Hi All ,
Many of you may be aware of the Golden Glades School, the only secondary school in the villages around Kamshet catering to all the children who complete their primary education in their respective village schools.Nirvana Adventures has been associated with the Golden Glades school since the 2009 when we assisted Dutchmen Eddie , Oscar and gang donating the money they received for a delayed baggage claim to a good cause by suggesting the GG school as the beneficiary. Check the full story.
Since then we have maintained a close relationship with the school organising tree planting drives, attending their school sports days, holding dental camps and Independence Day functions. We have committed to work closely with this school as we see it as an opportunity to impact the lives of the children from all the nearby villages. The school is rather tiny yet it accommodates 400+ students. . Despite the large numbers and the lack of basic infrastructure they have an overall class 10 passing of 86% of the students which is a good number for a village school thanks to a vibrant teaching and support staff.
It has 2 classrooms for class 8, two class rooms for class 9 and one for class 10. There are 102 students in class 10 this year the kids have been sitting on the floor all along in a cramped fashion.This year they approached us to help them procure a 100 benches for the students , and the teachers themselves sourced out a supplier to make the benches locally.
We are very happy to let you know we achieved the target with the support from our well wishers and friends and have now been able to provide the students comfortable seating for the hours that they spend in the classroom. Now the school has 
started work on a new classroom for the class 10 kids and the plan is to have a projector and computer set up for E learning to better their chances to get good grades and get exposure to modern training methods , current information and technology.
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid & Sanjay Rao
I'm going to fly 
The saffron flag above the temple fluttered vigorously. It was south wind and quite strong. I knew it was not going to be flyable. It was Saturday, 21st January 2012 … my first visit to Nirvana Adventures in Kamshet, India, for paragliding this year, and all my hopes for flying were dashed by the wind that blew in the wrong direction and at a very wrong pace. However, at Native Place, the guest house where I stay every time I visit Nirvana Adventures, you are never let down – there’s always beer, a hammock under the huge Umbar tree and a great number of melodious birds that sing better tunes than Justin Bieber. I promptly settled for the beer and a blissful afternoon under the cool shades of the graceful tree.
Just two sips of the frothy ale later I saw Vinya (one of the paragliding instructors at Nirvana Adventures) getting ready for an afternoon session of ground-handling with a bunch of new students. East, west, north or south, as long as there was wind, I could do ground-handling. Dash it! I had to abandon my beer!
Ashwin Krashwin and Sandip Bhalshinge
An hour later, along with the new students, I took my glider to Ashram and sweat it out it the vast openness of the place. Not before long, I noticed something amiss – the wind! Just a little while ago it blew my dream of spending quality time in air, and now it simply robbed my opportunity to spend some quality time on ground. Well, that’s what paragliding is all about, isn’t it?
3 hours later, we returned to Native Place. The sun was setting and the placid lake was like a canvas of changing colours. The air was getting colder and the Native Place terrace turned into a star-canopied lounge. There wasn’t much to talk about flying, so we sang into Nikhil Bhide’s karaoke instead.
Next day the wind god seemed pretty pleased. The wind was strong and blowing in the right direction, and the thermals were more than accommodating. This was a day to fly, I thought. It was great fun to watch every pilot take off and quickly rise above the Shelar Mountain. There were nearly 20 pilots who had already taken to the air – Rinul Pashankar, Dylan Fernandes and Hiren Savla were amongst them. It was time for Apoorva Talwalkar and Me to join them. Finally, I said to myself with a big grin, I’m going to fly. Just then I notice something amiss – the wind! Without waiting any further, I launched myself and headed straight to where everyone went to get that lift. And there, at that very spot, where every single pilot got lifted I found something amiss – the lift! I got a sink instead. I turned quickly to my left expecting to reach out to some spot where I could get a lift – but it simply wasn’t there. There was a prompt, and to an extent, a very good advice from Sandip Bhalshinge – “Ashwinbhai, flyout and go for the landing.”
I landed and looked up. The rest of them were all there, high above the mountain, flying in the cool air of Shelar. I went up again to give it another shot. At the take-off I just had to give one look at the windsock to realize there was no point in even turning the vario on. I executed a forward launch, took off and went straight for landing. I landed and looked up. The rest of them were all there, high above the mountain, flying, probably even giggling at my 2 top-to-bots!
I packed up, went to the parking and looked back and said, “I’ll be back.”
Ashwin Kunder
http://www.krashwin.blogspot.com/
Dylan and me
The XC fever continued this weekend. Pilots were hoping for the right conditions to get high and head out. Hiren had stayed back from the previous weekend. Monday he flew to Govitri (the village before Native Place) and Tuesday he came all the way in and landed near Native Place. I traveled up to Kamshet with my 22 year old nephew Dylan on Friday. Dylan had XC on his mind and was hoping to head downwind towards Karla if he got the chance.
We met Ravi and Sandip at Rangoli by 9.30 am and drove to Tower Hill with them. The conditions were good in the morning and the prediction was that the wind would die out / turn north by late afternoon. We had nice flights in the late morning and headed out to Native Place for lunch.
Saturday saw many pilots on the hill. The conditions were variable. It was easy to spot the cycles with gliders gaining height and spreading out only to be flocking back at the ridge 10 minutes later. I waited too long and finally did a nil wind takeoff and a top to bottom flight.
Dylan takes off
Sunday was an amazing day. We all got pretty high. Dylan got up to 1500 and headed out as planned. He flew downwind and landed at Lonavala about 10 km as the crow flies. Some of us went to retrieve him and when he met he said with a big grin “I left the dog to die’ A phrase we picked up from Jocky Sanderson.
Dylan with the Raos - good relations
Dylan has been flying since the age of 15. He has flown 45 km XC in Bir but never left the hill at the home sites in Kamshet. During the last weekend’s thermalling and XC course he missed 2 opportunities to fly out with Chris and Jocky and was determined to leave the hill this weekend and he did.
We are proud of you Dylan
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid & Sanjay Rao
www.flynirvana.com
www.nativeplace.com
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The dates for the course were November 4th to 6th. Ten of us from Nirvana Adventures including a young Sunith Rao who has been a great fan of Jocky’s having watched his Security in Flight training video innumerable times since the age of 4. In all there were over 35 pilots signed in for the course and our team went with no expectations and an open minds happy to meet the big man, listen to and fly with him.
Jocky Sanderson came across as youthful and full of energy. We were all familiar with how he looked from having watched his Security in flight video for the past 15 years. ‘He seems to be growing younger’ I thought. I guess it comes from doing what you love most. From his very first lecture we were spellbound. He delivered his lectures with a playful energy and his sound effects ( yes he made the most interesting sounds much to our delight) we were hooked. A guru for sure – I’d say a natural child and a guru rolled into one. An amazing combo of wisdom, patience and enthusiasm
Setting out the tasks for the day
Over the next couple of days were filled with morning and evening lectures and and an afternoon flying session (Strong winds in the morning kept is in the classroom) The group was loosely divided according to experience and the more proficient pilots took off in stronger winds while the rest waited for more favorable conditions. the flying was task based – thermalling, practicing maneuvers and those who got enough height would head out with Chris White, Jocky’s colleague.
Jocky Sanderson and Chris White - Party on the roof at Native Place
All in all it was a wonderful experience. Jocky beame a catalyst and raised our energy levels and our eagerness to learn, better ourselves. ‘Practice Practice Practice’, ‘Push your boundaries’ and ‘become one with your wing’ were the key words flying around. He changed the way we percieved our home sites and opened our thought process to new and exciting possibilities. Many pilots bested their performances including Rinul Pashankar who flew 6 km XC along with Jockey on the last day ( read about that in the next blog)
To see more pictures of this weekend click here
We are all grateful for the wonderful energizing experience
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid Rao
www.flynirvana.com
With the strange overcast weather continuing over the next few days it is becoming rather difficult to fix on a date to open the season and get courses going. Simply don’t know what to tell new students who have been waiting patiently during the monsoon and are now calling in to fix their dates. It’s the same story with pilots. Sandeep, Shekhar, Kaustubh, Dwane, Hiren, Gokul, Sanjay and me all met up at Sunil’s ‘International Watch Exhibition’ where Sanjay indulged in a T Touch. Every one is getting itchy wings.
We are tired of seeing each other’s faces for short spans of time in the city. Somehow meeting pilot friends on the hill with the entire weekend and the fact of getting airborne right there in front of you is so much nicer.
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid
www.flynirvana.com