River rafting on the Ganges

I tossed for a while in the pitch dark night and while I was struggling to sleep I heard the faint snoring of my colleague, Mohd. Nasir. If he could sleep, then I could too. I did sleep after a while and woke up early morning at around 5.30 for the car shoot. With LEd lanterns in our hands we rushed to the make shift toilets nearby. After the morning ablutions, we went about with our assignments with great gusto.

Later after breakfast, we were asked to report for rafting. Of the 25 journalists in the batch, around 14 had earlier opted for the river rafting exercise. Sadly, only four were left in the end. The rest either developed cold feet or had other valid excuses to opt out. The four of us were introduced to Kalyan Negi our main instructor who would take us on a 20 odd km rafting expedition down the Ganges. An Englishman Howard too joined us. He was to lead us in his kayak. He was an instructor from England and it was his first time in the Ganges.

As the four of us got into our body hugging suits, we were given a short safety-cum-instruction lecture by Negi. He told us that we had to follow his instructions to the book and showed us how to hold our paddles, how and where to sit on the raft and what one had to do when one slipped into the river or when the raft capsized. The shot lecture left us a wee bit petrified but we were excited too.

As the raft made its way down the river Ganges, we felt a sense of achievement and joy. And when we began crossing the rapids one at a time, we also realised how beneficial team work is and how a lot can be achieved by doing things together and in tandem.

Some of the rapids were really tough and the raft bounced on the waters like clothes in a washing machine. Well, almost! We followed Negi’s instructions perfectly and the raft made it through the journey without any problem.

River rafting is something every individual needs to add on to their “Bucket List”. There is no such fun like rafting in the Ganges. When our raft went through placid waters, Negi instructed us to get off the raft and swim in the river Ganges. We did so, with a bit of hesitation but it was an awesome experience. The water was freezing cold but then for me it was the first time that I was swimming in this sacred river.  Now that I had dipped in the Ganges, I thought to myself that all my sins too had been washed off.

The team at Nissan Datsun had really come up with this unique experience for journalists. For the first time I was not complaining. Yes they pampered us, but then we enjoyed it thoroughly too.  Staying in tents without the fluffy beds and the attached loos, was fun too. River rafting on the Ganges was simply the icing on the cake!