Soaring a dream to Infinity

Six years old, I was traveling en-route to Manali. Fluttering my eyes out of the car window. We were just about to reach that all of a sudden I saw something like a hollow bob floating. I squeezed out my vision through the creeks of the thick Deodars out of that immature excitement. As the vision got clearer I pointed it out and asked my dad that what it was. Turns out it was a glider. As I was quite a saxicolous child, I had no idea of it. I could ask him about the glider but all of it was in front of me, right there. That's when it struck me very hard that I wanted to be the one under the bob. I wanted to feel the air against my face as I soared thousands of feet above the ground.

      I did not want to lose the opportunity to glide. So I requested my parents. Obviously they denied the request as I was hardly 20 kilograms. Required kilograms were at least 40 for tandem rides. It was quite expected that I would stubbornly cry but my parents my knew how to handle that.

Five years later I did get the opportunity to have a tandem ride in Saputara,a hill station near Mumbai. It was pretty nice, but it did not have that kick or that wave of satisfaction. I wanted to fly alone I'd say. I wanted to learn it as soon as possible. Possibly I could do that in Kamshet. I had restriction at that point of my life as it could turn out to become an anomaly for my academics. And studies is the first priority of Indian parents so I anyway had no chance.

Four years later, March, 2019 I was done with my matriculation and had just given my board exams. I had a nice vacation after a long time of struggle and now I had nothing in my way to tick that huge element of my bucket list except my mom. It was undoubtedly genuine on her part to be worried. And obviously paragliding as a sport had pretty visible risks. It is in fact one of the riskiest sport. That was not a problem for a long time as I had my dad by my side this time and he was quite supportive.

The spot was Bir-Billing valley, in Himachal Pradesh where I was supposed to train. Well, it was a international landing site where pre-world cups and world cups would take place. It is regarded as India's best paragliding aero-sport and world's second-best place for paragliding landing site, taking the aesthetics of the site into consideration. One might find oneself in heaven gliding through the mighty Dhauladhar, the glaciers reflect the rays of the divine Sun.

About forty miles from Dharamshala, It took me two hours to reach the sites.I was probably asleep throughout the travelling part. Comforting myself on the front seat with my face sunlit, all of a sudden there was overcast for a second. Confused, I rolled the window down and forced my face out of the car. And yup it was the giant wing. Proceeding few miles through the village, into the landing site there were many such gliders on the to their landing. I got out of the car stretching myself, taking a big relaxing yawn looking at the blue sky. That was not it, it wasn't the sky but the floating canopies. There were hundreds of such making it look like a kite battlefield or a butterfly garden with gliders instead of butterflies. For me, it was a phenomenon that I had never seen. I was so amazed that I couldn't even complete my yawn, with my jaw hanging and me not even realizing. Adrenaline rushing through my body, I got so excited and ran towards the office. I couldn't wait to start the training.

      Mr. Jyoti Thakur, the owner of an adventure sports company and an international para-glider himself, had a quick word with my dad and introduced me to my trainer. It was Mr. Ravi. With a firm handshake we started with the introduction of the course. It was my P1 course. To receive my international para-gliders, pilot license I had to pass three courses: P1, P2 and P3. Mr. Ravi explained to me the structure of the glider, harness and the risers. He had brought a whole sum kit with him. He unpacked it and removed the glider at first. Unfolding it, he taught me how to inspect it through the air cells and the trailing and leading edge. Even the presence of a small pore or a small rock in the glider can lead to fatal dysfunctions. Later he taught me the technique to untangle the strings, holding the risers.Similarly, it has equal importance because even minor entanglements can cause considerable danger. Further, I learned about the harness and the helmet, all the safety within the swing. Ravi sir then showed me how to attach the carabiners to the harness, that is to attach the wings to the harness. After all the basic information and instructions it was the time for me to learn ground handling. P1 course was all about ground handling of the glider. It is very important and the most basic course. One might not be able to take off without learning the ground handling techniques.

Ravi sir started of with a demonstration and I had to watch and learn. So a glider has four risers or three risers depending upon the type of the glider. My glider had four risers: A riser, A' riser, B riser, C riser and D riser. As I got into the harness I needed to learn how to hold the risers while a take off. Rave sir explained to me how to hold the A, B and D riser and 'scoop'. Well I didn't learn it instantly, many times I ended up tangling the D riser. Then eventually I got the knack of it. Further holding the risers I had to pull and run with my hand straight and behind my body until the bladder rose fair enough. Along the flow, then I had to 'bend elbow' that is to literally bend my elbows and bring them forward and close to my body. And then with the flow, while running, I had to leave all the other risers except the D riser and then 'damp'. It means pulling the D riser with a jerk till my chest. D riser is actually a break. 'damp' means to pull the breaks twenty percent, but with a jerk. It is the only jerky motion in whole of the sport. Then I had to run with my hands behind and that is when I would probably take off.

      This is what I had to practice for four days or until I mastered the skill for a decent take off. The first day I just practiced the whole procedure till the 'bend elbow'. When I was good enough with that on the second day of I was asked to 'damp' and run as fast as I could. While running, all I had to do was to put all my body weight on the chest strap of the harness. Ravi sir literally asked me to fall forward and trust the glider, It wouldn't let me fall. Even if I try to fall the glider wouldn't let me, so that's what he asked me to do.

      The second day of my training, I met Rishabh sir. He was teaching the same course to two other fellow students. We would train together. My parents came over to the landing site for the weekend. I can say they probably came to check over me. After a few days of training, my parents wanted to meet the trainer. I introduced Rishabh sir to my parents. After quite a conversation with my parents, Rishabh sir noticed the accent and asked if we were from Maharashtra. His guess was correct but turns out he too was from Maharashtra, Kolhapur. Being from the same state, we bonded pretty fast. He would converse the commands or the mistakes I made in Marathi. Javed and Kiran uncle, the ones who were training with me were really nice and uplifted me while I trained. In no time we too bonded. We exchanged numbers and still are in touch. We would have our lunch and dinner together. Mr Javed was from Gulmarg, Kashmir. He was a skiing trainer and wanted to peruse speed riding. And Mr Kiran was from Bangalore and worked in Amazon LLC. I couldn't have such exposure anywhere else. Meeting new people, learning new culture, listening to their stories and telling them my story, all of it was unexpected but it felt good and from inside. I was fifteen and had never bonded with someone in such less time. But that's how cross learning is all about.

     Four days of training and all of us qualified for the P1 course. Now it was time for us to approach the P2 coarse. All we were informed was that we were suppose to take off from a small cliff. The flight would be of about sixty-seventy seconds. Well it sounded decent but felt pretty early but the excitement was to the peak. I couldn't wait. We rested for one day after the first coarse and started with the second one.

Dehlu was the name of the cliff or the take off point. We were supposed to go there in a car. We all reported at the paragliding school at 7.a.m in the morning, tied our glider to the roof support of the car and left for Dehlu. Fifteen minutes and we reached. It was Mr. Gurpreet Dhindsa who was supposed to instruct us.He is ranked as one of the best pilots in India. There would be one walkie-talkie (radio) attached to the harness and Dhindsa sir would have another one. This is how we would be instructed while in air. Before the flight we were briefed about how to change direction and the landing. So if I wanted to turn, I had to do it with the 'weight shift' in that particular direction and just a slight pull of the break of that side. And to land, I had to 'flair'. That means I had to pull the breaks all way from my shoulder level to my waist when I'm about a meter or half above the ground. Even a small misjudgment could lead to a undesirable landing. We were strictly instructed not to jump, the glider would itself take off as we would run with the weight against the chest strap. Ravi sir gave us the demo. He took off swiftly and landed with a smooth 'flair' against the wind.

Among all three of us, I was the first one who was supposed to take off. Obviously I was nervous, I could feel my blood gushing through me veins. Well the cliff was not steep at all and the depth till the foot was enough to break three-four bones if I fell down. Practically even if I messed something up or there was a fault, I would possibly be alive with a few fractures. Such thoughts in one's mind would sound like a nightmare. But for me staying alive was the main motive and so I accepted it as a motivation.

Couldn't help but courage up. I spread my glider behind me, wore the harness and got all ready for the take off. We waited for the winds to be favorable and as they were so, I was informed that this was the time. All in position, Dhindsa sir yelled, " go". I started off by pulling the glider with all my body weight and eventually running. Sir wouldn't take a breath but yell, "pull pull pull and go".The 'bend elbow' and 'damp' were induced by me while running without, me even realizing. It was like it had become a reflex within me. As I ran, I could see the ground falling down, or it seemed so. And yeah there it was, I was flying. This was it, I had this really amazing feeling inside of me. All of a sudden I realized the radio was vibrating, It was Dhindsa sir yelling," turn right, I repeat, turn right". So amazed, I forgot about the instructions. Further, I realized, I forgot to sit on the harnesses. With a flight of about forty-fifty seconds, I landed with a pretty decent 'flair' after being instructed. I really had to work on it.

      Javed and Kiran uncle also had a great flight. We congratulated each other for our first flight. To follow through and complete the course we had to have a total of at least six flights. That was the minimum requirement. Two flights each day, we completed the course in four days. One day was delayed due to the weather conditions. The only thing left after the six flights were the theory lessons. Dhindsa sir himself gave us the theory lessons. There was where we learned the importance of all the steps of take off. It was all simple Physics and was near to what I had predicted. In high school I was pretty good in Physics. A small written exam, which contained multiple choice questions was given by us. It was a pretty easy one, we all passed. And there it was, P2 was complete.

      Dhindsa sir suggested me to take rest for a week and I could start the P3 course after. Unfortunately Javed and Kiran uncle were leaving. They had decided to opt their P3 course in October. We finally had to bid goodbyes and move out on our ways. We decided to meet in October. In the evening, I also left for Dharamshala.

One relaxing week and I was back to Bir Billing. The whole of the vacation I was restless and excited as it included flying from Billing, that is to say I'd have a flight of fifteen-twenty minutes. Billing is a part of Dhauladhar range of lesser Himalaya chain of mountains with elevation around 4500 meters. It was the default take off site of every para-glider. The first day I was asked to practice ground handling of the glider to replenish the reflexes. The first day I did what he asked me to. Well in weeks time, I'm certain one wouldn't lose such reflexes and so mine was perfect. I was all ready for the third course. I just had one disadvantage which I couldn't help at that point, that was my weight. I was hardly a hundred and ten pounds, where as the favorable weight was hundred and forty pounds. With such numbers I could not take off on windy days. For this reason I had to be delayed for one day. I was all ready at the take-off site but the winds were not favorable. I feared if I could complete my P3 course with such weight.

The next day we again gave it a try. This time we went a little bit early. This is because more the sun is down, less will be the wind. I was all ready with the radio attached to my harness. There was Mr. Arun at the take off site and Dhindsa sir at the landing site. Arun sir briefed about the flight time and landing angle. The moment I'm about at an angle of sixty degrees to the landing site, I had to figure out the direction of wind. Then I had to soar through and forth in order lose elevation and approach the landing against the direction of the wind.

The moment Arun sir said on the radio, "Sir, winds seem favorable we might let him take off in a bit."I got all jittered up, extremely nervous. If I messed anything up, there was no way I would survive.I could feel my heart pumping within me, all my veins popped out. It felt like my heart was going to explode. I was all pumped up and sweaty.

Arun sir called me out to take position. I couldn't help but take deep breaths and follow through. All in position I could feel the slight breeze against my face and Arun sir yelled, "go." I pulled pulled, ran , 'bend elbow', 'damp' and ran with all my body weight against the chest strap and the glider took off. It was a swift take off. I tumbled backwards in order to sit on the harness. As I herd Arun sir on the radio, "Nice take off, sit back relax and approach the landing site. "I calmed down, taking a last deep breath. Sitting under the canopy, I could see the world. All of it seemed a huge LEGO set from up there. I resisted even blinking. The Dhauladhars seemed so radiant. All of seemed like bonds of eternity, The Dhauladhars and the clear blue skies, the blending rays of the Sun into every fraction and the glider and me. I couldn't help but fall in love with everything and most importantly the glider. If it wasn't for the glider, I wouldn't be here. That moment I remembered the time I saw the hollow bob floating and now I couldn't believe I was under it. All of it was a paradise.That was quite a moment for me.

      Few minutes and I was sixty degrees to the landing site, I couldn't figure out the wind direction. Fortunately I had the radio attached, through which Dhindsa sir informed me the direction of wind. I wasn't quite confident about the landing so I followed what Dhindsa sir instructed me. I landed with a smooth 'flair'. I really needed to work on my landing approach. I had more five flights to go, in which I had to gain perfection.

In the next five flights I was suppose to perform some exercises like 'bunny ears', stalls etc. I swiftly followed and completed all my exercises. Now I wouldn't fear any of it. The only aim I had in mind was to get better and eventually the best in this sport. Well I was just fifteen so I could not have my flying license. This August, that is August, twenty nineteen, I'd turn sixteen and that is when I would get my para-gliders pilot license. I wish to master this sport and compete in the world cups on behalf of my nation.

 Well the course was unfortunately almost over except the theory part. Arun sir took all the theory lessons. This time it was all about the skies. Types of clouds, weather, predictions of weather based on clouds. There were two exams that I was supposed to give in order to receive the license. Out of those two exams one was given by me there and then. The other one I decided to give in August, when I would go to collect the license.

      Here it was my journey from being just another kid who'd get excited seeing a floating hollow bob to the one under the canopy. I was just in no mood to leave this place. I asked Dhindsa sir if I could complete the next course at stress. He said that the weather is not favorable and further the monsoon was approaching. He asked me to come in October that is the best weather for paragliding. I made up my mind and bid goodbye to Bir Billing and promised myself to go back to that amazing place in October.

      This whole jaunt was not only about paragliding but a lot more. Like any other sport, paragliding taught me a lot more out of the syllabus and turned me into something better. It changed or modified, I'd rather say, the way I approached the daily situations. It improved my decision making. During that period I was reading this book- 'Thinking Fast And Slow', by Daniel Kahneman. It was all about two systems of our conscious mind. That included System 1: fast thinking system and System 2: slow thinking. One might guess that paragliding requires System 1 but that's not right as it leads to irrational decisions. In paragliding, decisions are to made there and then, within fractions of seconds but they need to be logical with immediate and perfect observations. Which is the job of System 2. Practising this sport improved my System 2 thinking. This is what I could now induce in my day to day life. It taught me how to face my fear or face each of that moment in which adrenaline gushed throughout my circulatory system in a calm state of mind. It made me be more subtle in any given situation and gave me the courage to face it.

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