Journey of Passion to Addiction

 While I always dwelled on the quote "Dreams are like stars. You may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny", I never imagined ever to set out in quest to reach out for sky literally. 

While covid grabbed the world in its claws pushing them into corners of their abode including me, it was not easy coping up with new normal and loosing my free wander spirit into more of screen and desk time. Blessing in disguise if i call it, i was drawn towards some adventure sports picking up in India, paragliding in state of himachal being one of it. Having my attention hooked with few acrobat gliders clips from indian pilots, this started working its charm onto my mind. After an year of research and contemplation, one fine day, i decided to make my way to paragliding paradise of India. 

Tickets booked and off I went onto my new quest to explore this new calling. I reach to the quaint city of the state and see the sky full of gliders with a backdrop of sunset. My jaws dropped at the beauty and thrill of the site it was indeed. That moment, I decided, I need to be one of those by the time I finish my stay in this place. Off I went and got myself enrolled for the course. 

The course comes in P1, P2, P3 as a package which is the basic and Intermediate while P1.P2 covers the basic. For those if the calling still enthralls  there are advance and trainer courses to excel and hone the skill. There are many paragliding events and competitions conducted by many states these days to promote the sports from a competition perspective. The valleys of himachal are perfect platform for launching the journey to begin as paraglider . 

Of course perfecting the glider is heck of practice and involves days of toil in ground training to master the chute. I slogged days together to master the skill and as they say this is the crucial stage that forges the foundation skills of a pilot. Finer the ground training, polished is the skill of the pilot is what experts around used to tell me. 

Then came a day of my first flight which had my heart pounding, nerves whacking at the thought of what all can go whilst take off, during air bound, how do i land and what if I cant land and crash into somewhere unknown and gazillions of apprehensions. The first flight was not a perfect one amidst so many clouds of doubts shrouding the head but thanks to my instructors on radio, I was ensured a safe flight and landing. Then there were a few more flights to polish the skills of taking off onto air and maneuvering during the flight before my dream flight. 

As thrilling it is to take off and feel the breeze kiss your face and not want to glide down, trust me the kick of a perfect landing is one to die for equally. I strived for it and when I got it right my grin never stopped through out the day. 

My sunset flight had every thing in place. My heart was in its place not bouncing off and the view so serene that it calmed my nerves like never before. Off I took off and then soared in the beauty of the nature and there was no looking back. That's when I realized my efforts had paid off and the bruised arms and sore body post all the ground training was finally starting to pay off. 

As my glider kissed the setting sun, it was memorabilia of nostalgia that i feel till date at the thought of the moment. This is an experience par expression in words. Only the ones who have dived into it know the addiction of this enchanting yet enthralling enthusiasm.