white water rafting india

If you are looking white water rafting in India, plenty of rivers promise to give you a ride of your lifetime. From grade 1 to 6, these unstoppable stretches-one moment calm and another furious, can make the adventure buff in you smile with joy.
Down south there is the river Kali near Hubli which has enough flow to give you many adrenalin flow moments. From floating through tall grasses admiring the fruit bearing trees to experiencing a few tumbles in the river the experience is jolly good. Then there is a river for beginners near Madikeri. Flowing through an organic tea estate this is one helluva caffeine laced trip. Munch a few leaves or bite into bitter coffee pods and sip a good blend after the rafting.
Up north the Ganges and Brahmaputra offer a challenge and is meant for pros. Much literature is available on the expeditions here. But for tourists with a zen mind bend, combining white water rafting with a visit to the monasteries of Leh can be a good idea. For some high altitude challenge the Indus in Ladakh offers the mother of all white water rafting experience at 14,000 ft above sea level. Low oxygen and a river bed with jutting stones makes this expedition challenging for the best of rafting pros and sometimes dangerous as well.
The cost of white water rafting and comfortable stay with meals is not expensive. All you need is a good number, say a group of 4-6 to make the logistics work for you. Going with trusted rafting experts who provide gear and an experienced guide sure saves your life.
In all my rafting years, I have taken teams of 20 and 30 to and back from white water rafting trips safely and I ensured that the others loved the trip as much as I did. My idea of starting a tourism club is to share information that I have gathered from my on site experience and research in these places. Many operators fleece people with expensive billing and uncomfortable experiences that mars the spirit of adventure and leaves a bitter aftertaste.
If you are a group of travelers who want to take the Indian rapids experience do write to me on farida.s@gmail.com

rock with a vengeance

these days its rock thats playing on my system at home..all decibels shrieking i love rock n roll..actually i found this 80s hit collection in the attic from my radio collection..been tripping on it ever since...those riffs strike a chord with my heart and something within me melts...
life is lived in these moments--a mug of drinking chocolate with some def lep, inxs or chicago playin...or when you see sunlight filtering inside thru the handwoven curtains in lemon and blue hues...u dont live a lifetime to feel these joys..they happen in fleeting moments that you need to grab and keep them in mind for posterity..
zen says that...and i agree on the subtle messages in the jataka tales.. happy buddha purnima to me..one day will be in dharmsala for a vipassana in the cold season...will be some trip

leh

Been fascinated by this landlocked place but now with all the planning and arrangement m too tired to even think abt it..want to meet sonam lamo there and visit her organic farm..want to meet some monks to get some peace in life..want to stay in a camp in the himalayas to feel what the army goes thru...salute them for helping us have a safe sleep in our homes...
lehhh here i come

chaos

damn the work and home. been some of the craziest days in years. look worse in coming times with more responsibilities heaped on me. n then there is sadness..my kitten was found killed...eaten..when i landed back fm mbai..was a nightmare..was it a tom cat, was it a dog..n it was a baby i was nurturing along with its mother and siblings..it was a darling n all the other cats liked it..white ball with pink eyes..may her soul rest in peace. everytime a pet dies it takes a piece of me with it..something within me breaks up.
zen has taught me a lot..i have learnt to react more calmly..be it issues, work or people..

kittens

what would be life without cats..rocking..ask someone who has to sleep on the edge of the bed or on the diwan with all cats occupying the mat..n its not just the developing spondylitis feeling with bad posturing but it is freakin scary to see animal prints on your legs...full paw scratch marks on your calf artistically scary to think of the pain that you feel later when u apply dettol on it..ew.
cats sit on the book u read, tear the newspaper and dance on ur laptop keys..sit on the kitchen platform and in the shower..they dig up exotic plants n still u love them.
i found solace in them when my folks died..they seem to know the pain n heard me silently..told me to shut up crying that i sometimes think they tend to say even now..that there r bigger issues of survival..i have seen a tom cat take away one of my mama cats newborns n then the next thing i saw was amazing..all the rest of the cats across generations in the house decided to protect and care for the sole surviving other kitten..i learn life from them..a lot of life..
life without cats..well it could be so incomplete

coorg part 2

now about the trip..it all fell in place online thanks to shiraz who was all enthu..he is bitten by travel n rafting bugs..so me n dharuni board a flight to blore n saroja babe already has a blore womens nite out at geoffreys invite for us..so it was a airport to pub situation almost..n we go to this shindig with all the glitterati n chatterati of blore in their micro best..n i thot my offshoulder was bold haw. last time i shd be going to such a look at me's collective thrown do.
now another mis adventure...s was our man friday to even out the seven chics n alone shiraz..he was looking out for a guy for once in his life...:D. so our man s..lots about him that everyone had to say..dood drinks only aquaguard water n shiraz wept on hearing that..n then shiraz had three french fnds that freaked s..hmm it was a nice drive for one

editor

young world---a kids paper i grew up reading n now i get to head it in for the city..
writing for children can be challenging ...the kids r sharp n hate to be talked down upon just like my kittens who seem to have a mind of their own..if people need models with attitude i swear cats can fit the bill to the tee.
nyways..so here i moved to the main desk from a ladidah desk of page3. loved till it lasted --the afterpartys n fashion shows where shutterbugs decided to click my pictures too..celeb haan..or those moments when i walked the red carpet in shanghai for a spectacular show n was all over the news..n then the rock gigs..esp strings n then rest of them..well all that was fine and then desk happened..amazing faux pas and still counting..down town is a beast..four regional newspapers tp aur kya par there is stuff..they say the two moneychurners these are yw n dt..my tuesdays n wednesdays r jacked n thursday too with all these tabloids..
what would i like to do is take up a cottage in dharmsala or ooty or kodai n sit in a sun room reading..looking at clouds..alas..someday..i wonder y i moved from mnc to newspaperdom

zendo

what would be life without a walk in the clouds and tea houses to curl up and read books..or without community living learning world cultures and the art of war--the zendo style where ur mind is trained for peace..
an early bus from blore to kodai drops u at perumalmalai n u hike or walk the farm n reach the zen retreat..after a needed sleep and lunch u get into the meditation cycle..n do ur bit of work..i ve been a gardener tending exotic salad farms, did dish washing for kitchen utensils and now part of their school for destitutes in the valley..
a day in the life is sitting in the pine surrounded glass bay windowed hall, treating to organic food, reading and walkin..n u emerge vibrant..
my first visit was a challenge and the monkey in the head was a riot..now the centre is a second home..i go to kodai for my bread, cake and chocolates and the city is sooo beautiful..
heres hoping to be there soon

masinagudi

sid is my online planner for getaways..he n me fix this jungle retreat thingy for all of us..i take a midnite flight to blore n we drive down to mysore for a bfast. n then the drive to masinagudi happens thru jungles..the usp of the place is the mineral water swimming pool albeit with troubles--the dog who drags u out of water the moment u take a splash..this was a pool where i dint get a tan..now the midnite drive to the forest was scary..eventful..we saw cheetahs, elephants n civet cats.
day 2 was for ooty n yummy chocolates..

coorg

had heard about this hill stn a lot but peeps dint tell me bt the leech community. neverthless it is a nice place.. our journey starts at blore n we drive to srimangala after a fillin bfast of a new cousin of idli n coffee. now we reach our homestays in coffee estates in time for a leftover chicken curry and a much better fried chicken n rice n dal n a funny potato sabzi. (due respects to the food but we peeps from plains are not into potato alternative other than the regular).
so we get set to trek up in rain to iruppu falls equipped with salt n lime leech protection gear..for all you guys who want to avoid those leeches..apply salt n lime on feet n calves..wear boots n carry a lighter..showing leech fire shakes it off they say..
so we all got our leech share..those of us who chalta haid the salt..falls was ok..but our drive along wynad to kerala for dinner was fabbb. fish is different there.
day 2 was white water rafting on ponya estate..what a tea estate n organic coffee..rapids were technical and fun..n then there was the drive to upper coorg..kushalnagar to say hello to buddha n we got to see a sangha meeting and debate...
drove back after a dinner at the tibetan market..
thank god for the weekend breakd

hyderabaadan

gee this is going to be my diary of lil things in hyd
26/02/06
saw this two foreigners trying to strike a deal with a rickshaw guy..a dollar for the building round the bend...the autowallah was chuckling with glee..talk bt thugs..they r no.1 a*****of the first order...almost a cartel...heard they r owned by traffic cops so they have the pawwa..
hyderabad has no heart...yes..a pomeranian was dashed by a speeding car..near secretariat this evening..it was in deep pain n yelling moving in circles on the road..did anyone have a common sense to do something to the poor soul..n what about the b*****who dashed into it...the city has lost its sensitivities..n blue cross..they want u to bring the animals there...no funds..what is happeing to the funds no one knows..
a bittersweet day...

27/8
another haemmorhagic day...traffic is major kirkiri...a loser was driving on the wrong side of the flyover...shortcuts..thats what makes them a short cut community that evone thinks the city has such jerks in plenty...
brighter side traffic was v organised at somajiguda begumpet today..dint have to abuse many road crossers who stand in the middle much like the deer in the jungle that is startled by a vehicle beam..another segment that town is full off..
biryani is not the flavour of the city..chicken flu has scared them for better...wonder what the folks in town are eating...esp the must have biryani a day majority..
another sheikh n muslim girl old man-young poor girl wedding..when will the b****stop pimping and prostitution in the garb of economy, religion...wonder what organisations like cova that work with old city do?

dreams

wake up with a nightmare every alternate day...bits n pieces of news i filter come back in eastman colour..one moment i m in some high altitude place, other i m in the midst of past...tried going to urls that decipher dreams...looking for a crystal ball and a medium...no..jeez...let me post my dreams daily n see whats the core issue

confused, tired, dunno

have more responsibility at work..scared coz these are big decisions..networking..editorial call etc..now fm radio comes to hyd..more thinking to do..need a break..plan to go to coorg this year..madikeri..n more..then there is gmat to give n univs to find...why cant life be simple..like some brainless bollywood tp flick..nah...its more steel than fountainhead reveals..m loosing it? nah...its one of those moments whn i just need to sit n gather up..clean my closets..n the clutter in my head...have a list to do, to buy and to go...