Jumping From A Cliff.

"I was ready. The glider was attached to my back. The wind was cold and fast as a cheetah. I was standing on top of a cliff, breathing what could presumably be my last breaths and all I could see was a 4300 ft drop. And then, I jumped....."

Now, without making it any more dramatic than it already is, let me tell you what happened form the beginning.

It was June 2017, summer holidays were in full swing and I had to escape the scorching heat in the plains. Solution? Hill station! Me, my younger brother, my mom and my dad, four of us went on a roadtrip to the beautiful, elegant and according to me, the most clean hill station, Himachal Pradesh, or as it's famously known, "UNFORGETTABLE HIMACHAL" . The weather was perfect, the sky had this perfect combination of white and blue and we were constantly surrounded by huge mountains that appeared at a distant sight. We stayed in Palampur, a small town, and it took us almost half a day to reach there. But it was Bir Billing, another small town, that I was really looking forward to visit as, it's the highest point in India from where one can Para Glide, and I was all up for it!

I've always had this dream to sky dive and this was one of the main reasons why I was so excited about Para Gliding. I saw this as a stepping stone to achieve the original dream of jumping from a plane! I still FIRMLY believe in the thought, "If I can jump from a cliff, I can jump from a plane" (this is my original thought btw). So, we took off for Bir billing the next day, booked ourselves for para gliding and in 10 quick minutes there was a Jeep outside, waiting for us to escort us to the top of the cliff. Now guys, bear with me as I try to explain my emotions as the car went round and round around the mountain till we reached the summit.

As soon as we started our journey to the top of the cliff, I started getting nervous. I don't know what happened to me there, but as we were climbing up, I could see people falling from the sky randomly from the car window! And that was so sickening. My face went from excited to scared real quick. My father saw this and tried to cheer me up. But you know what really helped me keep cool? It was the Punjabi songs that the driver was blasting through the speakers! I remember, that was the first time Punjabi songs helped me get over something and simply vibe to them and forget about everything else😆, they really help with the adrenaline rush. Finally, we made it to the top. I could see a lot of people jumping and a lot of them preparing to jump. Suddenly, I felt a pull to my waist. It was the trainer. He buckled me up, attached the humongous glider to me and strapped himself with me as well (since I was a first timer, I had no license and it was compulsory to take a trainer with you). Everything was set and I was ready to jump. But before that happened, we had one more thing left, the do's and don'ts.

My trainer came to me, with a no-joke serious face and told me "Jaise hi mai bolu bhot tez bhagna hai, zameen pe pura zor deke, varna udne ki jagah neeche gir jaoge!" which translates to, "You've got to run with full force, pushing the ground as much as you can or else, you'd fall down instead of flying!". Wow, really boosted my morale by giving me a threat of possible death! Anyways, my father went first. I was really nervous, but he seemed pretty chill. He counted till 3, started running and in the blink of an eye, he was in the air, descending down like a hero. That was all I needed to get my head into the game. It was my turn. I took a deep breath, reminded myself that that was what I wanted to do, and started running. One step, Two step, Three st...... Oh no! Wait, I was already in the air.

As my feet left contact with the ground, the glider opened itself in all its glory and there I was, 4300 ft above sea level, descending down majestically. I still remember the view from up there, It was beautiful, could make any grown man cry! Everything appeared so small yet so beautiful. It was so peaceful up there and for a few minutes, the wind was so fast that we flew up a bit instead of going down, but it was all worth it.

It took me 17 minutes to touchdown, and those 17 minutes were THE BEST 17 MINS OF MY LIFE. I can't express how blessed and happy I felt once I landed. You know, I could literally see the curvature of the Earth from up there! Guys, the Earth isn't flat! (I'm not a flat earther but still😭) Everything about it was so satisfying. I'm so happy that I did that and didn't back out half way (credit to my parents and obviously, Punjabi music) and, if offered another chance, I'd do it again!

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Hi! You've reached the end of the blog. I know these are really tough times and I pray that everyone is safe. I wanted to tell this story for a longtime, just couldn't find the right time. But yeah, here it is! I would really appreciate all of your comments and suggestions in the comment section down below.

Thanks!