The need to be useful: Kolad

Kolad – Adventure Camp (March 07)

While I was slogging out one Saturday evening in office in mid-Feb, a mail from TCS-Maitree regarding an Adventure Camp hit my Inbox. It was about having a weekend full of adventure stuff like White-water Rafting, River-crossing, Kayaking, Canoeing and lot of calm nature trails. Activities like this get full in an instant because there are only limited number of seats and whole of TCS-Mumbai pounces on it. In the past I have never been able to get myself nominated and I used to feel damn disappointed on being late. Not this time though, I guess I was one of the first ones to apply and I was sure to get in. For the first time, I felt good about slogging on a Saturday. I felt like I had just come dancing down the track to a Shane Warne delivery, killed the spin and hoicked the ball for a straight six over the bowlers head. I called up my friends but they were going to be busy that weekend, so I was going to be alone (rather I would know no one else), but that didn’t bother me. When I left office at 9 PM I was smiling.

There were 2 weeks for the camp and I was eagerly awaiting it. Finally, the Holi weekend (3rd March) arrived and I caught the designated early morning bus. I caught the bus at the last pick-up point. So the bus was expected to be full. As I entered the bus I scanned for familiar faces but instead found a lot of interesting ones :). Anyways, I settled down. Nothing spectacular about the bus ride. It was a normal ride with folks playing Antakshari or listening to fast numbers on the stereo. Overall it was a pretty charged up bunch of 42 people with almost equal number of guys and girls. After about 4 hrs of drive we reached Kolad. The place is on Mumbai - Goa highway, 60-odd km before Srivardhan.

Day 1:

We had to cross a small patch of river to reach our base camp. A boat (capacity 10 people) was ready there to take us to the other shore. As soon as we started boarding the boat it began swinging and shaking a lot. It took us some time to balance our weights before the boat was stable again. That was the beginning of our adventure I guess. Next we all reached the base camp, had our breakfast, were allotted our accommodations where we left our bags and reassembled again. I was sharing a Karvy hut with 3 others. This hut was made of thin sheets of soft wood and was evened out with cow-dung. I liked the place. It was kind of cool. Some were given tents and some were unlucky to be in concrete bungalows.

I was anticipating a Ice-Breaker session and that’s what followed when we reassembled. We were playing this game where each of us had been given a sheet with 42 questions. So we had to mingle around and ask the other person those questions so that we get to know them. The theme was "Nature" - so it had questions like - What’s the most exotic place you have been to? Have you ever climbed a Machan? Ever been on Adv. camps before? Have you ever treated a snakebite victim etc? Good home work I would say on part of volunteers, we got to know each other and also shared some useful info.

Next was an induction session. We were given information about the surroundings. The place we were told was a sparse jungle. It was snake infested and we were told to avoid leaving the base camp at nights. There were also some wild animals deeper in the jungle. The river that flowed near by was Kundalika River. 8 km downstream from Kolad the river becomes a lot polluted because of the industrial waste dumped in it. Upstream though, it is quite clean and AquaFina bottled water is made out of this waters. Eco tourism is catching up a lot in India and if it suits your taste I urge you to take eco tourism and enjoy nature instead of staying in 5-star hotels and availing man-made means of artificial entertainment.

When Mumbai was flooded on 26th July 2005, this place was drowned (not just submerged or waterlogged) on 25th July itself. The place where we were put up was almost 10 meters (close to 33 ft) from the river and even that was drowned. It’s next to impossible to have any activity here in monsoon.

Next we proceeded to do River-crossing. Each batch was 6 people - 3 guys, 3 girls. A long rope was tied between two shores of the river. The distance was close to 25 meters and depth was approximately 4 ft. So what’s the fun you may ask? The river current was sizable and it was difficult to walk in the water and you can’t swim (which beats the purpose itself) because the water current wont let you. You do River-crossing like a pack of ants. One behind the other - so we arranged ourselves one guy followed by one girl. Before starting to cross they asked us to choose a team captain. I volunteered. The captain's job is to be the first in the queue, assess the conditions - pass instructions to others and overall ensure safety of the team. If the captain's judgment fails, the whole team suffers. Also if someone falls, the captain, because he gets the most leverage, has to tighten the rope taut so that the person can be pulled above water.

So I went in first, at each step passing the instructions to those behind. At one point the rocks beneath were sharp and current was much stronger. I helped #2 to safety and cautioned my team. But our tail, number 4, 5 and 6 - two girls and a guy fell. # 3 was just too scared to attempt rescue. So I pulled him over and tried to reach the tail. Their legs were lifted above the water and they were hanging to the rope very dearly. Once legs are lifted upwards its very difficult to find ground again since the water current constantly pushes one upwards. I just couldn’t pull three people to safety. It was Three much for me. Then one organizer-volunteer jumped in and brought #4 back to her feet. I rescued her back to the other end. He went ahead and helped #5 and #6 to their feet. Then all 4 of us pulled the rope and brought them to safety of the shore. This was only one half. We had to return. We took our time but did so safely. Phew !

Onwards...

Next we went Canoeing (2-people in one Canoe) in relatively still waters, away from the spot where we crossed the river. It was fun. The co-ordination and technique is what matters. With either one missing, the kayak just keeps circling around and its no fun. But if you tune in with your partner you get the speed and the thrill and its so exciting. Shamim and I had a great coordination and waded through waters at our will. Right in the centre of the riverbed we stopped still and maintained a pin-drop silence. The breath of fresh air and the soft sound of gently flowing river just enthralled us. If humans had camel-like abilities I would have loved to store some fresh air in my lungs and use it it installments upon return to Mumbai. By the time we returned back to the shores it was 6 pm and there were other programs lined up for the evening.

By 7:30 PM it was dark and we set out for a nature trail. Usually, by that time its pitch dark, but being Holi day it was full moon. We were given two instructions - 1) Maintain absolute silence - that way you here a lot of jungle noises and 2) Light up your torch only when necessary. People followed religiously and we could hear plenty of sounds ranging from Holi folk music in nearby village to sounds of the tiniest insect. At one point in time we were crossing rails (Konkan Railway) and because we maintained good silence we could hear the tracks vibrating. The train was nearby and we settled down safely along the edges of the track and resumed only when the train passed us.

By the time we returned it was 9 and we lit the Holi fire. It was uncharacteristically quiet. No expletives, no shouting, no singing. I guess ppl were tired. The local villagers put a lot of vegetables in the fire like potatoes, groundnut and plenty of other things. They get roasted and are then salted before being served. They were yummy..

Then we had dinner and retired to bed. One group of 20-odd was going on trekking a hillock and the other group was going to raft the next day. I was going to raft.

Day 2:

The Rafting batch had to get up early at 5 AM in the morning. By 7 AM we had to take a bus and reach a place 25 km from the base station. There we had to pick up our rafting gear and then proceed to the rafting spot. Our way was through the ghats where the view of Sahyadri range of mountains was just awesome. It was a pleasant 18 - 19 degrees Celsius and whole setup was very intoxicating.

By 8 AM, we were given safety instructions before we set out to raft. There were 4 rafts with close to 6 people each. Each raft had a guide and he would give commands that we had to follow. At the scariest of the spots he would issue an "All-Down" command where we were supposed to get down on our knees inside the raft and protect ourselves from the thud of waters. Then, there was a lone kayak who was the only rescuer, if anybody fell in water. At one time he could save only two people. We were clearly told to look after ourselves if more than 2 people fell in water. That was damn scary, but its better that truth be told.

Now the arrangement of rafting in Kundalika river is very interesting. The river does not have enough current to be "raft-able" by itself since there is a dam on the river. The dam releases water daily for agricultural development of the region. Sometimes the dam releases two gates and sometimes only one. The mechanism is also interesting. When it’s about time to open the gates, there is a loud siren, audible in radius of at least 2 kms and blows for about two minutes. This is the indication that gates will be opened and water will be released in next 5 minutes. Then the second siren is blown when water is released and stops when the gates are closed. The water comes gushing down the canals and hits its natural course.

Before rafting we were just swimming in the waters that was barely a couple of a feet deep. As we heard the first siren, we all hurriedly got out of water and ensured that we were at least 5 meters above the current water levels. Within 5 minutes a huge mini-tsunami-like gigantic wave came with a ferocious roar, as if signaling everyone and everything in its path to get away. Within seconds, as long as the eye could see the water levels had risen by more than 10 ft. The water current was wild and intimidating, yet exciting.

First the lone kayak, our only lifeguard, got into water and checked out the current and terrain. Once he gave a green signal we carried our rafts into water. First our guide took us to backwaters, where the water current was a lot lesser. There we practiced raft navigation and rescue techniques. After about 10 min of practice, it was time to get into mainstream. We were about 25 people in 4 rafts. With chants of "Jai Kundalika" we all jetted into the mainstream. The adrenalin rush was phenomenal - sensations of pleasure and fear, both at the same time - it was just an awesome feeling.

Within minutes we approached the first Rapid. It was called the Butterfly Rapid. Like butterfly that flutters its wings and moves forward - the waters here too had a lateral movement. The lateral movement was because of the rocks right in the middle of the course. So a raft had to either pass on its left or right. The lateral movement of the water tilted the rafts like a F1 car is tilted on an a sharp turn. All rafts passed that one without casualty.

Next Rapid was called the Buddha Rapid. Here one has little clue that there could be a Rapid ahead. The waters were very deceptive over there. There were a lot of rocks beneath and the raft would slow down a little because of friction. As soon as it slowed down the waters would catch up and land on the raft with a great thud. So the situation was - one can’t accelerate because of the rocks and one cant stop because the waters wont let you. At this juncture our raft got stuck on the rock and tilted at an angle of 45-degrees. The front portion of the raft got lifted above water and the raft was about to topple. Just then our guide issued a "Hold Back" command. In this position you sit on your knees inside the raft holding the edges tight. We all managed to do that in time and our weights kind of balanced out (that’s how people are seated in the first place). Every body was just holding their breaths. One mistake on somebody's part and we would topple. Then the guide issued an "All forward" command wherein everyone has to row forward with the oars. In a very synchronized manner we all moved forward. Inch-by-inch we managed to move away from the point where the raft was stuck in rocks. All of a sudden, the raft got released from the clutches of the rock and we were back in flowing water. As children, during monsoons, remember how our paper boats used to get stuck around a small stone and then with a small flick of fingers how we used to change its course; it was exactly like that, except that there was a lot at stake.

Just ponder over the name - Buddha Rapids - why do they call it such? May be after the Rapids you get a sudden enlightenment on how precious life is OR is it because the place has such a high potential for liberation? What do you think? Either ways whoever named it, named it very aptly.

There were a few more Rapids after that, but not as adventurous and all rafts passed them safely. All along, the view of Sahyadris on one side was magnificent. It seemed like a tall and dark elder brother keeping a watch over his fair and lovely little sister Kundalika and allowing her to play all around him.

After nearly 3 hrs and 12 km of rafting we reached our destination. At the destination the river was so calm and peaceful it was difficult to imagine that it was so vibrant upstream. Isn’t that how even our lives are - Inexperience of Youth-Middle Age Maturity - Wisdom of old age? Life's such a metaphor.

After rafting, the bus took us back to the base station, where the other party (ones who went trekking) was waiting for us to play RangPanchami. It was already 4 PM. We played Holi with natural colors, the ones extracted out of flowers - unlike the oil paint ones that we get in cities. We all played colors to our heart's content until 6 in the evening before starting our return journey.

On our way back, I expected lot of tired legs. Instead the enthusiasm refused to die down. From Kolad to Mumbai we continuously played Antakshari, but with a difference. Instead of film songs we decided to play Antakshari with Ad jingles. It was so much fun.

Small events like these so easily become cherished memories and people whom you hardly knew become great friends - all because of one working Saturday.

If a working Saturday, could lead to so much fun - I don’t mind working on Saturdays :)