Date: 26th February, 2012
Exhilarating. That’s the word. There’s nothing that could compare
to that feeling, that moment when you are about to jump off a bridge! When it
comes, you are all up for it. That’s what you’ve been waiting for so long. All
those seconds right before the jump seem like an eternity. You can’t wait to
get down, get it over with, it seems. You keep smiling and keep calm, but deep
down inside you’re screaming, “Am I crazy? Are all these people crazy?”
Then the guy calls you out. You
step forward. He straps you up with the harness on your chest and legs, all the
while chatting you up to steady your nerves. You sit next to the edge, not
entirely. Another guy comes and shoves his camera in your face, asking you to
express yourself. You mumble something that might make you sound cooler than
you are at the moment later on. You turn to see the guy before you has jumped!
(Oh boy he ain’t dead, is he?). Your legs don’t seem to be a part of your body
anymore. Yet they keep shaking. And now it’s your turn. You stand up and move. You
stoop a little under the bar of the bridge and move out to the edge, slowly. You
take a tiny step forward. It isn’t enough. The “guide” asks you to move, a few
more steps he says. You do as he says. He says not enough, move. You do.
“That’s it, okay”, he says. “Nothing’s okay here buddy”, you think. “Ready?”.
“Not at all.” “Three..”. You keep staring at the horizon ahead. “Two..”. “Mom,
Dad, Sis’s, Friends..I love you all”. “One….JUMP!!”
Your heart skips a beat the
moment you are in the air. You are earth bound. There’s nowhere to go but down.
Blood starts rushing up to your head in the next moment. This is it; this is
how it all ends, your life, and everything. You are going straight for the
rocks or the water, or just waiting to feel something, some sort of impact. You
are still in free fall. Then after the longest three seconds of your life, you
feel the rope. Oh the almighty rope, the gift of God. Upside down now, you look
up. The rope stretches, and then recoils. All of a sudden you start moving
upwards. You get your voice back. You scream, not a loud one it seems. Closer
to the bridge, not close enough. The gorge on the sides seems to be getting
closer than you want it to be. Wait, you are going down again. Again a rush of
blood to the head, but somehow it feels good, so good. You wave your arms in
joy, a little fear too perhaps. You are sprung back up and back down a few more
times, and the seemingly new life in you makes you smile all the while.
The bouncing ceases after a while
and the rope is lowered slowly but steadily. The river and the rocks become
distinct. You haven’t still come to terms with life on the ground yet. You hear
someone calling out. Then a long bamboo stick comes into view. You recall the
instructions; grab it with all your might, letting go could be a problem. After
turning the stick in an acute angle, you are brought down by two good fellows
and laid on the mattress. The rope is untied and you are unharnessed. The
bridge seems like a mile up in the sky. Did I just do what I did? It seems
incredible. You watch the rope that brought you down being pulled upwards, and
the water drum that held your weight mid air coming down. As you get up and
wave at your friend who jumped earlier, you can’t wipe that big smile across
your face, and the desire to get up there and do it all over again just won’t
go away!