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/
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
In our very first batch we had 2 mother daughter duo’s - Priya with her mom Sushumna from Hyderabad & Nirja & Aparajita from Ahmedabad as well as Satoko a Japanese National and corporate lawyer based in Mumbai, Priyank a DJ from Mumbai a software guy from Pune
In our very first batch we had 2 mother daughter duo’s Priya with her mom Sushumna from Hyderabad & Nirja & Priya from Ahmedabad. Coming from Mumbai were Satoko a Japanese national and corporate lawyer living in Mumbai as well as DJ Priyank and Divya a software guy from Pune.
- FlyNirvana Team
After a long monsoon break the FlyNirvana team is happy to be back in the field helping you to achieve your free flight dreams. Come join us on an adventure in the skies.
Check out the slideshow https://picasaweb.google.com/115062823260269473472/ParaglidingInIndiaWithNirvanaAdventures#5664354287313453650
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid & Sanjay Rao
Nirvana Pilots bonding with the local kids at Kamshet
A few days ago I came across a news report in the Times of India about a Russian paraglider who was roughed up by agitated farmers after taking off at Harrison Folly, Panchgani and landing in a field outside the town of Wai. Panchgani is not a site for the beginner and pilots flying here prefer to top land as landing at Wai means a very, very long bus journey back up to takeoff.
In case of an occasion where one may not be able to top land the system set in place by the local pilots is to discuss a small compensation with the local farmer. No farmer would be happy to have a sky god landing in his fields and spoiling his crop and so one needs to respect his sentiment and deal with such situations sensitively.
We don’t have the details on what exactly went down in this incident but we consider it a good occasion for us pilots flying at Kamshet to stop a moment to reflect on and be grateful for the rapport and respect we share with the local farmers and land owners at Kamshet. our access to the sites here depend on the good will of the local people and we need to tread gently and give back at least a little if not as much as we receive.
Here are a few basic things to remember:
- Pilots remember the Leave No Trace rules – take home your garbage and urge your friends & guests to do the same.
- Park considerately in the official parking areas.
- Don’t drive your 4 wheel drives in to the landing at the Shelar site – the farmers dont take to this kindly at all.
- Stick to the paths
- Pet owners keep your dogs home or away from cattle.
- Don’t land in the standing crop or tall grasses – yes grass is a precious commodity.
- Be careful while smoking else you may burn up the hillsides.
- Take part in Nirvana Adventures CSR activities.
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid & Sanjay Rao
Students enter Native Place and walk through the the Scarlet Vine
All through the festive season through Christmas and New Year we had a stream of students coming over for 3 day and 5 day courses, a group of visiting paragliding pilots from Holland as well as friends and pilots from Europe and around the place.
Stephan Irene and Anna whom we had said goodbye to only a few months ago (they moved back to Switzerland after spending 5 years in Pune during which time they spent most weekends at Native Place and went back home to Switzerland for Christmas) traveled back to Kamshet and Native Place to spend Christmas with us
Yes a course with
Nirvana Adventures does that to you. It is difficult to explain to those who have not experienced it. I often talk about the ‘nirvana paragliding trip’ a special experience that each of our students and visiting pilots go through – one filled with excitement, discovery, lasting friendships & memories and a sense of belonging to the Nirvana Paragliding Family and
Native Place.
Here is a video ‘
I wish I could fly like the birds‘ by Abhijeet Dutta an Elementary Pilot student. It covers the experience of a bunch of students enrolled for our Elementary Pilot Course. It is simple but conveys the experience.
Here’s wishing you all great flights & amazing experiences in the coming year.
Peace Bliss & Happy Landings
Astrid & Sanjay Rao