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Para-Gliding at Nandi Hills
(Photos/pics for this travelogue might be available on My Tourism Photo Album)
Me and my friend Hari had booked our slots through Ozone, a bangalore based adventure sports agency. The team consisted of Raghvendra, Ozone coordinator, and our pilots: Bhagat Ram Thakur and Mer Chand, both from Manali. While Bhagat has been para-gliding for the last 10 years, Mer Chand has been into the sport for the last 5 years. We went on a hill just below the transmission tower from where we supposed to take off. It was a downward sloping hill. And after a few meters you could not see anything, i.e., it was all vertical after a certain point! The first glider was spread on the hill and Hari and his pilot Mer Chand took places (it was a tandem flight) with Hari in front and Mer at the back. They waited for the right gust of wind, and then pilot instructed Hari to move forward. And as they moved forward, within 2-3 steps, air somewhat lifted them but then somehow they came back down on earth. And since it was a downward sloping hills, they fell on a protruding rock and my breath almost stopped. But then by some magic they were airborne again. Remember, they had moment all this while from their take-off motion. So their up-and-down-and-up-again show was just a step towards a finally successful flight. By now they were soaring!! And I was clapping furiously still unsure of how injured Hari and Mer had got. We could finally see them landing far away. ( Actually what had happened was they had got stuck in something in the first few steps, something that doesn't happen usually.) Then it was my turn. My pilot Bhagat Ram Thakur and me took places after spreading the glider on the surface of the hill. I was earlier planning to take camera on the flight but after seeing Hari's take-off, I changed my mind and left the camera there only. Now came the wait for the right orientation of wind. It was a long wait as wind-god disappointed us for quite a long time. In the meantime we even had to sit down to take rest! Then finally it happened. Bhagat sensed the right wind through his years of experience and told me to get up and start moving. As I started inching forward, I was overcome by feeling of unknown. But then I was there to feel that very unknown! I had not taken even 3 or 4 steps when I felt something was pulling me back! I thought that I also was in for a rough ride today but it was just the pull of the glider as it was lifting us into the air!! And I could 'walk' no more as there was no ground beneath my feet, literally. That first feeling was incredible. Then when I reconciled to the fact that I was in the air, I dared look underneath: And that first look underneath me was the most memorable moment of the whole joyride. I could see the rock face of the cliff that we had taken-off from, much below me. The rock on which I would I have been sliding had my take-off not been successful! That though gave my adrenalin a serious rush of flow! And by now I was exclaiming 'wow' and all. Bhagat told me to just simply relax and enjoy the ride and the view and leave everything else to him. And that's what I did. Then we were away from the hill and over the fields. Imagine you are flying over the fields at 400 m elevation (from ground) with nothing underneath you!! There's no engine, there's no frame to support you: YOU are the frame. YOU are flying machine yourself! You are the mercy of the winds and thermals. But then, of course, there are the skills of the pilot. We flew past the patch of ground where we were to land, took turn and again flew over that patch, and then finally came back and landed with the precision. Local kids, while being dangerously in our way, were cheering us when we were trying to land. It was a very smooth landing. After landing only, Bhagat told me that once our glider had folded up a bit from one side when he was trying to negotiate a turn and I was busy talking to him. I was aghast hearing this but he said it was no problem for a pilot like him but could have been fatal for a novice. It was an experience beyond description. You have to be up there to
experience it. Just too good.
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Last updated: Nov 21, 2005 |
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