THE FIRST THING YOU MUST KNOW is what to do if the raft overturns and you are thrown into the water,” started David, our expert guide from Canada as we stood on the banks of the Tons togged out in parkas, life jackets and helmets getting a safety briefing. The exhilaration that had swept over us as we stood savouring the unbridled beauty of Mori in Ut-taranchal, began to ebb a wee bit.For the first time I also began to see the sense in reunion dinners. For this is exactly what this trip was—a reunion of our college gang of 10, getting together after a gap of almost 20 years. Only four made it finally.But here we were—the fearless four, nudging 40, but out to prove to the world that age was only a condi-tion of the mind. Even if the mind was at that moment a cauldron of befuddled thoughts ranging doubts about swimming skills and concern about the foolhardy things mid-life crisis can make you do. But by now it was too late (funny, before the trip our motto had been “it’s never too late”) and so with knocking knees, we climbed into the raft, paddles in hand and heart in the mouth. White water rafting, here we come! One of us was experienced and immediately took position right in front of the inflated boat, while David asked three of us to get onto the rear section. “You are drier here,” he explained, adding, “and safer.”Crisp paddle commands were handed out as more people joined us, and in seconds we were off with two other rafts full of adventurers. A reassuring sight was the presence of Rana, our camp manager, and Kaan Singh, another guide, hovering around the boats in their little kayaks—with the purpose of bailing out anyone who may tip over.“Forward,” shouted David, the captain of the boat, and we all began the paddling. Initially the rapids were slow and the Tons seemed to be a well-behaved river. But sud-denly we heard “hold on”—our cue to duck and sit down in the raft. We hit the first rapid which kind of made Universal Studio’s water rides seem like kindergarten stuff.Drenched, stirred and shaken to the bone, we emerged clutching on to the paddle for no reason whatsoever (you actually need to clutch the ropes on the side of the raft).But, at the same time, there was also no mistaking the adrenaline rushing through the veins. And this is exactly how it went for the next hour-and-a half as we tackled the rapids, ducked down and paddled furiously—the exercise inter-spersed by episodes of one of the boats overturning behind us and a young lady falling out, with every-one holding their collective breaths till she was pulled back into the raft.There is of course much more to Camp Lunagad than river rafting. The site is nestled on the banks of river Tons at an altitude of 3,500 feet above sea level and surrounded by mountains and pine trees. You wake up to the sound of the river in your ears, witness the early morning sun filtering through the pines and have the cool breeze chasing away the tiredness of city life. Aren’t you feeling jealous?
