Who’s afraid of gravity?

It had been a tough week. Weekend was approaching with NH7 and South Asian Band Festival fighting for coverage space. With some four reviews to file I pretty much wanted to jump off a bridge. And when this certain page on Facebook - Jumpin Heights caught my eye - I thought - why not actually do it?

So with a friend in tow - who strangely did not need too much convincing, I set out to get my adrenaline shot for the year. I must add that I think it is very cool to be labeled an adrenaline junkie, so after relatively juvenile parasailing and sea-bed walking I wanted to tick bungy jumping off my list and I also wanted to find out if vertigo was a problem in my life.

Now, Jumpin Heights, as they proclaim - India's first Extreme Adventure Zone,  is not just about bungy jumping - they have two other very cool alternatives - The Giant Swing and the Flying Fox. You need not pick - you can do them all. And this is where we spell out the logistics. The Bungy (designed by David Allardice from New Zealand) is done from a bridge/fixed cantilever platform overlooking a rocky cliff and a river (very pretty - but let me assure you that scenic beauty will be the last thing on your mind). You jump off the platform and plummet (Precisely. You won't fly) 83 meters towards the river.

And now the Flying Fox (not the one in Manesar and they are not claiming the name either. Just saying. This is designed by Ron Cranston from New Zealand) - you are harnessed to the wire and on release by gravity roll down the wire to 7 mtrs above the river level and then going up, finally returning and settling down at the lowest point. You accelerate upto speeds of 160 kmph on release. You are pulled back to the launch platform by a retrieval mechanism. Easy peasy! And three people can do it together.

All of the above crazy stunts require a minimum weight of 30 kgs, though you can be 20 kgs for the Flying Fox and you have to be 12 years old - well, you can't always start young. The upper weight category stops at 130 kgs. One can avail off all three things for Rs 5000 but otherwise a bungy jump and a swing sets you back by Rs 2500 each and the flying fox by Rs 1500. There are offers for double combos as well. Check out their website for the details.

Let's talk how to get there before I get gloating about 'having guts' - in an aside - these guys give you a badge that says 'I've got Guts!!!' after you complete the Swing and the Bungy! The jump site is located on the road to Neelkanth, at Mohanchatti, 15 kms from Lakshman Jhula at Rishikesh. Get to Haridwar by train or bus and drive down to Rishikesh. The whole journey to Rishikesh from Delhi won't take you more than 7 hours by train and car, bus might take longer. The Jumpin Heights people take you to the site in their own coach - but you can drive down yourselves - it is a wonderful drive though nothing can stop the funny feeling in the tummy.

Rishikesh has the Jumpin Heights office where they show you videos of jumps and swings. As we watched them with a stoic smile on your faces, some people in the videos were smiling. A ray of hope trickled in. But that lasted till we actually saw the perfectly good bridge we were supposed to jump off.

We were packed off to the Flying Fox after a briefing, weight check and after we signed a form that said, and I quote, 'I, the undersigned, have chosen to throw myself off a perfectly good bridge attached to a giant rubber band or fly down a large wire high above the river.' Well you can't say that you were not warned. I shall digress at this point to tell you that your weight is vital to the entire trio of the adventure sport trio. How much you weigh determines the colour of the rope, the harness and the elastic that will be used and for the crew it is sacrosanct. These guys at Jumpin Heights believe in double safety measures, you can be rest assured that the ropes or the elastic won't snap. However, if you are weak-hearted, that's a different ballgame altogether!

They called the Flying Fox a 'warm up' for the Swing and the Bungy. They were kidding. The 10 seconds of rush does not prepare you for what is to come. I was sulking about 83 meters, somewhere in my head 83 meters wasn't high enough. But when I stood there looking down at the drop, harnessed up and being coached on how to jump, my stomach was at my feet. You can feel the wind whipping your face and the whole world coming to a standstill just the moment before you step off the platform. I stared nervously at the harness as jump master Martina assured me pointing at the double harness - 'Each of these can take on about 4000 kgs, don't be scared!' I gave a dry laugh, pointed at my hand where my weight was etched on with a marker and said, 'More than enough I think!' She patted my back and said, 'Oh yes! I should take off one then right?!' - 'Nooo! Next time maybe...' I muttered as she laughed out loud.

Not allowing myself any time to ruminate I stepped off the platform. And there was nothing for a good few seconds while my body adjusted to the crazy pull of Grandpa Gravity. Then I felt the wind on my face as the world rushed below my feet, I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Then I heard kids cheering as I looked down. Some local kids had gathered down below for the spectacle and they cheered everyone on. Only then I was assured that I had lived.

As they pulled me down and took off the harness, the crew handed over my first badge, adding, 'You didn't swing much! That's because your weight is too less!' I gritted my teeth and smiled, 'I shall be back when I put on some,' while my head was screaming -' I just jumped off a platform and swung around like Tarzan and you are talking about my weight!!???' 'See you after Bungy!' said one of them shooing me out of the way as they prepared for the next swing.

The trek back to the site office is a good 20 mins steep climb that had us cursing our sheer lack of fitness. As we sat in the cafe and watched the swing footage my friend and I debated about Bungy. We were scared out of our wits but coming so far and not bungying made no sense to either one of us. 'Let's go get this over with!' she said and we walked back to the platform laughing at each other.

If I would have to pick one of the most defining moments of my life, Bungy would be it. Frankly I never thought I would be able to do it, I was petrified. Plus I had eaten a huge lunch. My hands and feet were cold and I had run out of smartass comments. Bad sign.

If you think you have done the swing and can therefore do the bungy - you are wrong. The bungy is a bigger mind-over-matter test. Swinging around like Tarzan is one thing, hanging by your feet upside down is another. Fortunately I had vetoed the option of backing out even after the girl going just before me did. 'Am not letting you back out!' said Martina with a huge smile and I was harnessed in. I was just told to drop straight off the platform, the dive could be saved for the next time. And I dropped.

Reality hit me only when I felt the jerk of the elastic on my ankles. Everything else was whizzing past me as I hung upside down, waiting for everything to come into focus. There aren't adequate words to explain how that jump felt. It was like flying yet, not flying and zooming down to earth all at the same time. Oh! Also the crazy beat of your heart and this eerie silence in your head and the sound of wind.

By the time they lowered me and took the harness off, I was still shivering. 

Adrenaline saps you off your life strength and yet you cannot stop. It is incredible. We rode the adrenaline high till we returned to the Capital, we had the certificates, the two badges and the videos to show off. Can I do it again, will it be easier? I am not sure. But do I want to do it again? Oh yes. Definitely. I would have to be physically broken to refuse an offer to fly again and live to talk about it.