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The last three days were tough.

We had 2 days with zero wind from any direction, and one day when there was good wind, and I had zero energy.

At the end of it all, I am still on the ground.

Before you read any further, here's my disclaimer: I know nothing about paragliding, or the training, or anything about the sport. What you read here are the first impressions of a new student, and even the simplest thing I put down here could be flat wrong. If you want authentic stuff, you are reading the wrong paragliding blog.

Observations after 3 days:

1. When there is wind, I can get the canopy inflated and get it in the air above me.
2. Somehow, Sydney D'Souza (my instructor) always manages to shriek 'let of the risers' in the split second before I let go of them. Brilliant timing. In three days, I haven't managed to let go of them before he shouts. He has super reflexes.

3. I think I let go of the brakes immediately after I let go of the risers. Heck no. There is always a little bit more to let go. Maybe I need longer hands so they can go up even higher. There is unanimity among the observers that I do not let go. So many people can't be wrong. Question is: If I know that I should not pull them, everyone shouts at me no to, and I am still puling them a little, just what the hell is going on?

4. If someone tells you a kid can learn paragliding, don't believe them. Unless it's a kid that's built like a bull.

5. Coming to bulls, dragging the inflated canopy and running is like dragging a flying bull behind you. A flying bull thats flying backwards.

What gave me the most sadistic pleasure were the falls. See, Sydney tells you "eyes on the horizon! Towards that pole! RUN!!!" You do so. The canopy pulls you to a side. You resist. the canopy wins. You make a few graceless movements resisting the pull. And then you fall, usually gracefully. Watching someone else fall - especially if that someone else is better built and in better shape than you - is what gives you maximum satisfaction. Just the thought that you can watch bigger, stronger people fall in a heap is worth all of the money I paid for this. Hehehe...

posted by a correspondent @ 12:29 AM 2 comments

Friday, November 26, 2004

Go ahead and fly, Mercurian!

Good to know you want to fly. At your age, this should be too easy. But because you are in Pune, see if there are any there nearby. You can actually do your first flight within a day or two (or depending on your fitness levels and common sense, maybe much later) but it takes regular weekend flying with the instrcutors around to become any good at it.

My first day proved that my fitness levels were pathetic. After two runs dragging the canopy in the air, I was sweating profusely and practically out of breath. And my first run was not really a run at all, according to Sydney - more like a prolonged stumble. We had practically no-wind conditions, and had to capitalise on the little puffs of inland breeze.

I run again today, strapped into the harness, helmet on. Hopefully the canopy will stay in the air, and I won't pull on the brakes, will keep my eye on the horizon, let go the Risers (those stringy thingummies) when Sydney shouts and charge forth like the bull I am in my dreams :)

Actually this may take a bit of work. No problemo. With luck, I may fly today. With real good luck. Even next week is fine, though as I am in no hurry as long as I can see progress. For my current physical condition, even running in a zig-zag can be called physical progress!

posted by a correspondent @ 8:19 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

My first day at the WPA

A little bit of wandering around, and then I was at the clubhouse of the WPA.

Sidney, the friendly bearded instructor, was dragging someone over the coals for not following instructions when in the air on his first flight. Friendly he is, but he can definitely chew one's head off if he feels like it!

After that, we were off to the bottom of the hill, where another poor soul was put through the paces of ground handling. Once the glider had billowed up, he had to run in a straight line, leaning forward towards a bush. Man, that guy struggled. I had my first set of second thoughts on the whole idea then.

Then I had a second set of second thoughts, while climbing the hill on which the pilots would launch from. The hill was dry, the grass was burnt out and slippery, it was steep, and the sun was beating down and my shoes proved to offer no grip. Brilliant.

I reached the top, and then in a while, all felt good as the students started taking off, and it all looked like it was worth it. I start next weekend, on my attempt to fly.

Wish me luck!

posted by a correspondent @ 4:40 AM 1 comments

Monday, November 15, 2004

I didn't go paragliding!

I was out of town during the Diwali weekend, when those who do not want to breathe the fireworks in, leave Mumbai and head to the hills. I went to Panchgani.

Panchgani, a four-hour-trip from Mumbai, along the Mumbai Pune Expressway till Pune, and a 100 Km from Pune, is a nice and cool hillstation. On the way to Mahabaleshwar which is overrun by tourists, Panchgani is a little village with its own sweet charm. The air is cool, the sun hot, the flowers large, and the oaks silver. And every vendor at Parsi point, Sydney point, Tableland, Baby point wants you to taste his ice cream and pay only, only if you like the taste and by one. If you are weak-willed, your intestines would be frozen solid from all the ice cream you woudl have tasted by the time you are finished with all the points.

The points are nothing but places from where you can get a good view of the rivers, lakes, valleys and hills. If you stop the car by the wayside and scramble down on one side a few feet, and its your own little point. I did not, and hence failed to have my own Mathew point.

Panchgani means five hills. There are five hills, which are actually table lands. A table land is a pleateau, and there are five of them here. Together, they are supposed to be Asia's second-largest table land.

Panchgani seems to be a favourite for paragliders across the country. Many foreigners seem to land up here, and we went to watch those who were on tandem flights, carrying a passenger in a chair-like harness, similar to the one the pilot has.

While one can normally run down a slight slope and take off, the tandem flights seem to be taking off from a cliff, where the instructor runs downs 2-3 steps with the passenger and the rising air just picks up and billows the glider and shoots them right up in the air. It looks scary, but I suppose if I see it twice, it wont look that bad. However, once in the air, its entirely about what you want to do. The sport is as safe or dangerous as you make it.

I frankly did not have the balls to do it. But then that's the challenge... Pick up those things you know you can do, but do not currently have the balls to do it, insult yourself for not doing it, get all hassled, and then go it.

I have started insulting myself already, and I guess in a month's time, I will be ripe for a ride.

posted by a correspondent @ 12:23 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Happy Diwali!

The festival of lights is here. It is also often called Dipawali.

For those not from India, this is the shopping season in India. Offices close for 2 days and then a weekend follows, and people are out in full force buying everything they can lay their hands on.

Houses are adorned with lamps, and fireworks and noise levels reach rather dangerous levels.

So happy Diwali, everyone!!

posted by a correspondent @ 12:16 AM 0 comments

Uma gets real angry, walks out on Advani!

Real live, true action folks!

It happened just now. Seems Uma decided to take on her detractors and when Advani said that the matter is closed, walked out.

However much I dislike Uma, there is a fact: She os popular, and she can win elections at least in some states. Her oppponents in the BJP can't shoot a sitting duck.

Here's the latest PTI report that I came across:

Uma argues with Advani; walks off from meet By: PTI November 10, 2004

New Delhi: Firebrand BJP general secretary Uma Bharati today created a stir walking out of the first meeting of BJP's newly constitued office bearers here following an open spat with party president L K Advani.

In full glare of the media, Bharti apparently took offence at Advani's purported reference to her recent statements and called it indiscipline.

As the party president concluded his inaugural address, Bharati raised the issue saying it should be included in the meeting agenda.

She said there were four or five persons in this hall, who were indulging in attacks against her through off the record media briefings and wanted disciplinary action against them.

As former president Venkaiah naidu and senior leader Rajnath Singh seated next to her looked shocked at the open defiance, Advani rejectd her demand saying the issue was already closed by him.

An angry Bharati then staged a walked out saying "No, I'm sorry, I want this matter to be discussed here."

"Advaniji you take action against them for indiscipline," she said as shocked office bearers, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jaswant Singh, Arun Jaitely and Pramod Mahajan looked on.

Bharti said that those four-five people who were doing "off-the-record" briefing were from Rajya Sabha and they have no work to do. "They do not want anything to be discussed and insult us."

In an apparent reference to party leaders, including Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Arun Jaitley, she said for the past five-six years, some people have been "damaging her reputation" with their "off-the-record briefings."

The stormy petrel said she was forced to respond "on-the-record" to save her reputation as she had no time to engage in "off-the-record briefings."

Earlier, concluding his address, Advani had said there was no scope for any further discussion on the issue of discipline and it was a closed chapter.

He said both Bharti and party Vice President Naqvi had met him separately and expressed their regrets for whatever had happened.

Bharti and Naqvi were last week involved in a spat causing acute embarassment to the party.
As Bharti's sudden walkout caused a flutter in the gathering, party media cell convenor Sidharth Nath Singh asked all mediapersons to remove their mikes and cameras and leave the meeting hall.

posted by a correspondent @ 12:01 AM 5 comments

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Just what the hell is LML Beamer?

This company is nuts.

Those who have been watching the just concluded test cricket matches between India and Australia on TV must have been mystified by the ad for the LML Beamer.

You get an empty road, a speed camera, the approaching sound of a motorcycle.. and then whizzzz!! its gone. The bike is not visible on the screen, and you are exhorted to visit an LML showroom and check out the Beamer.

Well, we are not going to take out fat asses out of the sofa and go check out your stupid bike. Show it on TV, if you want.

Immediately after the ads, yours truly searched on the internet. Apart from a couple of news articles in some newspapers, no other information about the Beamer. No photo. Checked LML website. Fat chance. People have been looking for it, asking around, no one has a clue. The little excitement the ad generated soon turns to irritation and ends in choice expletives.

An ad that gets you all interested in a new motorcycle should have a follow up pplan too. Hero Hona did it with their Karizma. The initial teaser ads were soon followed by full-fledged ads. Not here.

Finally the Beamer has appeared on the LML site. And still you have to look for it. For the main had has Shah Rukh Khan lolling on - not the company's latest motorcycle - but the LML Freedom. But yes, there is a section on the LML Beamer as of 6 November 2004.

And what you see is a butt-ugly red monstrosity. I am sorry, it just seems so in the photo. It may actually look good.

The less said about the LML website the better. It belongs to the Backstreet Boys generation, means heavy pages, useless Flash menus. Boys, the trend has been light, fast-loading pages or sophisticated Flash creations. A site that looks like a truck, that's what we have here.

posted by a correspondent @ 3:11 AM 0 comments

Shama and Guido Bothe

We have a page on our site about these guys and their great product - the Chinkara.

For the last two years, we have been getting at least a couple of visitors to that page, every single day! That's almost 1400 visitors. Very good indeed for a niche product, I say.

Have Shama and Guido ever visited our site? I don't know. Long back, I mailed them, and they did not reply. Too busy, I guess.

Today, I came across one news item about them and their Chinkara car. It seems in 2003, Guido had an accident in the Chinkara. Luckily he was not hurt, though the car was slightly damaged. It was the headline of this story in Indian Express that I found hilarious - First desi sportscar has first desi crash. Very funny.

This is one couple who is having a great deal of fun in their life, I am sure. They are in Alibaug, they make speedboats, they make the custom Chinkara roadster, and now recently in Mumbai, they unveiled their ATV (with a kinetic-honda engine) and the Chinkara Jeepster. I barely managed to get a glimpse of it on TV. Nothing at all on the Net about their new vehicles :(

Shama and Guido, if you ever visit this page, please use the feedback form on www.dancewithshadows.com and write to us. We really would like to feature all your three vehicles on our site. Do let me know how I can get in touch with you.

posted by a correspondent @ 1:37 AM 3 comments

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Kerry concedes election, phones Bush

Democratic challenger John Kerry has called President George W Bush and conceded the race to the White House, reports say.

There it ends!!!!

posted by a correspondent @ 8:33 AM 0 comments

Monday, November 01, 2004

Dancewithshadows Team Blog

One Mr Rajesh has made some intersting comments about the Birla saga and yash Birla in the Birla discussion forum page

posted by JM @ 11:42 PM 0 comments

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