Finding Calm in Crazy Rapids
By Ankit Arora Director, Concepts & Solution Marketing I will never forget the feeling of river, sand, torrent, thrill and momentum, when my heart and mind worked in the same direction for the first time, each determining my next action when the wild rapid kissed my hand. Every year at the onset of summer, I get away from the heat to be amidst the beauty of nature. This summer, I visited Shivpuri which promised to be an all-adventure trip. Heralded as the ‘Soft adventure capital of India’, Shivpuri is dotted with nature camps on the banks of the Ganges. This was my first adventure experience and the most thrilling ever! After reaching and filling ourselves with the scrumptious local breakfast, we headed to a nearby trek destination, Neer waterfall. The trek was of about 12 km with a scenic view all through the forest. Once we reached the hilltop, we did some swimming. The freezing water of the gushing stream rid us of our tiredness and refreshed us for our return journey. The evening was spent around a bonfire, exploring the singer within us, and playing games such as antakshari and dumb charades. The next morning, we couldn’t contain our nervousness and excitement as we got ready for river rafting. The process at the beginning was slightly long, including a safety briefing session by a rafting expert. After that, our guide took us for a short round to acclimatize us with the nature of the water post which we were asked to row. Initially, it was difficult but with practice, we got better. During our rafting expedition, we crossed some surging rapids such as Roller Coaster, T-off, Golfcourse, and Double Trouble. Our guide had instructed us before rafting, “Keep calm and keep paddling.” That nerve-wracking experience in the water cannot be expressed in words. What thrill and what a high of life it was! The actual act of rafting itself was immense fun. The peaks and valleys of calm waters and crazy rapids made for a truly fantastic day. Contrary to popular belief, rafting is not just getting thrashed about for hours at a time. There was plenty of time to relax and enjoy the absolutely gorgeous scenery and there was still plenty of excitement to be had. As the rafting progressed, there were chances to explore other activities such as body surfing and cliff jumping. After completing a route of 16 km, our rafting expedition finally came to an end. With an absolutely contented heart and a resolute mind to return to this paradise, we readied ourselves for the journey back to Delhi. What this experience made me realize is, “To trace the history of a river is to trace the soul, the mind descending and arising in the body.” Feedback: ankitarora@concepts-solutions.co.in
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