In November 2018, I stepped into the small and serene town
of Bir, in the hope to fly - Yes, since a long time paragliding was on my
bucket list.
So I reached the hotel a night before with severe cold and
thought I would not be able to enjoy my first experience in paragliding . However one of the adventure sports
organizers arranged some medicines which made me feel better the next day .
At 9 am in the morning I sat in the car with nothing but my
mobile phone in my Jacket pocket. Excited was the best way I could describe my
emotions and it was only growing. When will I reach the top and when will my
feet leave the ground ?
Finally the car reached the take-off
site is Billing. I got out of the car , met the Pilot who put the
gear on me and handed me a Go Pro camera on a selfi stick . Well the stick was
the most important thing for me at that point. It would have proof that I finally flew up in the air . It
would have memories which I could go back whenever I would sit next to the
window pane of my home, sipping a cup of coffee .
So the time had arrived. Out of the dream world and into the
reality I was all set to fly . The Pilot instructed that I must run as fast as
I can and not stop. Here’s when I
remembered all the athletics competitions that I participated in school. On
the count of three we ran as fast as we could before setting my feet off the
ground. There came the moment where I
was no longer on land. And that was HEAVEN .
I sat on the harness suspended
below a fabric wing. Yes I was literally touching the sky. Then when the pilot
put the Go pro on, Guess what ! It didn’t work. (
Sound of Broken glass ) .
I thought I could
never capture the premiere of my
paragliding experience . Then came my mobile phone to the rescue. At a height
of 2400 meters I pulled out my Motorola G5Splus and started recording. Phew ! Well you must be wondering
didn’t I fear that the phone would fall and I would never be able to find again
. Well the thought of not being able to have a memory of my first paragliding
experience was more predominant.
So back to the
enjoying and fun part. The pilot glided through the sky to give me a bird’s eye
view of different shades of the landscape – mountains, fields, houses, children
playing, cattle . All in one picture .
This heavenly
experience lasted for only 20 mins and the time came when had to land. Its rightfully said. All good things come to
an end. Soon my feet touched the ground and I was back to the land. Back to
the real world but with new experiences and memories which will be cherished
forever .
If you haven’t done paragliding
in your life – then do it now!
