I've
never been fascinated by dangerous, high risk activities and never
believed in living any moment perilously close to the edge. In
activities such as unprepared trekking where the environment is
unforgiving and second chances are few, it's important to learn from
the mistakes of others. Its
my conscientious decision to share my experience of a close encounter
with death. Here's my story.
I
went for camping at Shivpuri in Rishikesh as an annual trip with my
friends. I did camping last year too, so nothing was new for me
before the unplanned trekking which turned to be the life changing
experience for me.
 |
| End of the bridge - The point where we took the shortcut. |
After finishing camping on the bank of river
Ganges, we were on our way to board the bus on the upper part of the
valley. It was around 300 feets above us. We were heading
towards the bus by forming small groups. I had Gangu, Giri (Habibi)
,Saket, Sethu (Ra) and Obuli in my group. While crossing a bridge we
started posing for our new display pics for our facebook profile.
People from other groups shouted at us to make it faster and reach to
the top quickly. Saket suggested us to follow a shortcut which will
make us reach faster than the other groups. He assured that he
had used that shortcut for coming down the valley so we trusted him.
Here starts the unprepared and unwanted trekking. We walked through
rocky path for about 15 minutes and then came 45 degree slope. We
took small wooden sticks to move ahead hoping to converge to
the main path. Suddenly Saket said something which we really didn't
want to hear. He said in lower voice "We are lost! This is not
the path I was referring to !!". The first thing came
to my mind was how to take GPL of this guy on this steep slope.
With a wicked smile on my face, I suggested to move back towards the
bridge and follow the normal longer route.
But
we realized there was no going back from there. We couldn't afford to
move down on the slippery and steep rocky path. What was
concerning me more was Obuli's slippers and Giri's over-weight. Its
relatively easier to move up on steep slopes than to come down. The
bus horn sound coming from the top of the valley motivated us that we
are not very far away from the main road. So we decided to move up
thinking that we have crossed the worst steep slope. Now there was no
defined path. We were on our own to make newer path for ourselves.
Saket and Sethu were leading us before the real nightmare started.
There was 60 degree steep slope with small rocks which made the path
extremely slippery and too dangerous to trek. Remember there was no
turning back! We could see the helplessness and frustration on each
other's face. The best part was no body was expressing it in words
which otherwise had broken our strengths. I really doubted how
Giri and Obuli will make it. Saket decided to help them to move
forward slowly. Sethu and I started to lead. Sethu tried
his best to motivate us that we are not very far away from main road
and we can make it! Soon
after few minutes Sethu had to move towards his left and he
asked me to find better path towards right. But the path was not at
all easy in any direction. Now the trek has become all about
mind over body for me. From this time I had only one thought,
one goal: survive
!! survive and return home and lead my friends to return home!!
I
was now being followed immediately by Gangu. Saket did his best to
help Giri and Obuli to move up. I was concentrating more on finding
the easier path for myself and suggesting the best available path to
my friends. I literally started running and jumping over the
rocks whenever I found any path suitable for it. I
became more excited and hopeful as the bus horns were
becoming louder suggesting we were quite near to the roads.
Here
something happened which has completely changed my perception towards
life. It was again 60 degree steep slope. I moved up with the same
wooden stick but at a faster pace. All of a sudden rocks started to
fall down. I was slipping gradually. I couldn't do anything with my
stick. The complete world seemed to be still. I was lost
in thoughts. Then I actually "crossed over" to another
dimension. I was engulfed in a total feeling of blank state. I
was slipping down continuously. A small dry tree came into my way and
all of a sudden my hands just got hold to that right on time. This
was something which I didn't do consciously. I don't know how I got
hold to that tree. It might have been guided by my
sub-conscious mind. Or may be I am destined to live more due to
my parent's blessings!! In those few moments of blank state I
got a glimpsed of why I had come into this life, what role
everyone in my family played in my life in the grand scheme of
things, and how life works in general.
It
took me some time to return to my senses. I looked back down the 300
feet valley and realized I have literally avoided death. I thanked
God for saving me. This turned out to be the toughest part of that
trekking.
I
couldn't see my friends behind me so I waited for them. After few
minutes, I saw Gangu. I asked him to move towards my left
to avoid the slippery rocks. I continued to find the the path towards
road. Now, I could see the buses and cars on the roads. I shouted "We
are just around 50 feet below and we can make it guys !!"
After
that everything was easy. I reached the road and shouted at the top
of my voice "OMG!! I did it and you can do it too". Gangu
followed me. Few minutes later we heard the voice of Sethu coming
from some feet away down the road. Gangu went to pull him up and I
pulled Saket here. When I saw Giri and Obuli together, it gave me a
sense of relaxation. I was overjoyed to find that Giri did it. It
took me great effort to pull him up on the road due to his oversize
The joy I saw on his face made me a bit emotional. Fortunately I
didn't encounter any wild animals throughout the trekking. However,
my friends later said they saw some snakes.
 |
| Mixed feeling after we finally made it - Glad, relaxed and scared ! |
We
all boarded the bus without uttering a single word. Later on when I
was back to normal then I said to Giri "Dude!! We will have a
glass of beer together." Even after reaching hostel I was
in a state of shock. I needed counseling. I didn't had the courage to
tell this to my parents so I narrated the entire story to my friend
Akki who really helped me a lot in overcoming this. Akki
suggested me to write this blog so that I can share my
experiences and express my state which I could not do otherwise
via any other channel.
I've
spent hours analyzing the events of that day and I've learned several
things. First, never believe in shortcuts. Its always better to be
late than to risk your life. Second, believe in your
inner strengths and follow your sub-conscious mind. Third,
always be positive. It creates a pool of energy which helps
in occurrence of events responsible for the completion of
the task. Finally,
life can be taken away in the blink of an eye - if there's any booze
left in your Elvis decanter, drink it now while you still have the
chance !!
The
way I look at life now has changed dramatically. I am so glad to be
alive to experience "heaven on earth". Life is a great
gift.
