Battle of Bhira Puneet Chandhok returns from her river rafting trip on the Kundalika river feeling exhausted, but victorious

Battle of Bhira

Puneet Chandhok returns from her river rafting trip on the Kundalika river feeling exhausted, but victorious

It wasn’t just my fear of water but also the thrill of adventure that prompted me to sign up for a river rafting camp. It was this thrill that accompanied me on the 125km drive from Kalamboli to the overnight camps at Kolad, where we 25 of us would camp for a day before heading to the Kundalika River the next morning. Our convoy of cars snaked through the busy Mumbai-Goa highway through the scenic Konkan belt where hilly tracts intersperse with flat agricultural belts. Every once in a while, the highway runs parallel to the Konkan railway track, and when a train passed by, we’d sing ‘Mere sapno ki rani kab ayegi tu’, until we lost it to the hills. From Kolad, we turned left into a road that leads to Pune via the Tamhini Ghat. After driving for a while, the road started getting rockier. We were reaching the camp. Nestled in the valley between a hill and a lake, was our camp. And while it wasn’t exactly a boot camp, it was no resort either. We freshened up in our respective tents and then headed out for the first activity of the day: a game of volleyball. We soon realised that it had been over ten years since any of us had played, and after making complete fools of ourselves, we headed towards the next activity: rifle shooting. This required skills of concentration and marksmanship. The targets were made from battered pieces of tin sheets cut to resemble animal and human figures. For most of us, rifle shooting was a relaxing activity, but a few did seem like they were concentrating a little too hard — almost as if they were targetting sworn enemies, or their wives, if you please. The next activity was aimed at giving us a feel of what the following day would be like, and also help some of us get over our fear of water. We were to cross a 50-metre distance across a small lake holding onto nothing but a rope. As we were soon to learn, this was almost relaxing, compared with what lay ahead. After an early breakfast at 7.45am the next day, we were loaded onto a mini-truck for a rickety 8km drive to the foot of the Bhira dam where the rafting trip starts. The dam releases water at 10am so all the rafting sorties have to be ready by then. At the dam site, we were given instructions and rafting gear, including life jackets. The shrill siren cut through our anticipation, and only moments later, a wall of water rushed out from the dam. Almost immediately, the water level rose and the current picked up. It took a few trial runs before we were finally swept up in the current and into the gushing rapids. Even as the water was having its way with us, I shuddered to think of how helpless we’d have been without the life jacket and the instructor. Our rowing skills were severely tested. For ten kilometres along the 15km stretch, we had to battle hostile rapids. After negotiating a few not-so-serious mishaps where people fell into the water, we finally reached gentler waters. Here, we were allowed to dive into the water and float in gay abandon. The feeling of drifting in the gradual current, unattached and driven by nature was very enriching. We hauled our rafts uphill, exhausted, and settled down to rejuvenate our battered and sunburnt bodies with nimbu pani and glucose biscuits. On the way back to Mumbai that evening, I couldn’t help but feel rather victorious after my battle against the rapids.