Kundalika White Water Rafting!

Rushing River + Raft + Friends + Rains = Great Weekend!!

Now, I have been thinking of River Rafting for years… but going all the way to Rishikesh takes a lot of planning and seems a looong way off! And so, it has been getting postponed time & again. L

But about a year ago, I heard of “Kundalika River Rafting” which can be experienced just about 4 hours away from Mumbai… and hence seemed perfect for a fast weekend trip..!

The last week of August, it finally came about and we called Oye Weekend, for bookings… and was told that we can directly go over to Sutarwadi and meet Estine and pay on the spot. The reporting place is at the MHE (Mercury Himalayan Explorations) Site Office. We were told to reach there by 8:30 sharp. The dam supposedly opens up at a particular time… and the rafting can only happen when the dam opens and the water levels rise.

 We had to leave Borivali (Mumbai) at 4:30 in the morning to reach there on time by 8:30… (the journey normally takes 3 hours but the roads are pretty bad during monsoons.. so take that into account as well).  Our first stop was for Vadapav & Kanda bhajji at Ramvadi (It’s an ST Depot at Pen, but you can take your car inside, where there is a small canteen which is open 24 hours and where you get really awesome & HOT VadaPav even at 6:30 in the morning, which is about the time that we reached).. and took another stop at Kamath’s Govinda (a restaurant at Nagothane, and recommended for good food & clean toilets, which is a requirement if your group has girls..!). Lots of rafting groups seem to stay over at Kamath’s Govinda the day before. The rafting location is just about 30-45 minutes away from there. We actually saw a group over there that later joined us for rafting.

We reached the MHE site office by 8:30, met Estine, changed into shorts, paid up, chatted for a while and then followed their jeep (which had three rafts loaded on top) to the starting point at Sahjey Village through a narrow winding village road…

The surroundings were a collage of different shades of green and very beautiful… with the sun just starting to shine again...

We were one of the earliest ones to reach… and as we had gone there on a weekday (to avail the discounted rates) we were afraid that we might be the only ones there..!! But eventually were joined by about 45 other fellow rafting enthusiasts… alongwith 6-8 instructors.

Most of the instructors were experts brought down from Northern or North eastern india.. and usually worked the rapids at Rishikesh. They work here only for a couple of months… mainly the monsoons which can be termed as the Kundalika River Rafting season.

We spent a pleasant hour exploring the surrounding area, clicking photographs and chatting with the instructors. But a walk down to the river side showed that it was quite pitifully devoid of flowing water… atleast not enough for rafting and especially for rapids..!!

And then, the horn sounded… (much like a war horn)… which they told me was the warning sound that the dam was now being opened... once the horn was sounded, we noticed many groups of villagers who came and sat on a nearby hilltop.. which I later realized was to see us Rafting..!! We seemed to be their sole source of entertainment on a dull weekday morning..! J

And finally, the water came..!! It took about 20 minutes to reach the starting point, where we were waiting… and I don’t believe I can explain its beauty in words.. or even through the video I shot (which you can see below).. it was beautiful (according to me) and scary (according to mom) so the opinion does vary.. but it was worth seeing. The whole rocky bed of the river was within a minute covered with gushing roaring water… and the river basin was filled to the brim. 

By then it was about 10 o clock and all of the participants had finally gathered and suited up with the lifejackets, helmets and paddles…

And the river rafting finally began..! Ofcourse… before getting us into the water, we had a round of basic instructions given by one of the trainers… about “Forward” paddle and “Back” paddle and “Stay/Stop”.  The instructions were given in a very fun and engaging manner.. thanks to the instructor whose name I have sadly forgotten..

We helped put our rafts into the water… and I made sure to jump in and grab the front seat (J) and off we were…! Ours was the last raft to be filled.. and normally where all the other rafts had 8 participants and one instructor.. ours only had 6 + 1 instructor. Guess it gave us more freedom in maneuvering the raft…

We were the first ones to set off down the river… and the first few minutes was about getting a feel of the raft and learning to paddle in sync with your team. I was apprehensive at first as to how we would be able to hold ourselves steady on the raft… but it was “maska”. Once your feet are nicely tucked in the raft, it seems completely natural to be sitting on the side of that raft… I did not feel at any moment that I might fall overboard..! Even through the 3-4 feet waves that we seemed to be riding..!

The next Hour and a Half was pure undiluted happiness…!! (Now that is how I felt… considering my fascination with water… but it was fun for everyone else I talked with later as well). Our Instructor ‘Pardeep’ was of a more definitely adventurous kind, daring us to do stuff and making us let go of our fears of being in a raft for the first time..!!

Starting with getting our heads wet in the river…! Now that we were all secure in the knowledge that our foothold in the raft was locked… he told us to bend backwards out of the raft and dip our heads in the river..! So… that’s what we all did.. on the count of three..! And wow it was refreshing…! But by the time I got all the water out of my helmet.. I realized one of my team members was in the water!! :D Don’t worry, we hauled him in within seconds..! J

Looking back… we saw that the raft following us was also fishing one of its team out of the river..!! :D

Pardeep also dared us to stand on the sides of the raft.. which let me tell you were extremely slippery.. and atleast the first 15 attempts were fruitless… and it was starting to seem like an impossible task..!! But we all finally managed to stand on the outer edges of the raft with the paddle firmly placed inside the raft and acting as a balancing rod.

But then, we were ordered to take our places fast as we were about to enter the rapids..!! Sadly… there were only two major rapids. The first one... is named after some guy… Something John Rapids (I think…)  and the other one was called Rajdhani Rapids..! :D

Once the rapids were over… we entered a patch of river which was quite still… okay.. maybe ‘still’ isn’t a good description… because it still had a strong current and was flowing.. but after the ferocity of the rapids… this was actually very calm & silent… In this stretch.. Pardeep ordered all of us to jump over board..!

Whether you know swimming or not… the lifejackets keep you above water and quite safe… and once you get used to being in the water… you figure out that the best way to enjoy it is to float your way forward… the gentle but relentless current of the river takes you ahead alongwith the rafts and your other team members…

I believe we floated alongside the boats for about 3-4 kilometers of the entire journey… Once you are in the water.. you don’t feel like getting out..! It’s the perfect temperature for swimming.. nicely cool but not cold..!

It was fun with many people making formations while floating.. like the ones sky divers make when floating in the air.. forming stars and rings… with guys climbing the rafts and somersaulting & back flipping into the water…

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, one of the instructors was rowing along in a small Kayak (His duty I guess is to help if anyone falls in the water.) He could actually flip his Kayak over in the water and then make it upright the next instance… It was really worth watching… :D

According to me the most difficult task of this whole experience is climbing into the boat again from the water… managing it alone is definitely an impossible task… with even the boys having to be pulled in by others. Me and another of my girl team members were lucky… the instructor took pity on us and told us to turn around near the raft; took hold of our lifejackets and pulled us out in one quick experienced jerk..! Thank god for buoyancy! ;)

The final lap we spent rowing idly and looking around and in general feeling blissfully happy…

We landed at their pre-decided point. From here, the team members help their instructors to carry the raft over their heads, up the small hill to the road where the vehicles are parked. You get garma garam Vada pav & Potato Bhajji and Boiled Corn Cobs over there. The corn was really sweet… but to tell you the truth… I wasn’t hungry at all… I was still full from the experience of it all..!!

I am definitely going back someday… or maybe now I am ready for the next level.  Anyone wants to join me for a go at White Water Rafting at Hrishikesh?? J

A little piece of wisdom...

My feet crunched dead leaves as I walked the winding path through the jungle. I was trying to contain the elation and peace that I felt at being in these familiar surroundings again. Somehow, this remote part of the world never seemed to change. It was cocooned by the very fact that no one was concerned over-much about it.

I had walked this narrow path hundreds of times over the year. It led from my house, on the outskirts of the village, into the hills that surrounded it. I brushed the overgrown branches of trees aside and navigated around some very sharp looking thorns that had fallen in the way. It looked as if no one had walked through here in a long time. 

Now, I don't know if you have ever walked on these trails through the hills; they have a unique beauty of their own. They do not usually follow any sensible pattern or straight line; actually if you note; they are always serpentine. They have been formed by whoever was the 'explorer' of that path. In fact each path seems to tell a story of its own. There are trails which cut across the hills in a direct, purposeful manner; and you know that whoever walked that route the first time had been in a hurry to cross the jungle safely and speedily; while there are some trails which never go straight for more than a few steps; like the one I am walking now. It makes you sure that the 'Columbus' of this path had been very, very drunk!

I come to a point in the trail where there is a huge boulder on my left and a 10 feet drop on my right; but there is considerable space in-between to walk on... But over here the trail  instead of going straight; climbs around the big boulder and comes down to the earlier level again... Now, why my 'Columbus' couldn't have walked straight is a mystery. My best guess is that after so much drinking, he had to go and pee behind the big boulder... So I ignore that curve in the path and go straight... for these few un-chartered steps; I am the explorer... It makes me happy; thinking that generations would come, who would follow a trail that I made...

The first couple of hills have an abundance of trees and undergrowth but these eventually thin out and you come out to see rolling hills sparsely populated with trees. This open pasture is usually the feeding ground for some buffaloes and cows from the neighbouring farm-steads. They are left free to roam in the morning and they return home on their own by dusk.

As I walk through the warm sunlit pasture, I notice a herd of Buffaloes grazing nearby; but what catches my attention is the tiny scrunched up figure I see sitting in the shade of a lone mango tree. I walk up to him for a chat; I love catching up on the stories from the village; and I am sure he could use some company to relieve his boredom.

I get a quick crooked smile of welcome, letting me know that he recognises me. I smile back without recognition; but a few moments of staring at him intently and putting my brain into overdrive to sift through the various possibilities; helps me arrive to the conclusion of him being the youngest child of the Joshi's who lived two hills down east. I ask him this; just to be sure; and he nods his head enthusiastically; happy that I remembered him from a past visit.

Before I knew, I had whiled away a good half hour listening to village gossip and happily munching on raw mangoes that he had collected. A buffalo mooed loudly and I remembered what had snagged my mind earlier. I asked him why he was there in the jungle; when the buffaloes were usually un-herded by anyone. "Well" he said "in the recent months a leopard has taken up residence in this area and sometimes attacks the village live-stock. One of our own Buffalo was killed a few months ago. So, my family decided that I should start herding the Buffaloes; that's why I come here everyday with the herd". Now, THAT left me open-mouthed in surprise (though I would rather say shock!). I closed eyes for a moment and opened them again; hoping against hope that I might see a different picture or aspect of him than what I had been seeing till then. But it was of no use; he still hadn't developed any sudden height or muscle or fierceness... He was still a small, pain-fully thin boy with brown sun-burned skin, wearing cut-off pants and a banyan with a wooden stick in one hand and an old scythe tied to his waist. HOW, in god's name, was this child supposed to stop a leopard from killing any of his cattle or for that matter protect himself against it?!!?

I was sputtering for quite sometime; while he waited patiently, smiling at my surprise. "Have you ever been attacked since?" I finally got out. "Yes" he said proudly "Twice". "TWICE" ?? I exclaimed "And what happened?" He broke off a blade of grass and chewed on it nonchalantly while he shrugged and said "Nothing Happened. The leopard couldn't kill any buffalo..."

Now, I was starting to look at this boy in awe... so okay, he might not be built like Hercules; but he did have courage...

"So, how did you make the leopard go away?" I asked eagerly "Did you fight him with your scythe?"

His eyes widened for a moment before he burst out laughing "Are you crazy?? Look at me.. I can't fight a leopard! He will kill me in a flash!"

Now, I was stumped "So what made the leopard go away?" I asked. "The Buffaloes!" he gasped between his laughter.

"So, the Buffaloes made the leopard go away??" I asked slowly to reconfirm.

"Yes"

"But.. but then, if the Buffaloes can fight the leopard...why didn't they do it earlier?"

"Because I wasn't there"

"But you don't DO anything!!" 

"I DO... I give the Buffaloes a reason to fight..."

Now I was lost. Maybe I should stop trying to understand this... maybe it was one of those village things that only they could apparently make sense of... my brain was going to fizzle and melt...

"Ok" he said, wiping the tears from his eyes and finally getting his laughter under control. "let me try to explain this. I know it all came out in a jumble earlier."

"You see, these Buffaloes have been in my family for years, they have known me since I was a baby and I have grown up drinking their milk. I have washed them, collected their manure, pulled on their tails and slept on their backs.. I am family to them.

Now, when they were attacked earlier their thoughts must have been of self-preservation; each one fearing for its life, tried to run away from the leopard. This led them in different directions thus making it easy for the leopard to corner one and attack.

But, now when the leopard attacks, their first collective thought is to protect me. This makes them group closer, forming a protective circle around me; facing the leopard head-on. You see, the buffalo being so much bigger then a leopard, he only tries to catch it when it is alone and facing away from him as he has to avoid the horns which might very well skewer him.

Thus, when faced by a horde of Buffaloes, all facing him with their horns being wielded as weapons; he usually retreats. So, in trying to save me; they end up saving themselves as well. Got it??" he asked, smiling at me.

I smiled back; finally understanding what he had meant by "I give the Buffalo's a reason to fight" 

He looked up at the sky and stood up. "It's time for me to round up the herd and head home." I nodded in acknowledgement and waved him off, after thanking him for sharing his story as well as the raw mangoes.

I sat there for a while, thinking of the story that I had just heard. 

Does it really make us more courageous if we have someone to protect?? Maybe it does..

I remember how much my sister was afraid of cockroaches, usually being the first one to stand on the sofa while the cockroach was in some corner on the floor. But becoming a mother changed her considerably or so I had to believe when my three year old nephew told me about the time when his "Super Mom" had killed a cockroach! I looked up at my sister for confirmation of this "Super-Act" and she nodded wearily... "He was very afraid of it... and there was no one else to kill it!"

Now I know a cockroach isn't comparable to a leopard, but trust me, knowing my sister I knew the amount of courage she must have had to muster to kill it.

So maybe this "Theory" does work... and speaking of "Theories..." (now this is a drawback of being a management graduate... I tend to see management lessons in all stories..)

Therefore, here it it... the "Management Moral" of the story is "If all the team-members have their own individual goals in mind, they tend to go in different directions and are likely to fail" but "If the team-members have one common goal or vision, they can get better results in the end!"

I look around me. I am alone in the meadow now. I stand up and hurry home, retracing my footsteps on the "Drunken Columbus" trail. I look back once at the mountain top where I had been headed originally, before I had been waylaid by a Buffalo-herd and his story. Maybe I will go there tomorrow.

People usually climb the highest mountain peaks, hoping to find peace and flashes of wisdom. Well... wasn't I lucky... I had found a little piece of wisdom right here... in the middle of a sun-warmed meadow...

The good and the bad and everything in-between

"Wait till you meet Joey.. you will LOVE him!"

I heard this sentence (or rather variations of the same) repeated over and over by different people that day... usually followed by a couple of other lines of description, such as "He is so funny" or "He is great!" or just "He is CRAZY!!!" 

It was my first day at office and once everyone was introduced to me, I was allowed to spend the first day just idling around the office, getting to know people... and basically understanding everybody's role in the office. It also happened to be the day when this seemingly popular "Joey" was on a leave... and thus all my new colleagues, intent on showing me that this was a very cool office, kept on telling me stories about Joey, who was apparently the 'livewire' of the office. "He is from Kerela, you know.. with this Big moustache and crazy hair and he has this very funny accent... But he is AWESOME!"

Trust me... by the next day even I couldn't wait to "meet Joey"! And then when I finally met him - this stick-thin guy with the Big moustache and crazy hair and weird accent and lopsided smile... I knew I would be one of the people who tells the new joinee... "Wait till you meet Joey; you will Love him!!"

But life has a way of striking the best of us down when we are least expecting it. The same happened to Joey... He had been in love for a couple of years... But a hasty court marriage, followed by a lot of bollywood style filmy drama and Nasty divorce left the poor guy gasping for breath and wondering how his life had come to this... 27 years old and already a divorcee. He acted as if his life was finished. Everybody at the office did their best to support him emotionally, to try to cheer him up and eventually, down the months, he did start laughing and cracking jokes again...but you could see it in his eyes... He had changed...


The divorce left us with only the shell of his former self... the inner core seemed to have withered away. We watched in despair and did all that we could... but how do you teach a guy to learn to trust again...? He seemed to doubt all his relationships and his ability to judge a person...

And then one fine day, Fate took pity on him and Rita walked in into his life. Smiling, bubbly, conventionally beautiful with a propensity of shocking people with her ribald humour when she opened her mouth. She met Joey at a community function and was attracted by his quick wit (now that's my guess... though its open to discussion as to what might have attracted her!) Anyways, for whatever the reason, she set her cap for him... and pursued him with all her heart, confidence and cracking humour. And I don't know exactly how she did it... for Joey by that time had turned into one cynical and dark fellow; but she definitely thawed him out...

One of my colleagues had once asked Rita why she was settling for Joey; a divorcee & a grouch... to which she had simply said... "There was a lot worth saving in him... don't you think so??" and she added with a wink "Besides... Maybe it was just time for him to get lucky!!"

And she was right.. maybe it was time for him to get lucky... The difference she was making was quite easy to note... There was a lightness to Joey's step and sparkle back in his eyes and a perpetually silly grin stuck on his face...

This month as they both bind themselves in "Holy Matrimony", I wish them both a lifetime of happiness and togetherness...

As I browse through their engagement photographs, The smiles on their faces are proof enough of their love and commitment to each other.... And I can't help but think; that even if Rita never does another good deed in her life... she has still secured her place in heaven... afterall... She saved a Man's soul...