Rapid Rape

Heeello bloggy

alrite this my highlite from ladak.

Had a day free .Sunday.

My creative director (brijesh)wants to do wild water rafting. No problem .Except he is a non swimmer,and am worried for him. I can swim.

Am afraid of the rage of the waters .Its always been indimidating.

We go.

This hi intensity 3 point rapid rafting .(there is a 4 and 5 which i dont want to see)

So life jackets on .9 people in a boat.Oars handed over .Instructions on rowing. rescue operations etc.etc. You half listen like the motions you make in an aircraft when they give you safety instructions

The warmest thing before we took off was a father of a 14 year old who pulled out a piece of rope.Why?

he said i tie one part to my toe the other to my sons .He goes down i go down with him.Its the heart of a father. It really touched me. But it dint touch the guide ...who said a firm NO.Easier to save one person at a time not two together (that too tied)

Take off. We come to turbulence the raft goes haywire.I go " is it over".Some says its just begun.

I say a silent prayer.staring with "OH!"

the guide starts giving instructions with ladaki accent."Next coming 3 point rapid ...very dangerous...chance raft capsize...if go down ....dont look at fish ...look at sky...ha ha ha.. coming rapid "

3 seconds later ...bam!!!!!!!!...was hit by solid splash of water... like someone boxed me hard.Next thing going down in ice cold muddy water. Holy cow!!!!! we had capsized . The complete unprepared ness of the force and suddeness had me gasping as the water just entered my mouth ,nose ,ears. Clamoured up for air.Hit the overturned raft.could not put me head above the water as the waves kept hitting even under.Clautrophobic and panicked ...pushed from under to get out.BOOM gone with the heavy hit of the turning churning force.

Was dragged so heavily it was umimaginable,tried to swim there was no way i was goin forward ."look at the sky look at the sky".

Before turning on my back i looked around for brijesh. I worried for him.His panic (I thot,yes i thot) would be double mine .Turned one last time.Saw him holding on to the life line rope of the raft.HE WAS OK.Thank god i said.

I turned . Could not see a thing.. .its all over... i thot ...all over.

The last clear image/thot that I recall is that of my mom saying i told her not to do these things.I said a quick sorry as the next maddening upsurge hit my face as a floated upward.

I could not breathe .I was choking .

I saw the kayak struggling to come closer but the rapid kept moving him further .The other kayak had got two people,

I dunno how long i was in the freezing water but i got the kayak guy.Held on to the band in front still upturned still with water hitting mercilessly.

My fingers were cold as i held on to that band tite.

He just kept going downstream with me attached like a piece of floating cloth.

Suddenly a raft from nowhere (it was the other teams) .Hold the rope.I was shivering madly.held it.Could not see who what. second raft (our raft) closes in . Some one goes pulling you pulling you up (that was burt ..the friend i made on the bus) he yanked me by my life jacket collar.I was in .Shaken up shivering and gasping coughing for breath and the irony of the whole thing was brijesh asking me ARE YOU ALRITE PRITI? ha ha ha ha ha so much for swimmers and no swimmers.

It was 2point 2 rapids later that we got to know the guide had done this intentionally. He said "otherwise you people come row row go no point no fun wot you will tell home..ha ha ha." I could have killed him if i was not so badly shaken.

In less than 60 seconds ( that time it seemed like a lifetime) the guide had all nine guys back on board hats off to his confidence to do this and the precision with which he pulled it off.Hats off.The 14 year old was of corse full frozen.The only thing that was moving was his jaw.Clattering.And we had an hour more to go. GOSH!

I had done capsizing before in goa.But they asked us if we wanted to , we said yes and we were prepared so we knew.This i genuinely thot was an accident of sorts.Caught unaware and how.

It was an experience of a lifetime.

Have done bungy.And that to me is the ultimate test of you guts.Cause you have to jump off the edge .you have to push youself no automated thing ,you have to make up your mind to jump off 180 feet.So it needs a lot of inner pushing.Almost suicidal.

But there it is the fear of jumping .It is not panic .Bungy is a planned thrill.

This was so crazy the fear ,the panic of somethings gone wrong and therfore this has happened. The panic of hey an accident happened.

Well.so that was the highpoint.Ladak is a nice place .(Am not a mountain person)needed a day to get used to oxygen levels . Yoga to the rescue.

Got some lovely pics though .Just the geography and the people textures make you look like a very good photographer.

These are some nice potraits i took and i am truly impressed with me.Hee hee.

Cheers then.

Great to be alive

16th august 2007

8.00p.m

My room with the sea view (will miss it)