Head Rush

We found that conquering one of our greatest fears is a heady mix on a hot Sunday morning.

Gravity is our friend. It keeps our feet firmly on the ground and ensures that we don't get hurled off into space by the massive centrifugal forces generated by the earth spinning on its axis. We also learn to respect our friend at a young age when we take our first steps as a baby and then fall back to the ground. As man has evolved over the generations, we have also developed an ingrained fear of high places, a fear that tells you that you have no business being so high off the ground. It's a fear that's telling you if you don't respect gravity, it can quite easily smash every little bone in your body as it sends you crashing back into earth. It's that same fear telling me that if I step off the edge of this 150-foot high platform, I'm surely going to end my life. But now it's time for me to end today's physics lesson as I hear someone start a countdown to my doom. "Three, two, one... Jump!" No way siree.

If you haven't already guessed it, I'm about to make my first bungee jump. For those of you who don't know what that is let me explain, bungee jumping is a sport where seemingly sane people intentionally throw themselves off cliffs, cranes, bridges and even buildings, attached to what are essentially rubber bands, just for the thrill of it. The sport started in the 8o's and now has grown to be a global craze. And it plays on one of our most basic fears - the fear of falling. In India, there are a number of places you can experience bungee jumping with sites in Rishikesh, Bangalore, Delhi, Goa and Lonavala. So one bright and sunny day we piled into the Hyundai Elite i20 and headed to the nearest one - Lonavala.

The journey to Lonavala makes for a great Sunday morning drive and once out of Mumbai city limits we were greeted with the open highway and clear skies. The i20 was brilliant on the drive with its efficient diesel engine and six-speed gearbox eating up the kilometres in effortless fashion. We felt quite spoilt in the luxurious interiors of this hatchback and in the tunnels on the expressway, we noticed many of its impressive features like the automatic headlights that are activated as soon as the car left bright sunshine and entered the dark tunnels. Or the automatic windshield wipers that came on when we drove through some water falling from the roof of one of the tunnels up the Lonavala ghat. These are features that you would expect only in larger, premium cars and they are present on this excellent hatchback.

Roughly two hours after having started out from home we pulled into the parking lot of Delia Adventure's extreme adventure park in Lonavala. The adventure park is an exciting place with a wide array of ways for thrill seekers to while away a frenzied Sunday afternoon. They have activities like a massive 1250 foot flying fox, ATVs and a nice rock face for rappelling, to name a few. But we're here for the huge 150 foot crane sitting right in the middle of the park which is actually the bungee jumping platform. They also have internationally certified staff and equipment, which is reassuring.

What went through my mind as the crane bucket made its way to the jumping height? Not very much, although judging by the rather loud noise caused by my knees knocking together, it was evident that I was scared. It was even more evident that there was tremendous apprehension on my part when, as two rather genial personages strapping my ankles to the bungee cords, I had a fake smile plastered onto my face all through the experience. Then I was led to the edge of a platform. It was like surveying the entire world, in Lego brick size. Three... two... one, they counted down. Jump? Off this? Me? You've gotta be kidding me! But, seeing as there was no way to go but down, I let myself drop. At first I felt myself rushing through the air with a whooshing sound. Then, the world slowed down. It felt like it took an eternity, the sky, the clouds, the ground coming nearer, before I was yanked back up. "So this is what it feels like." I mumbled softly. Yes, that's what it felt like. And I wouldn't trade that feeling for anything in the world. It was over in a flash but that overwhelming feeling of being alive stayed with me long after I shut my eyes and went to sleep at the end of an exciting day. I'm a bungee jumper now and I even have the certificate to prove it. 

Published by: Overdrive