RAFT MERI JAAN

it was 24th may 2008,the car had taken us from our guest house(dharamshala rather)to a place called SHIVPURI,from where our adventure was to begin.as we reached there a large rubber raft was shown to us.we were going to row that thing for a lenght of 18kms in the chilling waters of the ganges.add to that,our giude made us sign an agreement that complete rsponsibilty of our lives rested upon us,and if anything happens to us during the adventure,the authoriteis would hold no responsiblity,it felt like i was signing my suicide note.

after a 10 point lecture by our guide,we mounted our raft,there were 10 people in all,1 guide and 9 tourists,apart from 5 of us there were 2 couples from delhi.the guide had chosen me and a delhi guy to sit in the front-row(i dont know why)rest sat in subsequent rows of 2,with the guide in the centre at the back.we had paddles(chappu)in our hands,to row the raft.and we were supposed to do so at te guides instructions.

in a rivers course in the mountains there come areas where due to the rocks and banks,the flow of water gets very violent and turbulent(and dangerous),these areas are called RIFTS.and in rafting the rifts are the most fun thing(and dangerous again).the guide had warned us to be extra cautious during the rifts,and specially me being the first one to face them.

during the first rift,just as things had got more turbulent and i had started enjoying,i suddenly heard all my companions shouting,and before i colud realiose what they were saying i saw a girl in the water just next to me,i thought i had seen this girl somewher,shit,she was the one from my own raft and had fallen in the water,just next to me.instintively i held her from the collar of her life jacket pulled her up,just as we had been told to do,but it was not as easy as it seemed,it took me atleast 3 tries to pull her back to safety(maybe she was a bit heavy),so as the rift passed she was told to be extra-cautious from next time and hold tight,(in between all this i had a lot of fun during the rift) .a few more rifts passed,some dangerous,some easy,exactly in the middle of the journey we reached a place called CLIFF JUMP by the locals,as the name suggests there was a cliff about 20-25 feet high and we could see people jumping into the waters as if they were jumping in there swimming pools.(and i wanted to do it)

so.......as i reached the top of the cliff in a line of many(pandey and ashay had already dived).for 2 seconds i shut my mind and hauled myself in mid air.....................

there are some feelings in life which cannot be expressed merely in words,this was one of them.

we all have studied WEIGHTLESSNESS in std. 9 physics,but i bet very few have actually felt it. it felt as if

all my 8o kilos had vaniished somehow,for 2 seconds i cudnt feel any pull on my body,and then i hit the chilling waters of the ganges,it was fun,really the feeling was awesome!!!!!!!!!!

some more rifts,a few dives in the water,swimming in the ganges,wow,it was cool,truly this was an expereince of a lifetime,a must do for eveyone in college,kya pata kal ho na ho????