And on the 7th day she flew
Hi All,
Sanjay, Sunith and I drove up from Mumbai to Kamshet on the 9th of November with the happy intention of spending the entire Diwali break in Kamshet. I had only just returned from a week long permaculture course and had my head full of plans for the garden. All through the week I slaved in the garden (happily) saying bye to the paragliding students and pilots each morning as they left for the flying site. Each evening we gathered on the roof at dinner and I listened to the excited reporting of each ones experiences.
Sunith checks his vario
Saturday the weather was exceptionally good and pilots gained enough altitude to leave the hill and head for home. Ravi, Bandya, Sandeep, Doc Pathak (yes he is in the house) and our very own 16 year’ old Sunith Rao braved the instability and got all the way back to Govitri the nearest village to Native Place. Sunith had only just got his first vario the day before and boy had he made good use of it.
Waiting to step into the sky
Sunday saw me ditching the peace of the Native Place garden and scurrying off to the site. I could not stay away from the excitement no more. Colin was visiting from Brunei, Nikhil and Nisha drove up from Mumbai, Doc had arrived the previous day from Pipalkoti and Algeliki and Jannis from Greece, Gregory from the US, Jose from Hyderabad, Ben from the UK, Emil from the Koh Tao … the list goes on. A happy group of paragliding pilots all hung out on the hillside waiting for the wind to calm down a bit and embrace our wings. It was wonderful to be in the air again. I can never get over that million dollar post landing expansive feeling that lingers on, making you feel like you are walking on air and the whole world is beautiful
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid Rao
Nirvana on the ground and in the skies
Nikhil's new Ozone Geo III
Hi all,
This weekend Nikhil Bhide, unveiled his brand new glider; the Ozone Geo III in the sun colors of yellow, white and red. Being Nikhil’s first wing and the first Geo III in Kamshet everyone was excited to see it unfurl. The Geo III possesses the same DHV 1 safety class as the Ozone Mojo 3, but is about 2 kilos lighter thus making it an ideal travel glider without compromising safety. This suited Nikhil perfectly.
Flying Wedding Anniversary Celebration
Saturday pilots and guests gathered together on the roof as usual to mingle enjoy the starry canopy above. We also joined in the wedding anniversary celebration of guests Mehul & Nikita. It was their 1st anniversary and Nikita wanted to do something different and a weekend of paragliding and stay at Native Place is what she chose. A novel way to celebrate we must agree! They thoroughly enjoyed the experience of flying, soaking in the relaxing vibe on the hillside as well as the camaraderie and setting at Native Place
Nirvana Pilot Vrinda cooking up desert
We also welcomed pilot couple Chetan and Vrinda who visited after more than 3 months. Vrinda made up by whipping up some delicious gajar halwa (desert) on Sunday afternoon after which we took off to the Shelar site for some Sunday sunset flying. Conditions were great and I clocked my longest flight yet at 2 hours 10 minutes! We returned sated our smiles reflecting fulfilling flights
Cheers,
Sinchan
www.flynirvana.com
Nirvana Adventures opens a new paragliding season at Kamshet
Nirvana Adventures is happy to announce the opening of another new paragliding season at Kamshet. Elementary Pilot courses have been on since the 6th of October.
A happy first Elementary Pilot batch of the new season
- FlyNirvana Team
Check out the slideshow https://picasaweb.google.com/115062823260269473472/ParaglidingInIndiaWithNirvanaAdventures#5664354287313453650
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid & Sanjay Rao
Nirvana Adventures 15 August 2011 Independence day blog
Celebrating Independence Day with school children at Kamshet
Last weekend we visited the Golden Glades secondary school to hoist the flag and celebrate Independence Day with the children. We were also there to inaugurate a new water tank that was donated by Nirvana Adventures to provide drinking water to the school children.
drinking water for school children
The entire Kamshet region is shell shocked by this incident where farmers protesting the diversion of their waters. First we take their land and submerge it and then those very waters are diverted elsewhere. What do we do with industrialization if we do not have food to eat? How can we turn guns onto farmers running helter skelter?
Seeing those images on the television was a terrible shock. Hey this is not the enemy – they put food on our tables and we need to respect them and listen to their concerns. It was hard to face our own staff and instructors like Ravi Bandya, Sandeep, Mangesh, Eknath whose parents are farmers in this very region and to look at the hurt and confusion in their eyes. There is no explanation that can make this unfortunate incident go away.
Yes the farmers of Pawna assembled on the expressway and halted traffic – but such protests are a part of our history and our very own struggle for independence. How does the farmer grow crops without water? Should he wait for it to run out before he voices his opinion . Should we put it down to politics or call it kalyug and pass it off ???
It is time to reflect and to act
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid & Sanjay Rao
Check out the trailer ‘Flow’ an award winning documentary, an investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century – The World Water Crisis. The film builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.
Once you have tasted flight …
The Shelar ridge
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid Rao