A Sense of Achievement ;)

As a thank-you for blogging about their Alive is Awesome Campaign, Cinthol sent me a really cool hamper! I'm loaded with six super-fragrant soaps, a large deodarant and an MP3 player. Check out its latest offerings below:

The joy I felt on receiving this hamper and the way I was showing it off to the family got me thinking. On the surface, the hamper obviously wasn't extravagant. Its value lay in that it was a gift, a surprise, an acknowledgment. As a writer, I create a lot of content in return for fees. This gift is the first "in kind", and it feels good to be appreciated for my work!

In fact, this same sense of achievement is a large part of the thrill one feels when playing indulging in adventure bathing. For instance, if you are one of the mere 100 people who get a pass to slide to the bottom of the Tallulah Falls; it isn't just about the sheer exuberance of making the slide, it's also about being amongst those lucky 100!

For those of you who aren't quite certain what I am referring to, look up the Tallulah Gorge in Georgia, USA. This deep gorge features amongst the world's natural wonders. The falls are actually a combination of six separate waterfalls, gushing into one. Make a (not-for-novices) descent down 590 stairs and clamber over some very slippery rocks along the Bridal Veils Falls. This strenuous 3.5-mile hike  brings you to the floor of the gorge.  

If you fall amongst the Lazy Human Beings Club that I chair, you would probably wonder why you should make all this effort. Well, my friend, the key to this mystery lies in the smooth, scary, slippery rock that you encounter right at the end. Because it is on this 17-foot-high rock that you tentatively place your toughened, tired body. And then you let go of your inhibitions and - SLIDE! Yes, you actually get to swim at the bottom of this wondrous gorge.

And this experience will leave every tingling pore of your being screaming, "Alive is awesome!"

Plunge to Bathe in Nepal!

A 500ft-high tropical gorge. A wild, gushing river. A bridge across the yawning gorge. Picture this. Now, take a deep breath and – jump!

No, I am not encouraging you to develop a suicidal tendency. Instead, I am dreaming about that wondrous day when I will take this plunge right into the Nepal’s Bhote Kosi river – secured with bungy harnesses, of course!

Yes, bungy jumping has finally found a natural home in the Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world. The Last Resort (before the apocalypse!) in Nepal offers this Ultimate Bungy from a remarkable 160m, right into the gushing waters of one of the wildest rivers on the planet! It is the longest freefall in the world, and amongst the planet’s most definitive thrills. After about eight seconds, your screaming voice echoes as you make an almost 790-ft arc, before gradually swinging to a stop. 

Laugh in the face of fear: The sport is designed, built and run by experienced professionals from New Zealand. The 166m-wide steel suspension bridge was designed for the sole purpose of bungy jumping by Swiss hands. And even if you have gorged on Nepali delicacies all the way before getting to the Last Resort, fret not! The bridge has a loading factor of 41,500 kg, and your measly something-less-than-100-kg is definitely not going to make a dent into it!

Coming to the location, it is a three-hour bumpy bus ride from the capital city of Kathmandu. But once you get there, the valley is breath-taking, with dense jungle covering the gorge sides. Even if you feel almost-wet-my-skinny-jeans fear at the very thought of taking the plunge, come up here for just the view. And build your courage by trying rock climbing or rafting first.

If your friends back home refuse to believe that you took the plunge, first, get defensive by saying: "Jumping is not natural to your brain like eating or drinking, so the brain tries to keep you safe by resisting jumping.” Once they start to snigger and point, tell them how even the most experienced bungy jumpers are still nervous, even after hundreds of jumps. Just when you are about to lose respect, strike awe in their hearts by showing them a DVD of your attempt! (That is provided you did not wet your cheeks and pants) And then swagger like a lion! You may even consider causing partial deafness by screaming, "Alive is awesome!" into their ears, before running away in hysterics!

And here’s a feel-good fact: a part of the (obscene?) amount you spend on the jump is contributed towards development of local infrastructure.

Convinced yet? If you are, you owe it to this rather ravishing blog writer to send a pre-paid ticket to Nepal and The Last Resort gift card to experience this adventure bath first-hand!

Water Bodies, Intimacy and Bollywood

A few weeks before her wedding, a friend of mine visited her doctor for a regular health checkup. Knowing the naivete of many young women in the field of intimacy, and sensing my friend's hesitation in asking for details, the doctor sat her down for pre-marital counseling. 

 
A very interesting point that stemmed from this discussion was how to get comfortable with your spouse before you get intimate. 


One of the ways the doctor suggested was for the couple to go swimming together. 

What is it about water that arouses strong emotions within us? Our movies are replete with sari-clad women, prancing in the rain, coy, and ready to fall in love. The morning after often shows the hero singing love ballads and the heroine all a-blush. Sridevi's raincoat-sporting act in Chaalbaaz and her Kaate Nahi Katte comes to mind.

In a more playful mood, they ladies push their Romeos into the swimming pool. Remember Madhuri's shove in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun?

Newer movies have replaced monsoons with beaches. Deepika Padukone and the younger generation of stars may be bikini babes, but the backdrop of water remains the same.

 



And a million meaningful conversations happen by the sea. Remember the three protagonists on a boys-only trip in Dil Chahta Hai? Their profound discussion on friendship and life took place not during a sleepover at Akash’s but near the sea in Goa.

Which brings me to another bachelor trip. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara saw Hrithik and Katrina’s characters fall in love during scuba diving lessons.

Coming back to my original question – what is it about water that arouses such strong emotions? 

A force of nature – sometimes calm, sometimes chaotic; river and sea; rain and steam and snow… Conversation and conflict; friendship and love; contemplation and harmony… Fun and free; lost and mourning; alive and awesome…

Be it swimming for intimacy or having meaningful conversations by the ocean, water presents an invitation to experience life's little adventures.  Think about that on your next solitary walk by the sea!

River, Rapids, Raft and Rejuvenation

My most recent Alive is Awesome bathing adventure probably stemmed from reading Nancy Drew’s White Water Adventure way too many times when I was a teen. Last week found the hubby and me on the white sands of Rishikesh. The desolate, surprisingly clean river bank; the sparkling, flowing Ganges; the sun-bleached boulders; the dark greens bordering the river… the palpable aura of tranquility could never have prepared me for the excitement to come.

With life jackets and helmets strapped on, paddles firmly grasped in our hands, heads buzzing with anticipation, we boarded a sturdy white raft with six other people and a trained navigator.

Eight pairs of arms rowing in sync amidst the serene surroundings, hearing only the gushing off the river and the chirping of the birds would have been a complete experience in itself. But we were there to be overwhelmed. The first rapid, Sweet Sixteen, introduced itself by distinctively changing the music of the river. Now, it wasn’t flowing forth merrily but crashing over the small rocks that dared to disturb it. As if taking into account that we were but novices, the rapid only sprayed us, but we whooped and hooted all the same.

We passed initiation successfully. But, to our utter bewilderment, rower #4 was missing! Apparently, his overexcited state of mind goaded him to unlock his foot and took him flying out of the raft when it cruised over the bumpy waters! Considering the insignificant size of the rapid, he wasn’t hurt at all. But his firm hold on the bowline with one arm, while groping for his half-sunk glasses with the other was a tragically funny sight to behold.

Once he was pulled back up, chastised and looked appropriately shame-faced, we moved on. Cross Fire, Three Blind Mice, The Wall, Roller Coaster, Golf Course – the names of the rapids offered an anachronistic sense of drama. And then, hubby got an irresistible urge to get closer to nature – literally. He instigated everyone to get off the rafts and dive into the sparkling waters.

Brrr… the first moment chilled me to the bone! But once the numbness reduced, we vied with each other to plunge our heads in, flail our free arms and just take a trip back to the trademark silliness so reminiscent of childhood. Forget ritual dips in the holy waters, we were core-drenched by the time the navigator pulled us back onto the raft!

But, it was EXHILARATING! It felt so good to be awake, aware – alive! Soon, the October sun began to dry us off, but the memory of that sense-shocking dip in the chilled water, off a little raft in the vast waters, with none but the breath-taking flora as witness created a memory we cannot forget all life long!

Alive is Awesome!

I have been a loyal user of Cinthol soap ever since I discovered that the company is one of the few in the beauty industry that does not test its products on animals. Recently, the brand earned another brownie point from me for its Alive is Awesome advertisement. This TV commercial portrays different bathing experiences – from a desert shower to a -10* C polar plunge! Understandably, all the adventurers rip the wrapper off a Cinthol bar and use their spanking-new, water-hued soap to add to their adventure-bathing venture.

The ad is refreshingly different and brings back memories of the evergreen Liril girl frolicking in a waterfall. Cinthol steers away from the traditional my-soap-makes-my-skin-baby-smooth-and-oh-so-fragrant positioning and makes the viewers sit up and take notice.

Taking a cue from Alive isAwesome, I intend to share a few adventure bathing experiences of my own over the next few weeks. Some are thrilling, some insane and others downright silly.

Read about my most recent river rafting adventure in the next post.