down my spine. I told him that he can sit and enjoy the weather for a few more
hours, and he can pick me up from the drop off point. He might be lazy as hell,
but is definitely not one of those who can sit alone; he eventually gave up and
decided to join me.
In matter of minutes we
had booked ourselves a raft and had geared up in life jackets. Vival had just
started cursing the friend who had introduced us in London, when our instructor
brought out declaration papers for us to sign which would wave him off from any
responsibility, in case we would drown, or you know DIE!, Vival lost his
serenity. I did not need to fall of the raft into rapid which would crush my
bones against the rocky banks of the Ganga River, Vival’s fake death stare and drama
was already killing me. He dipped in a tow, to check how cold the water was,
and screamed words that only made everyone around us laugh in agreement. We finally
set sail, if that’s what I could call it, since we hardly used our oars and
were just drifting if the current. The first rapid wasn’t that scary at all,
but we were shivering as the water was unexpectedly cold. Our instructor in the
mid of the course switched rafts as the other one had problems balancing with
the weight, and left us with a trainee, none of us objected. The second rapid
was a Grade 3, and the first person to fall off was the trainee instructor. When
he finally got on, we couldn’t stop laughing.
In the mid of the
course, came a point where the current was slow, and the water deep enough to
jump off from a cliff. Vival’s drama had finally ended and now he had more
courage than I did, he was too enthusiastic to do a summer salt from a height of
25 feet, I on the other hand had a flash back of the last time I dived and hurt
my tail bone. None the less I went for it, and this time asked our guide on how
not to get hurt. I reached the top and without exaggeration started to tremble
with fear. Vival did his stunt, as I stood up there praying and trying to remember
the instructions. The queue behind me was getting impatient and before anyone
decided to push me I made the jump, it felt like forever, infact midway I
started wondering if I was already dead, and so could not feel the cold water,
just to check, I looked down, and to my dismay I was alive because right then I
hit the water and hit my jaw. It felt like someone had knocked the living
daylight out of me. I don’t remember if it was the hit that altered some brain cells
or my subconscious mind but somehow I learned how to swim. I reached the shore
with a sense of achievement, recalling the adrenal rush and the whole drama I
had created was a moment I could always tell a story about.
Another two rapids and
our escapade came to an end. Spent another hour or two at the beach by the
resort and tried to gather the last hour of peace before we headed back home.
Life is too short and
uncertain to plan a big holiday, but mini-ones can be fast arranged provided
you have a bit of taste for adventure in you.
February 2012
