Up in the Himalayas!

A house on the banks of the River Ganga, above Rishikesh and Haridwar, sparkling ice cold water and lovely white sand. Add to that the best food I have had in the longest time, limited communication with those back home, as cell phones don’t work there, some good wine, a bonfire every night, and of course, not to forget the famous white water rafting. Put these together, and it adds up to my trip to the mountains (again!) a few days ago.
I went off to the mountains last week for 2-3 days, and had a great time. The “Jungli Murghas” and the Great Himalayan Hornbills were regular visitors to the house. Of course, the leopard that has been sighted numerous times around the house did not deign to allow us a peek at him, though we considered actively going to look for him. The bonfire each night went on for hours as did the conversations around it. And the food!! The cook employed by the owners of the house is, I am convinced, a magician. Everything he touched just turned to gold! And the local pandit who insisted upon coming to the temple in the house and waking us all up to the sound of his conch shell and incessant bell ringing was a great favorite, as everyone suddenly wanted tikas on their foreheads to start their day!
The trip was, however, not uneventful. On the 2nd day that I was there, we decided to go rafting. The boat arrived on time right outside the house. There were two Nepalese boys who were going to take us down the rapids. Everything was going just fine; rafting really is a ball….untill we reached a fairly gentle rapid, into which one of the Nepalese boys decided to jump. He swam through the rapid while I watched on enviously. I wanted to do that too! So after a quick conversation with the other Nepalese chap, I swung my legs over the side of the boat and let go. Impulse.
Cold.
I froze. Literally. For the first time I knew what being paralysed was all about. I couldn’t move a muscle; not even a finger. And the worst part was that my lungs seemed to be paralysed as well. At least that’s how it seemed to me, considering that I couldn’t breathe. Definitely unpleasant. In the end I was pulled into the boat, where I resumed watching the Nepalese boy in the water, swimming with the utmost ease. I guess I forgot to take into consideration the fact that he was much fitter than me, and probably used to the water temperature as well. I didn’t look before I leapt. Well, if nothing else, I’ll know better the next time…and will only jump into the Ganges in the summer months.
And like the grinning Nepalese chap said to me “Aap ke saare paap dhul gaye.”
My response? “Haan…Dhulai ho gayi!”