Last summer vacation, I got a marvellous chance to go para gliding. It was one of my greatest wishes to do this very thing, and at last when I really got a chance to do it, I was thrilled to my very bones.

We reached the place early in the morning. The starting point was on a hill in Vagaman, Kerala, some 100 kms away from my home. We waited in a small tent for the wind and other climatic conditions to favour the journey. At last everything was right and ready. I do admit that I was rather nervous and scared at first. I really did not know how it was all going to be and this uncertainty was rather disconcerting. The officials in charge strapped a helmet and other equipment on to me. A pilot would fly with me. When everything was ready, two of the men took a rope that was attached to me and began running forward, and before I knew it, I was up in the air, flying through air. They had fixed a seat on to me and I found that I could sit comfortably. After the first few seconds of bewilderment I began enjoying it thoroughly. I did not feel edgy as I could not comprehend the height at which we were flying. The air in the upper regions was much colder than in the lower regions. But there was something invigorating and bracing about the air and the climate. My pilot was an expert at paragliding. As I got into conversation with him, I found out that he could and did fly at an altitude of 8000 feet and that he had learnt this stunt in the mountains of Kashmir. He also told me that I was flying at an altitude of more than 1000 metre above the sea level. The parachute dipped and suddenly rose high into the air and sometimes I heard my parents shouting and cheering me on. Everything gave me a thrill that I seldom experienced. To think that my life hung on a mere cloth that people called a parachute! But this disturbing thought did not enter my mind. Of course it was risky, but life always holds an element of risk. As I flew through the air with the wind whistling it’s weird tune in my ears, everything was perfect bliss. I compared that journey to a little boat being tossed and turned in the sea, yet with no harm coming to it. After fifteen minutes of a glorious time in the sky, I gently came down. After all the equipment had been taken off me, I happily went back to my parents. I felt quite week in my legs and my hands were icy cold, but the impression that it left in my mind can never be erased.