Flipping Memories on a Kayak

Not many times you choose to do what your heart says when it is risky to try something like that. That’s how it all started, my kayaking course this winter. Even though I was struck between many broken minutes of thoughts and anti-thoughts to convince myself to do the course I somehow knew just a mere resistance of the unknown fear was all that stopping me against a fluffing ecstasy of the joy of adventure which, I was about to discover. Even now I have no answers to my parents and colleagues who cornered me then with the same question “How does a kayaking course ever going to help you”. I would start explaining the need to sticking and carrying on one’s own interests like many westerners who just end up burning up all the money they save in a holiday vacation or those road trip freaks who drive all weekends for mere pleasure. OK that argument is little sloppy but, the point I emphasize is that if you would want to do something and you have an opportunity then why not. After a couple of minutes of explanation of importance of pursuing one’s own adventure and one’s own passion, usually, I was faced with even a tougher question “Ok so how a kayaking course going to help you, you are saying”. Like an open mouthed balloon climbing up the atmosphere just to succumb to gravity faster than it ascends I would reply after a couple of seconds of silence “I will let you know once I find out after the course”.
My plans to attend the course got finalized in a jiff one fine day reasons for which I exactly do not recollect but, I booked my tickets and applied for my leave on the very same day.
Well begun is half done, if this true I messed-up half my trip even before the course. My biological alarm woke me up at 6.25 A.M when my mobile had to wake me up at 5.30 AM in the morning to catch my train at 6.50. At 7.10 I was standing on a deserted platform after an auto in its full throttle reached me late to the station. On an empty platform as I was randomly watching here-and-there a fellow porter broke in to heal my grief with a “Sir Ji Shatabdi tho abhi abhi nikhli” (Sir!!! The Shatabdi train left seconds before). May be his lucky day usually starts off with the sight of a loser. The guy though tried to put up a straight face was not able to quite hide a slight curve with his expression. It flashed as though the guy was actually happy to see me there lose my train. Anyway, I quickly started for the bus terminus to catch a bus to reach Haridwar. I informed my course trainer, Mr.Swami, over the mobile to delay my pick-up at Haridwar. And finally I reached Haridwar at 3.00 P.M on a Govt. “deluxe” bus all the way watching a Hindi movie.
After reaching Haridwar I was picked up by Swami and transported to Shivpuri. Shivpuri is where Swami has his base camp where he owns a house and keeps all his equipments. At this point I have to mention more about Swami. Swami in his own words is one another poor Indian soul caught in the Indian IT boom. Yup, he is a software engineer by profession but he is more into adventure sports. He has his own company Katabatic which runs quite a number of activities ranging from Rafting, Kayaking, Trekking, Mountaineering, Rock climbing, Mountain Biking, … Earlier, I have been with Swami on a 2 day rafting expedition during my collage days with my friends so, this was not my first time with him. I should add I was quite impressed with the way he arranged the trip and also the rescuers in his team were quite skilful. In short I would vouch his team has a descent profile and he does this more for pleasure than for business at least that’s the impression I got after being with him.
Coming back to my journey at Shivpuri I was introduced to the rest of other participants who had arrived at the base camp earlier. With a round of chai we introduced ourselves with initial usual formality talk. Right away we started to head towards our beach camp in Byasi from Swami’s base camp. The beach camp-David is where we were to stay all through our training. Everyday through the course we would start from the beach camp in the morning and would return back to the same place by dusk. As we entered the beach camp with our luggage we were treated with a warm welcome with a round of pakoras and chai. At the evenings we had arrangements for bonfire, by the river and to complement this, one of the participants (Raj) had brought his Guitar. The evenings of all the five days were spent in total leisure and comfort.
Apart from me, Himanshu (A student from Amity,Noida), Raj (Telecom professional, Airtel-Ahmedabad) there was a fourth participant, Christine. Christine is a German student she has been touring India for about a month. On her stay in Rishikesh she got interested in the kayaking course and had decided to join us abandoning her earlier plan of touring east India. So on the first day four of us with our instructors were all set to sail the kayak.
Our five day course was designed with a 3 day practice session and 2 days of river run. The river run would mean we would run through the ganges crossing different grades of rapids. This initial 3 day period we ran our training on a placid section. The first day of the course began with initial instructions of forward, reverse and side peddling strokes. After trying them on the sandy beaches of ganga it was time to try the theory in water. With some practice of the strokes in the water all of us with our own versions of the strokes were ready to set sail. Our first task was to reach a point which was about 400 meters from our initial start. After some ten minutes of maneuvering I had moved hardly 30-40 meters. The reason behind this is that every time I peddled I would go spinning my kayak a full 360degree and in this process would advance a little bit. Though I kept repeating this feat time and again, by the end of the day I was getting a grip of how not do a 360degree. Oh! I almost forgot to mention an important part of day 1. The most important and crucial part of kayaking for beginners is to master the technique called wet exit. Kayak is quite unstable for a beginner so, a kayak flip is unavoidable and a timely exit from the kayak is crucial. A wet exit is a technique where the kayaker would come out of the water after releasing himself from the kayak. So, at the end of the rescue the kayaker and kayak are parted in a wet exit. Getting out of a kayak is not as simple as getting out of an ease chair at one’s comfort the catch here is that one has to wear a circular rubber sheet called a spread deck which is firmly gripped around the hip and the free end of the spread deck is stretched and wrapped around the kayak’s cockpit i.e., after one sits on a kayak. The spread deck completely seals the cockpit of the kayak to keep the kayak intact from water entering inside. So after a kayaker sits inside, the entire kayak can be divided into 3 sections: a front end of the kayak called the bow and then it’s the kayaker spread-decked in the centre and the stern i.e, the back end which tapers down. When a kayak flips you go under water with the kayak on top and under the water involuntarily the body is bent to align with the stern of the kayak which in other words is equivalent to lying back on the kayak under water. Unless the spread deck is open, from the front, one is not free to get out of the kayak. So after a flip, you need to pull your body to the front to locate the loop and pull it open. Here the rescue is half done because your body is still sitting inside the kayak, now using your hands you get out of the kayak and come out to gasp for a breathe. I was briefed of this technique in the first session but when I flipped all that came to my mind was the fear of getting stuck under the water for ever. After the flip I tried squabbling under the water to turn it right up which is a natural instinct. The kayak with its weight of 20 odd Kgs was lying right on top of me and I would experience an excruciating defeat every time I tried to flip the kayak upright. After trying this for 3-4 seconds I knew this was not the way and was quite confident that my rescuer was on his way to get me out and the best thing to do is to stay calm holding my breathe. In a sec I was rescued after a fellow rescuer flipped my kayak back to its original position. This five second ordeal is actually quite an experience to an inexperienced amateur panicking kayaker under water. I was actually better, one of the fellow trainees (Himanshu!!!) on his first flip opened up his life jacket after his try to open the spread deck failed. More interestingly later in one of the rapids, in the river run, when I flipped I was trapped inside the kayak even after opening my spread deck because the strong moving water of the rapid wouldn’t let me release from the kayak. So I had to cross the rapid with the kayak on my top. Though this was a 2/3 sec experience certainly its burnt in my memory for a life time. Seeing what a rapid looks like from beneath is certainly worth it!
Next two days went past with training of how to get into mainstream current from an eddy or how to get out of mainstream and enter into an eddy. But whatever new technique I would try to learn I would end up honing my skills at wet exit i.e, to say incessantly I flipped a lot and in the process I learnt another technique called a T-rescue. A T-rescue is different from a wet exit in the sense at the end of the rescue the kayaker and his kayak would be intact. In this technique one wouldn’t open the spread-deck instead holds his breath under water and wait for another kayak to come close to you. Once the rescue kayak comes and slightly hits your kayak you hold the other rescue kayak’s bow leverage on your body weight and turn yourself up. I should say I was growing confident day by day on the kayak with my exit techniques. Only because of the confidence I had with my exit techniques I did the river run I would say else river run is one big nightmare.
The fourth day had arrived, the D-day, the big day of the river run. Man!!! I was mentally fuming with a million questions that morning of whether to do the river run or back out. But as I said earlier this was the same kind of fear, the fear of the unknown which was barricading me but, for a difference this time I knew the danger was out there waiting for me. We started off at around 11 AM that morning. The first rapid took a toll I flipped and I was the only one who had flipped. But after the first flip in a grade-1 rapid I successfully crossed around 3 rapids without a flip of better grades. Everytime you cross a rapid without a fall the sense of ecstasy is just something which I probably can never put in words. The happiness is just so colorful you feel out of the world for a moment.
Around 3PM we were meters away from a big rapid, the big daddy of all the rapids we had crossed that day called The Three Blind Mice. Initially Swami and other instructors were discussing to skip the rapid in the river run but some how we decided to do this. Before crossing the rapid our instructors had to scout the rapid to ensure if its safe (?). We parked our kayaks by the side of the river to climb on the rocks to scout the rapid. The rescuers actually saw the rapid from a distance and declared that its safe and were asking us to get on the kayak. But I insisted on seeing it at a close range by walking more close to it. Boy!! At the first sight all of us were open mouthed with our eyes popping out as we stood closer to the actual rapid. That was a big one A real big one. It latter turns out the rescuers didn’t want to show us the rapid as we might have chickened out looking at its huge voluminous gush and that was the reason they wanted to go back after seeing the rapid from a distance. Actually one of our fellow companions did back off looking at its sheer gush. The truth was we were only seeing the first mouse of the three blind mice the second and the third weren’t quite visible from the rocks. As the river bent in the shape of “U” the rest two rapids were out of focus. But the first blind mouse in itself was sufficient to chicken out any one crossing it for the first time. To describe what the first blind mouse looked like, it was a glaringly white Pegasus with huge open wings fluttering slowly as the water hit the half submerged rocks along the banks. The channel started to constrict only to make the flaps deeper, faster and louder more and more as the path moved ahead. At the centre of the channel’s constricted bend the winged horse would crash its head nastily onto a huge boulder with a deafeningly groaning agony. And the giant boulder shall not let the beast pass it and the river calmed down right immediately after the boulder. I was back on my kayak all set to do the rapid. Other kayaks started to leave one after the other I was watching them leave one by one. I couldn’t see what had happened to our first fellow he must have surely flipped I guessed and double checked the location of my spread deck’s loop. Now it was my turn to leave. As I started making forward strokes my heart was pounding hard I could feel the lub-dub in my lungs somewhere. In a second I entered the main stream the visibility was NULL with the waves in front. The mission here is simple and straight forward cross the next meter without a flip, repeat it again and again you are safe and done. By now I ran through the horse body managing without any flips. I had hit the horse’s saddle and all that remained was to cross the boulder by sailing on top of its head. Then something unexpected happened. All the time I was concentrating to keep my boat straight so that the tip of the kayak would come out first as I splash through the waves from my front. Following the mantra (idea) I was concentrating to align my angle to take on the next approaching wave and then suddenly noticed a side wave much closer. There was no time to incline to my right to avoid my kayak roll over as the tide hits. So there I was, 99.99% sure of joining the crash with the beast. But all the damage the wave did to me was to turn my kayak 180degree. Damn!!! Now I had to cross the giant rapid with my face back. I now know why do they call it Three Blind Mice. In a moment all I could see was a streak of kayakers who were slated behind me battling with their pedals as they were approaching the rapid. But in no time I climbed up the giant wave and climbed down completely safe. The irony here is, as I was climbing up the rapid, blindly, my mind went completely blank, 100% relaxed and my body became free of my own weight. Calling it a trans state would be an exaggeration though. And all this when I was in the middle of one bloody mess.
An overzealous me with a rocketing confidence after crossing a 3+ rapid with my back facing it = ?. As we started off to cross the second blind mouse I flipped in no time and this time it was in the middle of the rapid. As I mentioned before I was stuck under the water with a kayak on my top and even after opening my spread deck I couldn’t come out and had to pass the rapid under water. After coming out of the kayak I held on to the nearest raft which was around. The fellow in the raft tried his best to pull me up. By then we were getting closer and closer to the third blind mouse I was trying all my naïve tricks to get inside the raft but after I took one shot of what the rapid looked like I was literally jumping out of water, like a fish on the land, to get on to the raft but in vein. And so I did the next best thing I held on to the raft as tightly as possible. The ride was a real roller coaster wonderful safe and was quite enjoyable. After this I crossed one more rapid to end my day’s adventure.
To conclude with an honest opinion I would say I really did not enjoy kayaking except for some moments like luckily when I cross a rapid without a flip or after I successfully did a T-rescue. More or less all the time there was this uncertain fear gripping me which I wasn’t able to overcome till the end of my course. But right at this moment when am jotting this down I feel like doing it again. Am not completely out of fear yet but still I would like to do it. I think that I could do kayaking and I could do it better it is just a matter of practice to perfect the sport. And it is the course that has given me this confidence.
Hari.

Finally !!

It is 02:02 am in the morning and I am sitting right next to the door of current reservation at platform no.1 in Baroda, waiting for jugad (u know what jugad we do when we dont have reservation, right !!) Yah so, jugad should be done in Rajdhani finally if not in Avadh, but inbetween these time of strolling around platform, I manage to seat on a side and created one more blog. One more becuase I did created one blog before but I simply coudnt get started with it and it got expired, yah, so if not mumbai then I atleast I've arrived at my blog, finally.

Mineblowing has started because I am firm and more resoluted to give birth to a community in Baroda. I am tired of debating and advocating on doing activities in Baroda and places to go for weekend in Baroda. Lets accept the fact that there is lot of limitation where as there are lot of aspiration among folks to come together and relish weekend with friends and family.

All my friends know how much I am lean and fond of outdoor sports and specially kayaking. I have been taking out friends for night out at river bank in tent and going for kayaking in weekends. They have been telling me since then to start offering to everybody but I was just not ready or probably not sure in what fashion do I want them to experince weekend. Over a period of times my ideas have formed much better and my experiences being with friends at site has finally make me ready to offer mine-blowin getaway to everybody.

So what mine blowin getaway can offer to you right now !! Well at this point of time, we can offer your camping by the river ( long patch of river, from lush green grass to rock side), trekking around for kilometers by the river, Kayaking (seat on top kayak, very stable on water), Mountain biking, Horse riding ( limited for people who knows horse riding), volleyball on the river bank and fishing for those who enjoy sitting on rock in the middle of the river with their favourite book a side !! :)

At mineblowin getaway, my attempts is to give rejuvinated experience to all kind of people, those who enjoying seating and reading by the river and enjoye tranquility, for family who wants to seat together outside their tents and chit chat while doing campfire, spending momentious time with better half, for all adrenalin junkies who wanted to take ride on dirt bike or to do kayaking or playing volleyball by sand !! or may me sitting and speding fun time on rock with frinds !! Mine blowin brings all this things for you. At mine blowing getaway, I also attempts to create a community which displays their unique creativity and promote it to the like mined regular members. Over a period of six months, We at Mine blowin getway like to create a club which enjoys weekend live music program, New Gourmet experince and skateboarding club of Baroda.

Mine blowing getaway also has close association with Team4Adventure, a company which gives you nex level of white water kayaking and rafting experience at banks of holy Ganges, Byasi, Hrishikesh. Team4Adventure are set of expert who has been school for white water kayaking, Mountaineering and also for other outdoor activities. Having establish set up in Hrishikesh, Team4Adventure also has there own set up near seculded Tons valley.

Yah, So I welcome all of you and would want you to spread the words among all your friends about mineblowin getaways.

And yes, dont forget to keep checking blog as Mine blowin blogs will also cater blogs from some of the prudent barodian and their encounters with current affairs :)

Till than,

paka.