You only live once!
27 Jan 2014 2:57 AM IST
The hashtag #yolo is one of the most terrible thing on Twitter and otherwise. It offends my linguistic sensibilities, acronym creation capacity, intellect and some random person on Facebook tried asking me out with the YOLO logic (head meets desk). However, if we do manage to extract the carpe diem-ish lesson from it, living once is not half bad if you live it up. And living in the national capital and living it up ain’t all that tough. For starters Delhi is a stone throw away for some great holiday zones. Rishikesh tops that list for now as very are still running high on the adrenaline rush. Jumpin Heights in Mohanchatti (we have written about them earlier - http://bit.ly/1aKSNpv) recently celebrated their first Bungy Week between 15 and 20 January.
In keeping with the spirit of adventure in Army, the Bungy week was aptly flagged off by Padam Shri Colonel (Retd) N Kumar, VSM, KC, AVSM, FRGS and Arjuna Award a veteran mountaineer. Jumpin Heights crew member Sudhir Bisht did a trapeze with summersault bungy under the guidance of jump masters Sue Bull and Marc Leblanc. And upping the excitement, Marc performed a giant swing with a canoe!
In 2010 Jumpin Heights was set up by ex-Army officers, to put on India’s map its first ever Extreme Adventure Zone. The aim was to nurture and encourage the spirit of adventure among the youth of India. And India caught on and HOW!Â
In keeping with the spirit of adventure in Army, the Bungy week was aptly flagged off by Padam Shri Colonel (Retd) N Kumar, VSM, KC, AVSM, FRGS and Arjuna Award a veteran mountaineer. Jumpin Heights crew member Sudhir Bisht did a trapeze with summersault bungy under the guidance of jump masters Sue Bull and Marc Leblanc. And upping the excitement, Marc performed a giant swing with a canoe!
In 2010 Jumpin Heights was set up by ex-Army officers, to put on India’s map its first ever Extreme Adventure Zone. The aim was to nurture and encourage the spirit of adventure among the youth of India. And India caught on and HOW!Â
But the biggest high for me was to bungy again, after a slim gap of a two months. Doing anything scary for the first time is easy. I say so because the first time you hurtle down the odds are that your eyes are closed. If you can’t see the earth sweeping by, you aren’t scared. The sensations are new to you, the silence, the nothingness, the insane pull of gravity. You live it, survive it and walk away. But then the time comes to do it again. I had said in my article earlier - ‘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.’Â
I wish I could swallow my words as I stood at the edge of the bridge, harnessed again. It wasn’t easier, it was tougher. And here’s why - it takes more courage to face your fears knowing the repercussions a bit too well. The silence, the nothingness, the crazy beating of your heart exponentially climbs the fear scale because they aren’t your every day companions. You know what you are getting into and you are doing it all over again.Â
‘You must be crazy!’ said a colleague. I do suppose I am. And this time my eyes were open all the time. Jump master Marc asked me to leap off the ledge, I refused trying to ignore the sweat prickling me despite the chill in the air. ‘I will just drop off the ledge...ok?’ I mumbled. ‘Sure! Just keep your eyes on the prize!’ laughed Marc and there I was 3-2-1 bungying! So last query - will I do it one more time? I think I will!
When market’s down - drink up!
Now this is something we haven’t heard of before! Charlie’s Bar Exchange - the spanking new pub behind Select Citywalk Saket is a place for the tipplers to check out. Taking over the property that earlier housed V Spot, Charlie’s is one of those rare concept bars in town.Â
Created with the omnipresent character of Charlie, from Charlie’s Angels in mind, Charlie’s is about keeping an eye on the stocks as you drink it up. The bar has screens all over that constantly update the prices of liquors as and how the market prices drop. The drops could be monumental or minimal, but it reflects on the prices on the screen and the guests can order a fresh round in those prices. Could it get any cooler?
Ok, we admit that keeping an eye on the screen constantly is a little distracting when you are out with friends - feel free to ask the staff! They have some incredibly friendly people working there. The main idea behind a bar like Charlie’s Bar Exchange is to provide the aspiring young Delhiite a place where he can come and try liquors he would have otherwise drank at home or in his car before he hit the parties, explains Nereen Tewari, one part of the brain behind Charlie’s.Â
So for people who want to have their Jack Daniels at very easy prices, Charlie’s could just be the spot! But then it all depends on the market! Keep an eye out!
They also have a great food spread and some insane cocktails. Do try the she Devil and the Bell Pepper Margarita for sure! The hot dogs have an excellent gourmet touch to it, full marks to the simple spaghetti they dished out - we loved it! Basic herbs and olive oil is a sure fire hit, always! The non-vegetarian and the vegetarian platters are great too - they offer an impressive array.Â
Head over to Charlie’s for their great prices. The location is convenient and the ambience is excellently casual for a group of friends to put their feet up. Tewari also gave us a heads up on some great music nights they have planned for the spot so keep an eye on their Facebook page.Â
A meal for two comes to Rs 1200 (without taxes and without alcohol) - but worry not! The food is quite worth the price and the liquor prices won’t pinch your pockets! Promise!
To grill or not to grill
In winters, Delhi streets are filled with kebabs and grills joints filled with variety of similar preparations. Barbeques and grills are something that you should not miss out on. Though a lot of hotels are dishing out their best cuisines we picked The Imperials which is presenting Exotic Grills.Â
Exquisite fare of steaks, rubs and sauces peppered with finest of ingredients is bound to rapture your senses in an elegant and historic setting of 1911. Â
Our favourites were barbeque dish and grilled dish were Himalayan trout with cumin and ginger marinate and Barbeque baby pork ribs. Himalayan trout with cumin and ginger marinate is one of the sweet river fishes which is readily available in this season and has very delicate aroma. It absorbs the grill flavour very fast and is good to eat when it’s hot.Â
Barbeque baby pork ribs is prepared by cooking it very slowly and is prepared on very low heat. In the end, after it gets cooked the flavour of pork ribs change and one can feel light smoky and woody aroma in the dish.Â
On till 30 January, non alcoholic meal for two starting at Rs 4000 and taxes.Â
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