Our inflatable raft bounced viciously and
slapped the turbulent waters. The next instant, six of us were thrown into the Himalayan river- a splash of outrageous cold, an inky black darkness and the death-grip on my lungs … If you’ve ever been a victim of paralyzing fear, I’m sure you could relate to that! It was about three months ago, in June, that we had gone river rafting in the Himalayas. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the sportthey sit you down in a bright blue raft and give you a ‘safety briefing’. Then, you are dumped in the middle of a furious river with a cute yellow paddle in hand, just to make you feel like you’re in control. But nobody knows if you’re going to make it alive. Of course, they don’t put that on the brochure! I don’t remember much about the ‘safety briefing’ that day, because I was too busy being Jack Dawson on the bow of the Titanic with my arms outstretched. Who needed instructions anyway? We were tough young animals bred in urban jungles, fighting daily battles on 8
Facebook. This river-thing was a piece of cake. And then, about 3 minutes after we had set sail, it happened. We were in the river. The water forced itself unto me, onto me and into me. I only managed short gasps of breath on the surface, before the strong current pulled me down again. All I could see was muddy water and our raft growing smaller in the distance. It was easily the most petrified I had ever been. And if there was one thought on my mind, it was- THIS is going to be my next article for the magazine. If I get out of this alive (fingers crossed)! Eventually, the river slowed down and the six of us caught up with the raft one by one. As the instructor pulled us back in, I feverishly thanked the good Lord for blessing me with this new life. Sitting down, I remembered that this was a 15 mile trip. “How much farther?” I asked the instructor, casually. “14 miles” he said, even more casually. He was doing this on purpose, I could tell. But I was going to play it cool until we were back on MY turf- dry land.
Nachiketanjali September 2013