Thursday, September 11, 2014

Sky Diving!

I still can't believe I fell from 10,000 feet. The plane shutter opened, got pushed to the edge, and voila!!! Gone. Gone in a second.Gone with the wind!

My friends, who are fascinated with this sport, but haven't summed up the guts to do it, asked me to blog down my experience. I'll give it a shot.

Earlier, when we would talk about sky-diving, I was one of the most enthusiasts who would 'jump' at the topic. But, when it came to actually buying the deal, I had my heart in my mouth. But before I could express my 'slight' fear-tipped hesitation, the deal was bought.7 of us were now on the 'Sky-divers' group on Whatsapp. We were the dare-devilers.

I didn't think much and talked vrery little about this until the day before. The night was daunting. Watched some videos, read some diver's blogs, looked at my kids sleeping besides me, made a will in my mind, etc etc. Anushka had been 'jumpy' since she heard about this. In the morning, while still in bed, I showed her the videos and asked her to stay calm and positive. Obviously, she had no idea how 'calm' and how 'positive' I had been the night before. Thank God for my excellent pretence!

The drive to the center was 1.5 hours long. The 7 of us sat, all edgy, joking about wills and last wishes, etc. But now, we just wanted to get done with it. Too much anticipation and anxiety is not good for your heart. The distance was disturbing.

Disclaimers and waivers signed. We handed over our lives to them. And they still held no responsibility for any damages or ill-comings that might just happen. We are now at the mercy of our instructors, the harness and the parachutes. I kept asking the instructors,

Me: 'What if I come lose of you?'

He said: 'Well, in that case, I get suspended for a week.'

Me: 'What about me?'

'You are a goner,' he said. So comforting, ya???

Anyways, I had decided to take the plunge and I will. Determination is the mother of all courage. (I just made that up).

Getting into the plane. My instructor makes me sit right next to the shutter of the plane. I am screaming, 'Oh my God, I am going first.'. Ya, like God asked me to jump from the sky. The wheels start to roll. The instructor briefly shuts the door for take-off but then opens it up. The view is amazing. Actually, more than the view, the wind feels good. We are going high. Pretty pretty high. The instructor tightens my harness to his. Gives me my googles. Hint, hint: Time to jump.

Pushes me to the edge. Tells me, 'Safety position', which I duly comply (hands in the front holding the straps), and in less than 2 seconds, I am out. I am in a shock for a couple of seconds. Then I start to scream, scream the screams I can't hear. Then, I close my mouth to take a breath. I want to scream again, but I just can't open my mouth. Not out of shock, but simply because I couldn't. The wind is far more superior in strength than my jawline. I am a fish. Literally, a fish. My lips purse in and out in my attempts to open my mouth. But I just can't. I don't feel like I am falling. I feel like I am suspended in mid-air. I see wisps of cloud below me. I am floating. People say the view is amazing. But I have seen such views from airplanes and Burj-Khalifa (lol). It wasn't about the view for me. I have floated in water but this was my first time in air. It was feeling that wind coz technically, I was falling at the speed of 120 miles/hour. In less than 60 seconds, I dropped from 10,000 feet to 5,000 feet. Statistics make it even grander. Numbers make it supersonic.

Parachute deployed. I can open my mouth. But I am still not calm. As my instructor kept twirling and twirling and twirling. I started to feel dizzy. It got a little stable then. You are supposed to be enjoying the views again here. But as I said, it wasn't about the views for me. The perfect rectangular-shaped fields speaks volumes of the Almighty Architect, but it is not impressing me today. I think I

 was tired. And hungry. I just wanted to get to the ground.

Landing was very smooth. I am done. I did it. I jumped. I had challenged the otherwise protective nature of man. I had cheated death with a safety harness and a parachute. I had flown in the air. I had experienced falling from the sky. September 6th went down in history.

Would I recommend it? Definitely. To be very honest, it is not difficult. The actual diving is not difficult. In fact, it's easier than the roller-coasters since you don't feel you are falling. The most challenging element of this sport is the thought of jumping from the plane. Once you gather the courage to do so, to trust your life in the hands of fate, and faith, it will be the most memorable experience of your lifetime.

After seeing my pics on FB, my brother commented, 'Very cool. But don't try it again.'. Ai Ai brother. I won't.

No comments: