A Joy Ride To Heaven And Back

Achal Dhruva goes white water river rafting on the Ganges

Come on team, all forward." "Aye, aye captain." But it was easier said than done. "Yaaah…….!," the full-blooded war cry was of no use in my herculean effort to paddle forward but it did help in squashing the butterflies in my stomach. There was no turning back from the ‘great wall of water’ in front of us and we braced ourselves as the swirling rapid buffeted the eight-man raft. Thundering and foaming like a raging bull, the rapid tossed the raft around like a leaf trapped in a storm.

"Achal, buddy you have finally lost it," a voice kept screaming in my mind as we climbed the wave at a precarious 70 degree tilt - up, up.. and then down with a bang, paddling was the last thing on my mind as I held on for dear life. If it hadn’t been for the "oh shit line" (lifeline) running around the edge of the raft I would have been sucked into the white froth, which had looked so exciting seconds ago.

MHE Beach Camp at Shivpuri

Within minutes it was all over as I heard the command, "relax team," over my heart beats going wild. Flushed with excitement, adrenaline pumping through my veins, I joined the rest as they raised their paddles and slapped them flat on the water shouting, "Jai Gange," a victory cry and coming together of rafters to celebrate the conquest over the rapid.

The rapid we had negotiated, almost Grade IV category, merited its name, ‘Roller Coaster.’ It was a joy ride of a lifetime and I was hooked. While thousands flock to Haridwar and Rishikesh for a religious ‘fix’ with a dip in the Ganga, White Water River Rafting (WWRR) on the Ganges is a different high altogether. The swirling and foaming rapids had succeeded where innumerable temples and clanging bells had failed. They brought me face to face with God, I think the entire Indian pantheon of 33 crore deities had flashed before my eyes. I am convinced if there is a God, then one of the easiest ways to meet him is to go WWRR on the Ganges. If you don’t believe me just ask the ‘spiritual rafter.’

The spiritual rafter is a ‘phirang,’ a Hare Krishna-type, who meditates all day long on a two-man canoe on the river thus nicknamed as spiritual rafter. WWRR on the Ganges is addictive and once you have been on a run you are left panting, ‘yeh dil mange more.’ It is no surprise that many adventure seekers flock like migratory birds each season to get their dose of thrill. The ‘holy’ river is very popular for this adventure sport and Shivpuri near Rishikesh is considered as the WWRR capital of India.

There are innumerable converts to this adventure sport like Rajesh Barua or Baru of Mercury Himalayan Exploration (MHE), one of the several rafting and adventure companies dotting the beaches upstream of Rishikesh. Baru chucked his lucrative job at Star TV to be an instructor with MHE for nearly two years before joining National Geographic. Shrugging his shoulders he explained, "First time I came to MHE as a client. It was such a fabulous experience that within a month I was back with friends. And then I simply stayed back."

For me, it was also a case of ‘love at first sight.’ The MHE beach camp at Shivpuri with rows of tents on a small strip of white sand wedged between the river and thickly wooded hills of Rajaji National Park is a dream location and an ideal place to rejuvenate yourself. Far from the maddening crowds seated around a camp fire listening to Pawan (instructor from Nepal) strumming on his guitars, singing soulful ballads in his native tongue, sleeping under a canopy of stars with the Ganges gurgling a lullaby is what life is all about at the MHE beach camp.

It is also a popular destination for ‘Outbound Training Programmes’ and MHE set up a division in 200 deg called Quantam Leap for Resource Management and Development Practice with special focus on experiential learning through outbound activities. The camp has a plethora of activities like abseiling, mountain biking, volley ball, rock climbing, trekking, yoga, trampoline jumping, nature walks etc. While the beach camp has an idyllic back to nature feel, it has got all the modern creature comforts like hot and cold water showers, solar powered lamps in tents (each equipped with twin cots).

The lure of life, one with nature and of high adventure seduced me despite my brief three-day sojourn. Thirsting for action I got more than I bargained for on the three different runs on the river. On day one we embarked on a 13 km leg down the river from a place called Malakunthi re-christened as Marine Drive by rafters, a stretch of road running along the river with a tiny strip of sand. It is a picture postcard location complete with a small suspension bridge spanning the river.

“Oh! what a feeling” - trampoling at MHE Beach Camp

This leg starts off with the rapid, ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Money Changer’, a gentle one, which sets you in a mood for the five other exciting rapids -‘Black Money’, ‘Three Blind Mice’, ‘Cross Fire’, etc. Rapids are classified into grades going up to Grade VI, depending upon the volume, gradient, intensity and levels of technicality involved. ‘Three Blind Mice’ is a succession of rapids and is classified as Grade III plus. It sure gets the adrenaline pumping, as wave after wave crash into the raft. Completely drenched I was left shivering like an old man afflicted with Parkinson’s despite the bright sunshine. After each rapid we ended up removing our helmets bailing out the water. ‘Cross Fire,’ the fourth rapid is also exciting as after crossing this rapid you get a chance to do some body surfing.

"Okay folks this is your chance to body surf. Just hang on to your life jackets and float with your legs pointing downstream and your heads above water to watch out for the rocks," announced Baru. At first I thought he was joking. He must be crazy to think of jumping in the freezing water. But then I thought to myself, "What the hell, it’s now or never" and jumped overboard.

As I went under, I felt the cold water biting into my flesh like hundreds of piranhas. But as I resurfaced to stare at the sun, a feeling of exhilaration swept over me. Floating downstream in the pristine waters of the Ganges was like riding a high induced by grass. Everything seemed to slow down as I got enveloped in a cloud of tranquility. The body seemed to be suspended in time and space and I exclaimed to myself, "Ah this is life!" I could have drifted forever in that limbo but reality hit back with a vengeance with the scary thought, "What if I have drifted far away and am on the verge of another rapid?" I began to thrash wildly in the water signaling to be picked up.

One can body surf on the Ganga, as it is a drop and pool river. After a rapid there are long stretches of relatively calm water. Thank God for that, as it bought me some time to recoup and calm my high-strung nerves after paddling frantically through a rapid. Rivers like Indus and Beas are ‘busy rivers’ where you are always on the "go, go, go", as the strong current doesn’t let up ever.

Rafting is generally done on two kinds of rafts, one with two huge oars and other which is powered entirely by paddles. While in the oar raft the guide generally does the hard work, the paddle raft moves on sheer sweat, yours. The sweat factor apart it’s the ‘anybody can do it’ funda, which has made this adventure sport very popular. No technical skills are required if you want to go rafting as an enthusiast. All you need is a decent level of physical fitness and a high quotient of spirit of adventure.

Passion of adventure not withstanding, I questioned my sanity, on encountering the very first rapid. Falling overboard in a rapid is a rare occurrence according to the instructors but it makes your experience complete. Maybe it had something to do with me being a journalist or maybe a Piscean but I was cleanly ejected out of the raft as we hit the next rapid, a Grade III plus.

As I went under, all I could hear was the great roar of water. I was tossed around what seemed to be in all directions at the same time. Even though I surfaced almost immediately thanks to the life jacket, the waves had me gasping for breath. I was thrown out of the swirling frothy cauldron of water in quick time and before I knew it I was hauled back on board. The journey into the heart of the rapid had lasted just two minutes but it had seemed like hours. Baptised, I was an instant convert joining the legion of white water junkies. However, I swore at that very moment never ever again to dream or contemplate how it would feel to be inside a washing machine!

Four hours and several rapids later as I stepped off from the raft, a loud roar continued to resonate in my ears. Scared that the Ganges was running its course inside me thanks to the tons of water, which must have seeped through every pore in my body during the dunking in the rapid, it turned out to be my rumbling stomach.

Time out for `mind, body and soul’

A bit of paddling, loads of water and action and I was ready to eat a horse. Expecting the regular fare of no frills alu sabhzi, dal chawal meal, typical of adventure camps, I was in for a very pleasant surprise. Lunch and dinner are a lavish spread of Indian, Continental and Chinese dishes and culinary skills of the Kashmiri cook, Ghulam Mohamad come to fore if you order (in advance) a Kashmiri Vazwan, a menu of set traditional Kashmiri dishes.

The second day we set off on the Shivpuri down run from the beach camp to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) beach 10 kms down the river. `Golf Course’, is the most technical of the seven rapids (Roller Coaster, Initiation, Double Trouble etc) on this course as it has a very strong Eddie, an upward current, which can dash you against the rocks.

The other highlight of this run is cliff jumping. Just before the end of the day’s rafting, we parked adjacent to a rocky patch near the shore. A small waterfall cascaded into the river and next to it is a huge rock jutting out over the river. Cliff jumping is simple. All you have to do is to get on to the rock and jump into the river 15 feet below. Not exactly like bungee jumping, it seemed like a piece of cake till I was standing at the edge of the rock ready to take the plunge.

The water seemed so far away and all my earlier bravado, "Oh there is nothing to it," was reduced to a mere frightened cluck. I was paralysed, mesmerised by the water. My friend ready to capture the action on camera impatient with my dilly-dallying kept screaming, "Jump!" If it was up to me, I would have backed out with a "Thank you very much," but my male ego came to the rescue. Before me a couple of ‘pretty young things’ had taken the plunge, so there was no backing out. Once I had taken the plunge there was no stopping me from playing the ‘hero’ with a dive. "Falling flat on your face," I literally executed the phrase, well almost. I landed partly on my chest, the wind knocked out of me. Chastened with the misadventure I watched the others perform some acrobatic feats.

The last and the most action packed run was the Khodiyala down, 28 kms from Shivpuri. It had two Grade IV plus rapids, ‘The Wall’ and ‘Daniel’s Deep’. Waves sweeping over our heads and the raft buckling like a Rodeo bull, both the rapids offer the best thrills and chills on the Ganga and left me hungry for more. So if you are looking to rejuvenate your self, go rafting on the Ganges for an out of this world experience.