A Trip to remember - Rishikesh 24-26th April 2011 - Rendezvous with old friends after a long time!!!

Although we went out nearly 3 months back in End-April, I have finally now managed to squeeze out some time to jot down the memories and experiences of one of the most memorable trips of my life till date...So, without much further ado, let's get down to reliving it again...

All of this began from some regular conversations with my friends presently living in Delhi...
BUT WAIT! - First of all, for the readers of this blog, those who are not familiar with my friends from my University days, here's a short introduction of them –
1) Anirban Sen AKA Gambu - presently a busy Engineer working his ass off (or so he says!) in Maruti Suzuki - Gurgaon.
2) Arnab Das AKA Mr. Orga - in these 3 months, he has gone back from a working Engineer in TELCON in Jamshedpur to the Class Rooms of IIM - Kozhikode in God's own country!
3) Surya Gunin (no AKA-s discovered in the 4 years of Univ life) - in the 6 years that I have known him, I really didn't understand why he didn't like being called a-more-bong-sounding 'SURJO' instead of a non-bong-sounding-'SURYA'. Anyways, presently, he has joined back with Mr. Orga in the classrooms of IIM - K)
4) Hira - perhaps I befriended a Secret Agent in my Univ days as he is the first guy I have ever met who has no Surname, let alone an AKA. Presently, he is quite busy juggling between catching a nap during office hours in his living quarters and just making it to office in the afternoon on-time before his boss checks-in in BHEL, Haridwar.
5) Santanu Ghosh - Well, I can use a Sidhu-ism to describe this guy - "He's like an Iceberg - 1/12 of him you can see while 11/12 of him is somewhere under there". Just to make it simple, let's just say there's more to him than meets the eye. Presently, he is in his final year in IIM - Ahmedabad.
We had plans to take 2 more guy members of our old group with us -
1) Soumyashri Bandopadhyay AKA Chana (YES, he is a Guy Member of our Group), but due to "UNAVOIDABLE CIRCUMSTANCES", ultimately we had to do without his company...did anybody complain?
2) Rikhi Bose (just to clarify, he has got no relation with any guy called D. K. Bose) - presently, he is banging his head around Engineering Mathematical Models while pursuing his M.Tech. from IIT - Kanpur. Due to his packed exam schedules we also had to do without him in this trip.

Anyways, as I was saying, it all began from a regular conversation with Anirban sometime in 2010 while he was sharing his own experiences of a similar trip to Rishikesh. From then on, the idea of putting together such a trip with some of my old friends from the University days was in my mind.
Ultimately, in around Jan / Feb of 2011, on hearing that some of my other friends will also be in and around Delhi in April, it was now time to convert that idea into a reality.
So, after quite a few rounds of serious discussions, persuasions and schedule negotiations, ultimately the time window that we all managed to squeeze between our busy schedules was from 23rd April - 26th April, 2011.

23rd APRIL, Saturday : Starting Off -

I had requested Sneha (no introductions here, my close friends already know who she is!) to come by to the Kolkata Airport, which she did, inspite of all the day's work that she had done in her office. My flight was scheduled to depart at 8 : 40 p.m. but keeping in mind the long ques at the Security Check-in Area,
we reached there well ahead of time. The flight was on-time and after seeing her off, I completed all the boarding formalities to get into the flight.

Usually in my domestic flights, I opt for Indigo / Kingfisher...but for some reason, this time I opted for Spicejet...it didn't take me long to realise my mistake - not only because the in-flight service was quite poor but also for the way in which the flight was steered both in mid-air and during landing - believe it or not, the way the flight was turned during landing at the Delhi IGI Airport, it made me feel that my life was possibly in the hands of a Pilot with a FAKE FLYING CERTIFICATE from some bogus Flying School in North America.
After landing at the Delhi Airport at around 11 p.m., I booked a Pre-paid Cab to Gurgaon as per directions given by my good friend, Anirban. Little did I know then that my Driver would act like a complete stranger to the roads of Delhi. The way he acted, it seemed he was lost even before he went out of the Airport!
So, I had no other option other than to constantly being in touch with Anirban over the phone as he went on giving directions from one signal post to another.
Finally, after Columbus-ing first around New Delhi and then Gurgaon, I managed to enter Anirban and Chana's lair (which they share with another guy) at around 12 o' clock at night.

By that time, all the other non-residential members of our Group had also come in - Surya, Santanu and Arnab. It was a good feeling to catch up with them all after a gap of nearly 1 year......all the camaraderie that existed between us seemed to be rekindled again.
Thankfully, they had some self-cooked Pulao...which really tasted great after such a long and arduous 4 hours journey from Kolkata to their house in Gurgaon. Post-dinner and nearly an hour-long "CATCHING-UP CHAT" Session later, the 5 Pandavs - Anirban, Arnab, Surya, Santanu and the Blogger himself - were finally ready to start the journey for which they have been planning for quite some time.

24th April, Sunday : An early start to the 2nd day –

Bidding farewell to a tearful Mr. Chana, we started off at around 1.30 a.m. at night in a Xylo. From the moment we were introduced to the Driver, we knew this guy would be a "Colourful Character" to deal with during the next 2 days - in our bong language, a complete "BAR KHAWA PUBLIC"!

Anyways, the beer cans came out 10-15 mins into the ride, while the gushing cool breeze of Delhi at night created the ideal atmosphere. Past memories of our days spent in the University grounds, classrooms were being re-kindled - possibly this feeling only inspired us to take a detour of New Delhi at night and some of us being a complete stranger to Delhi, it was quite a worthwhile proposition.
First off, was Janpath Road, two sides of which were lined by lavish bungalows housing the Who's Who of Indian Politics, including, needless to say, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. I tried to take a photograph of some of these bungalows but then, as quite rightly advised by some of my friends, dropped the plan, thinking of getting riddled with bullets from the Commandos guarding this building who could have easily mistaken my camera sticking out of the window of the car as the muzzle of an AK-47!

Next stop was India Gate. Here was the monument, which we saw numerous times on TV in movies, Republic Day Parades...I imagined myself doing a "Rang De Basanti" atop the bonnet of our car...seeing the structure in the wee hours of night really brought back all the memories associated with this image from childhood. It was really surprising to see young guys like us playing Cricket right in front of the Gate at 2.30 a.m.! The "professional photographers" that we think we are (ahem!), we went around the India Gate premises, looking for some odd camera angles...a few poses and a few Cotton Candy-s later, we were again back on road, en-route to our original destination - RISHIKESH.

Taking a tour through the Embassy-laden Chanakyapuri area, we finally took the NH-1 Highway. The night was gradually getting on to us as we were gradually dozing off into slumber, myself already being quite tired from the 8-hour long touring.
However, our slumber was awakened when we noticed that our driver was also dozing off sometimes while being behind the wheel, a fact which we could not ignore if we wanted to reach Rishikesh in one piece....so, at around 4 a.m. we drove into a road-side Dhaba to catch some warm tea and light snacks while our driver caught up with some much-needed sleep for him.
Half-an-hour later, we were back on the road again...With the twilight in the backdrop of open fields shrouded in a light mist and rows of trees lining the National Highway, it was high-time for some Nature Photography (got a few good pictures there!).

We had to pick up one more old friend from the Univ days (Remember Mr. Hira?) who is presently working in BHEL, Haridwar. As per our pre-conceived Route Layout, at around 7 a.m. in the morning, we ultimately managed to locate and pick him up from a known meeting point in Haridwar.
Haridwar to Rishikesh takes around 45 mins time on road and we spent much of this time catching up with Hira, how he is "enjoying" (?) his life in Haridwar and so on.
As we were gradually going up the terrain through zig-zagging roads to Rishikesh, the much-awaited views of a sea-green, fast-flowing Ganges became vivid. After a few more twist and turns, we had reached the central Rishikesh town.

It was just like any other Indian tourist-hill-town, hotels, restaurants and the usual crowd of Indian and foreign tourists.
Surprisingly, it was quite hot for 9 a.m. in the morning in a hill town. So, we went into the nearest available restaurant (made sure it had an A.C.) and ordered our much-needed Breakfast and morning Chai.
The Camp sites were a few miles off from the main town, so, post-breakfast, we went out in 2/3 groups to the nearby Tourist Information-cum-Booking Centres for the best value-for-money deal available.

After some "serious" negotiations, the deal was - INR 1,600.00 per head which included the following :-
1) Camps / Tents by the River Ganges for the next 24 hours
2) Lunch - Evening Snacks - Dinner - next day Breakfast
3) 24 Km Boat Rafting
4) 30 ft Cliff Diving
5) Food for our Driver (excluding accomodation)
Considering what was being offered at such a price, decision was unanimous! However, keeping in mind the long journey from Gurgaon/Delhi to Rishikesh (+Flight from Kolkata in my case), it was decided to go out on the Rafting only in the 2nd day of our stay as we all needed a day's break to relax our aching muscles.
Immediately we set out in our car, accompanied by the Camp Manager who guided us to their Camp Site at Shivpuri, a 30 mins drive from the main town, at around 10 a.m.
It was just "Love-at-first-sight" for us once we reached at Shivpuri...who wouldn't be??? Just as you enter the Camp Site, you just could not keep your eyes away from the view of the sea-green Ganges flowing through the valley at the Himalayan Foothills - it was Nature at its truest form!
The Camp Site itself was setup in such a way that is bound to give anyone the "Camping-out-in-Nature" experience - a large open river-viewing tent with ample seating arrangements to soak in the gorgeous views of the Ganges, surrounded by quite a few idyllic camps to rest your aching bums after a long journey from the cities, a Volleyball area amidst the riverine sands and last but not the least, the non-stop barrage of Rafters and lone Kayakers fighting it out in the swift currents of Ganges as the Campers watch on...it seemed that all our efforts, tedious journeys and on top of all, the money spent, was WELL-WORTH!
However, one thing that was also kept very "natural" was the toilets - it was literally a shithole, with flies all around...it was nature at its truest form.
The sun was blazing upon the sands and it was really difficult to stroll around the Camp Site at that time of the day. So, after some long friendly discussion sessions and a few trademark "poses" under the shade of the open tent (incidentally, one such "pose" is now my profile picture for this Blogger Account), it was time to get some quick lunch and head back to our respective Camps to catch a nap for a few hours.
We joined back again, after a sleepy few hours, in the Evening, when Snacks were served at the Volleyball area of the Camping Site. We had an initial idea of putting together a bonfire by some means - a plan that was not at all appreciated by the Camp Managing staff due to obvious Fire Safety Risks to the nearby-located Camps and hence was scrapped.
After a long time, the old memories of partying it out in the Mess during the student life in JU came back - it was the same group of friends, the same camaraderie - only difference being that now our pockets were a bit heavier. It's better to leave description of these moments to these pictures which tells the whole story :-
Apart from the unlimited supply of snacks, the "Managers" that we are, we arranged for a plate of Chicken Kabab through the local Camp Managerial Staff. All in all, it was night well spend, rekindling the old memories.
However, I think some guys from our group had too much of the free snacks available which forced them to pick out dark spots by the side of the Ganges in the middle of the night, the Camp Site toilet being the much-less preferred option!
After a quick dinner session, everybody went back in their respective tents to catch a good night's sleep, thinking about the day that awaited us...

25th April, Monday : D-Day :

After a much-needed good night's sleep, I woke up to the hustling within the tentat around 7.30 a.m. Soon I realised, it was all about making it early to the bathroom, before other campers pay their visit to the Shitholes, when it's free of flies and the other obvious thing. This realisation also forced me to get out of the bed and DO THE NEEDFUL.

The weather was quite pleasant at that time of the day, with the soothing rays of the Sun and a gentle, cool breeze blowing in from the Ganges - perfect to move out for our maiden Boat-Rafting-cum-Cliff Diving Expedition.
We moved out of the Camps, dumped our bags into our Car (the one with the "Pakao" Driver, remember? He was instructed to wait at the finishing point of the Rafting Expedition) as we jumped into the back of a Mini-Van onto which all of our Rafting Gears had been mounted.

A 15 mins ride through the dusty hill-roads later, we had reached Marine Drive (this was the name as far as I remember), the starting point of our 24 Km long rafting expedition. The task of carrying the boat 50 m down the narrow hilly slopes was a daunting task upon itself.
Once we reached the river side, it was time for some "poses" which we were sure would attract a lot of comments once we had uploaded them in our Social Networking accounts.
This was followed by a brief training session with our Trainer cum Guide (forgot his name) who gave us a crash course on rowing against heavy currents, maintaining body balance while the boad turned sharp angles in the churning waters, the different difficulty levels of the rapids that we would have to face etc.
Each Raft had a water-proof Animal-hide Bag which doubled up as a store for keeping the necessary valuables (like glasses, wallets, watches etc.) and could also act as a Life Buoy in case anyone fell out of the Raft in the Rapids.
Finally, once we got more or less accustomed to the Instructions of the guide, it was time to do it for real. We could not guess initially but as told by our guide, the river was 80-90 ft deep in the middle.
The journey started with a few dummy runs in the near-calm waters of Marine Drive. There, once we knew that our Life Jackets could support upto 150 kg and there was no risk of drowning, we all decided to dive into the freezing waters one-by-one. Just as you enter, you could feel the spike of the chilling waters right upto your bones. But, the feeling of floating along with the currents in mid-Ganges overwhelmed all other feelings!
However, we had to rush into the boat again quite fast as our first Rapid was approaching. As far as I remember, it was a Class-3 rapid (intermediate difficulty level) which made us wonder - wouldn't it had been better if we had started off with Level 1 or 2?
Anyways, the river suddenly changed its appearance as it changed from calm, greenish, smooth-flowing waters to a churning one, with small whirlpools by the side of the rocky river sides and with 8-9 ft steep drops which highlighted the possibility of overturning of our Raft - finally we were into White-Water Rafting!
It was an exhilarating experience as the shouts from our guide, our cheers, the sound of the churning waters - all added up to that instantenous adrenaline rush - the feeling of the risk to our lives was overwhelmed by the sheer experience of it, never felt before in my life. Finally, once we got past the 1st Level 3 rapid, spontaneously the cheers came to our minds - "Ganga Ma ki Jai!!!!"
This was just the beginning of an experience which took us through 24 more such rapids, varying from Level 1 to 4, all of which ultimately made us feel happily exhausted. If we had to experience a Level 5 rapid, we had to take the 36 Km-long Rafting Course, starting from further upstream, as learnt from our guide.
Once we had got past the rapids, the water again changed back to the swift-flowing-but-calm, greenish appearance which allured us to jump into the water and let ourselves be taken away along the flowing river.

As we approached the Cliff-diving point, we noticed a lone person, standing on a desolate rock, in the middle of nowhere. As far as we could make out from his shouts to another group of Rafters, his Kayak has floated away from him once it overturned, thus leaving him no option but to wait it out on the shores. Although we could not take him onto our raft as we had already floated away, I am pretty sure some other rafting group must have accomodated him.

In this regard, I would like to point out that these Rafting groups are organised in a way that if by any chance anyone falls out of one raft, he/she will be taken into another raft coming approx. 50-60 m behind the first one, the mode of communication being some kind of a whistling-Morse-Code between the guides of the Rafts.

We could see from some distance that crowd was building up at the Cliff-diving site, the final attraction before the end of the Rafting Trip. It was a 25 / 30 ft high rocky edge, jumping off the edge of which seemed like a pretty easy task from the raft.
Once we got onto the rocky shores, we waited for our turn to climb up the rocks to reach the edge. I HAVE GOT TO TELL YOU, the feeling of it being "a pretty easy task" would go out straightaway from anyone's mind once you see the water right down below your feet, nearly 3 stories down. After thinking about it for a few seconds, I just made the jump, relying on the Life Jacket.
Once you are in mid-air in the jump, you are bound to feel a sense of timelessness in those 1 or 2 seconds, as you lose track of your surroundings - a feeling which abruptly ends once you hit the cold waters and go down 8-9 ft below, only to float up again. Exhilarating as it was, I decided to try for it a second time.
THAT FEELING OF TIMELESSNESS AND WEIGHTLESSNESS for those 1 or 2 secs is the main USP of Cliff-diving, as anyone with this experience would agree to.
Ultimately, it was back to water again to row for a few more mins to reach the end point of our Rafting Experience which culminated in a few more "poses" at the end of it all and carrying the Raft back to the top of the waiting Mini Van.
It was a welcome sight to see that our Driver had found his way upto the end point as well. We bade farewell to our young guide with some additional payment who had done his job perfectly and had also befriended us by his friendly nature and calm approach.
Although our clothes were all soaking wet, we decided to jump into our Car as the Sun was gradully becoming unbearable outside and decided to make a stopover at Haridwar to grab some lunch and take some rest at Hira's place in his BHEL quarters.
We stayed back in Haridwar till around 4 p.m. and after bidding farewell to Hira, we finally set off for our trip back to Delhi.

All of us were pretty quiet on our way back, each deep in their own thoughts. My mind moved through the memories which we shared - the days spent in JU...the last 2 days which enriched us by the various experiences that we had in this trip, each unique in its own nature, rekindling the old camaraderie...and then I think we were all reminded about the reality of life at present which was now intertwined with looking after the business interests of our respective MNC-s...I guess this is what life is all about - changing perceptions, changing priorities - but some things never change - friendship, love, trust - things which form the basis of our personal lives.

I guess this trip gave each of us enough time and oppurtunity to introspect not only about the path we have trodden to reach the present position where we are now but also made us aware what lies ahead in each of our lives - both professionally and personally.
I came back to Kolkata the following day, on 26th April, one day prior to the State Elections, with bagfull of memories from this unforgettable trip.

3 months have nearly past on since then, but I think I could lay down those memories pretty vividly in this Blog post - somethings remain etched in your mind forever which you would want to cherish for quite some time to come.
Cheers to our JU, Cheers to our Friendship, Cheers to Life!

New kid in block-getting introduced to you all

Hi,everyone.I have opened this blog account to write about my life,how it has been for me for the last 20 years,how I think it will be in the coming years and how I wish it to be in future.

I studied in a reputed english medium school of the city where I made some great friends,with whom I think I shall be able to keep up my friendship for a much longer period of time.I got into JU in 2005 and here I am,in my 2nd year of college,where I have again made some good friends who have come here to study not only from different parts of the city from different schools,but also from different cities.Our campussing for jobs start in 3rd year of the 4 yr course.God knows where will I land up,but hope that I make some friends there too(yeah,yeah,I know about all the office politics going on,but still I am optimistic).
From now-on,I will post my past life from time-to-time,how it went about in school,how was my travelogues during those days and so on-in short,you will get a good glimpse about my life-past,present and future all together in this blog.