River rafting is a fun activity; I had done it some 4-5 years ago. And here I was again at it, ready to experience the thrill in the holy Ganges.
One raft has about 8 people plus one guide. Everyone has to wear a life jacket and a helmet. The guide gives you some basic instructions before the rafting begins. One of them is the often neglected instruction about what to do if you fall down into the river. Because nobody believes that he/she could actually fall down!
Anyway, the trip started. There are some 4-5 rapids (places where the water is very rough and the waves are huge) where the true fun of rafting is enjoyed. We cleared the first 3 and the fourth rapid (the toughest one in Ganges for the amateur route) is where our raft started shaking vigorously and before I knew anything; I was thrown down into the waters!
For a moment everything froze; I was fully immersed into the waters, I could sense the water filling my body through my mouth and nose. I was still holding with one hand onto the rope tied around the raft (appropriately called the ‘lifeline’) – and indeed, as my guide later told me, this was the only thing that saved me – but the waves were so huge that I could not see anything else. All I could see was water, water and water everywhere. I don’t know for how long I was down there, I think it must be 2-3 minutes before the raft was driven to still waters and they pulled me up. But those 2-3 minutes were seriously important. The experience when there is nothing solid under your feet, everything around you is being shaken up and the only hope you have is the grip you have on the ‘lifeline’ cannot be experienced in words. And no one can help you in such a situation, with all the equipments and life jackets – the only thing to help you is your mental strength not to panic. Because if you panic and let go of the grip, the currents can take you anywhere. The force of the water is such that it can bang you hard against the rocks on the river bank. People on the raft can’t pull you up until the raft is driven to still waters and those 2-3 minutes when it is being driven to a safe position test the panic levels of the person thrown overboard.
When they finally pulled me up, I kept lying on my stomach for a few seconds; but then just got up and took the paddle and started paddling – we were on our course to the next rapid. I was in a state of shock, but something inside told me that if I kept lying there I would need medical attention.
Well, after the rafting finished, a local person told me that many Hindus commit suicides in the holy Ganges because it is believed that doing so gives one ‘mukti’ i.e. no more re-births. Well, I did not know about that but I know another tradition that a dip in the holy river washes away all your sins.
And what a dip it was!!
P.S. As I sit safely now reflecting back on the incident, I remember one masterpiece of line from Gulzar: "Hum apne pairon mein jaane kitne bhanwar lapete hue khade hai..." (Song: Thodi si bewafai, Singer: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar)
