Row Row Row your Boat, Gently Down the stream Merrily Merrily Merrily, Life is but a Dream.

We went white water rafting this weekend. And what a weekend it was. I love the water. Seemingly benign and ever benevolent river. She runs treacherously among the valleys. While she entices and lures. Her seductive curves make for a great ride and a dangerous one. The rush to your head when the cold waters hit your face as you take the rapids front on. Or the serene calm that descends in your heart when you float on the calm parts and gaze at the mountains around and snatch dreams from the passing breeze. The butterflies in your stomach when the water swishes and swashes and threatens and the raft tips to one side and you hold on with everything you have, because as much as you love her waters you dont want to be washed away, not yet. But you want to be friends. So you jump into the river in the calmer parts and feel the currents pull and tug at you. Teasting and tempting "Come with me.. " they say. The chill of the water seeps in and you scramble back into the raft.

A weekend out is always fun for a variety of reasons. Especially when 6 of the zaniest people get together. Classic recipe for chaos. Highlights of the weekend :

1. "Sutta", "chutta", "lamba tika"," kaccha ganja", "the brotherhood", "doggie style", "I only do east-west", "Left paddle back", "Forward Forward""what else does a man need ?" made the best part of our weekend conversations.
2. tys and bhatta speaking in hindi. They rock :D !!!
3. tys doing a flip into the crazy rapids when we hit our first. But that guy has some amazing reflexes. He was back on without giving us time to panic.
4. Our guide was a very avg sized woman. But boy does she have strength !! She made this whole experience awesome. Thanks Andrea !
5. My first fall into the water. Paddling at the back I lost my balance and fell over when we hit the rapid. Tys's great reflexes kicked in and he jumped across the raft and grabbed the last he saw of me, my ankle. When in water there is no time to panic. I was trying to get my head above the water but tys held on to my ankle strong. Before I knew it the guide thankfully grabbed my life jacket and he finally let go of my foot :-D. I was back up in less than a minute. Shru and khatmal ahead didnt even realise that I had fallen off :)
6. I jumped into the calmer waters thrice where permitted. And got thrown off the boat by the water twice. The water and I. We love each other. What can i say ? So do trouble and I. No one else was in the water as much.
7. Laughed till our stomachs hurt.
8. "Make friends with pandemonium" the guide said at the start of the day. We took it to heart and did exactly that !!!

I am sore all over. Any encounter with nature is a humbling one. And as always I return humbled and grateful. For every moment I live and rejoice in Her lap is a celebration of Her.