Bungee Jumping

Stepped into Archies the other day to shop for Saurabh's bday gift n was kinda alarmed to see Archies charging a preposterous 50 bucks for a 1/2 an inch-by-1/2 an inch-by-1/2 an inch diary with exactly 6 pages.It's so ridiculous n disappointing to see the adventure sport-ers hike their fee just like the Archies trend quoted above -the trend that had me shell-shocked.A single bungee jump costs 600/- ... thankfully Times' card holders would get it for half the price n i was lucky enough to get to tag along wid a friend who was a Times' card-holder.Reached Palace Grounds by 2pm n the blazing-hot sun didn't seem too encouraging at all.Watched a few people do their Rocket Man (reverse bungee).That looked like a lot of fun - getting ejected obliquely at a great speed to a height of 140 feet n then a free fall followed by huge pendulum swings.We(8 of us) waited for the Rocket Man brave-hearts to be done n then went to the crane area to do the bungee thingy.When a few people ahead of me were gearing up, I was busy yapping on the phone wid my friend.

Friend:Done?How're u feeling?
Me:Not yet.Last time I went parasailing thinkin that a flight at 250 ft above Mother Earth would b damn thrillin n scary n all that.It finally turned out to b such a damp squib.Was hardly anything u know.....n now I've come here to do the thrilling bungee but the height's JUST 140 feet.Iam kinda disappointed ya.....I don't think it'll b even half as thrilling as I think.I can't believe some people are talking as though they are mighty scared! Moreover, u remain in the air flying around for just about half a minute.
Friend:Half a minute isn't enough?
Me:No way!I'll fold my arms n play "catch me if u can" when they try to catch me by the arm to get me back on the ground.

When it was finally my turn, I entered the cage with the guide.It was a squarish cage enclosed on three sides.The fourth side was open with a slight projection - something like a very short diving board.I tried to get myself totally into the cage n the guide asked me to step back n stand on the projection instead,while he safely perched himself well within the enclosed area.As the cage took off higher n higher, the guide tried to keep me distracted by having a "what's ur name,how old r u" kinda small-talk.I found myself giving him half-hearted crisp answers,thanks to a weird fear that was beginning to grip me as we went higher n higher.When we finally reached the 140 ft limit, he asked me to turn around n NOT to look down.As the sayin goes, the forbidden fruit's always tastier n I promptly turned around n looked down.Gooooooosh!!!The sight that I saw made me go weak in the knees n the entire world around me began to reel.Here's the counselling conversation that ensued between the guide n me.

Guide:Stretch out one hand in front of you Cma.
Me:(Closing my eyes n believing like never before in the Almighty,I stretched out one hand)Done.
Guide:Now the other.
Me:(Stretching out the other hand n withdrawing the previously stretched out hand)Done.

At this point, I vaguely remember hearing people on the far ground below,guffawing away to glory at the hilarious scene I was creating.Priyank shouted out "Wat the hell are you upto!?!U sure are practising aerobics up there" n I retorted "Nooooooo....This guy's teachin me how to swim"

Guide:Come on Cma,take a deep breath.
Me:Hang on....wat did u say ur name was?
Guide:Sachin.
Me:Great.Just in case I die, I'll atleast know the name of my murderer.Listen Sachin,Iam not sure I wana do this.Can we go back please?
Guide:Come on Cma, when a 6-yr old can do it, y can't u?Stretch both ur hands out.
Me:(Feeling offended n all with this new comparison wid a 6-yr old)Ofcourse I'll do it,how can I not....but Sachin,are u 200% sure Iam gonna b alive after all this?If Iam,I promise to chant ur name 5 times every single day.
Guide:hehehehe.U r funny.Now look straight.
Me:Yeah....beautiful landscape.That's my dear dear city for the last time.
Guide:Both hands forward.
Me:(Stretched both forward,had almost plunged.Stopped,turned back to Sachin n said)U rnt gonna push me from behind, r u?
Guide:No,absolutely not.

He finally cajoled me into taking the dreaded plunge.As my heavy self struggled to defy gravity and come to terms with the sudden blood rush into my head, I heard myself screaming at the top of my voice:"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawd, lemme liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive. I wana liiiiive".Heard more guffaws @ this one n then the world below me went blank.

Soon after the near-death experience,I experienced one huge jolt n the rope had me making those huge pendulum swings.I was kinda relatively tranquil by now,the thrill of it all having sunk well with me.However, the "ONLY half a minute" that I mentioned to my friend seemed like a whole hour to me n the "ONLY 140 feet" that I cribbed about seemed like a drop from Mount Everest itself.I was more than willing to let them catch me by the arm n get the flying lady back on the ground.Instead of the "catch me if u can", "please catch me soon" was what i heard myself shouting out to them.The queen of paradoxes n contradictions had done it again!Felt good to stand on a podium that screamed out loud: Honoured here are those who had the courage to defy peers,parents n gravity n i couldn't agree more - especially with the parents part :)


Quote for the day:The experience of overcoming fear is extraordinarily delightful.
-- Bertrand Arthur William Russell