Nirvana Adventures End of Paragliding Season May 2011

Happy children and Nirvana Pilots a great way to end the season

Hi All,

By the end of May each year Nirvana Adventures celebrates the end of the paragliding season at Kamshet. This year we chose the 4/5th of June as the weekend for the celebration . As per tradition we have celebrated at the location of the Shelar site where we have been flying all summer but this time our annual celebration took a new turn. The monsoon was already upon us and the forecast for the week was thundershowers in the afternoon so we decided to invite the kids of the Shelar site to Native Place for a special treat.

Ravi picked them up in the van, 26 of them ages between 8 and 14 and brought them over to Native Place in the morning. It was a new experience for them. I led the nature trail, quizzing them about the native trees in the garden and followed it up with a treasure hunt that thrilled them as well as all the pilots who had gathered to take part in the celebration.

Astrid leads them on a nature trail around the Native Place Garden

Sharing our joy

This was followed by more interactive games, lunch, many prizes and return gifts. The kids were delighted with everything – it was all new for them and they welcomed each experience. The party left me with on a high not much unlike the one that hangs around you like a light fluffy cloud after a great flight. The only difference being that it has stayed with me… such an amazing feeling of joy.

In the afternoon we trekked up to the Gonshubai temple on the Shelar hillside. Another surreal experience –
The entire area was blanketed by a luminescent grey blue sky, waves of thick white clouds were spilling over the hillsides sometimes obscuring and sometimes revealing in a most dramatic fashion, the rugged wild empty hillside took on a mysterious air and the orange flags that signaled Gonshubai’s presence called to us from their distant perch.

Making our way up to Gonshubai's Shrine

Amazing views and awesome ambience at the shirne

Big smiles after heartfelt prayers

It was a special time, we were gifted with a moment of such considerable beauty, that left us stunned with a frozen gaze. The splendor of the moment so dazzled us, our compulsively chattering gave pause, tethering us to the here and the now. WE paid our respects to the deity of the hillside mentally thanking her for a great season and left in silence ….

Dazzling views all around us

The entire day was a gift – we had touched the hearts of 26 children, made a trek to Gonshubai that left us dazed and now we were on our way back home to Native Place to enjoy a dazzling display of fireflies and the company of amazing friends.

What more could anyone ask for I say 🙂

Peace Bliss and Happy Landings

Astrid Rao
www.flynirvana.com
www.nativeplace.com