let me get it clear right in the beginning...I am extremely scared of water! my heart was beating fast when I was listening to the instructions before our river rafting . I was surrounded by a bunch of enthusiasts who loved rafting, who kept telling me that its indeed a big enjoyment,no need to worry. Yeah, there was no way they could hear my heart beating faster, they couldn't see the butterflies flying in my stomach.
And I still got onto a raft for rafting in Zanskar river near Leh. Before boarding the raft, we got detailed instructions about dos and donts. At the end of those instructions , I was convinced that I would simply kick and shout if I fall in that cold water!lolz, I wouldn't remember any dos and donts.
with a heavy heart and shaking legs, I boarded a raft along with my friends. I was telling myself, everything will be fine, I wouldn't get drowned, I wouldn't fall off the raft! We start moving in our raft. I see a huge water flowing in front of me. Karakoram ranges of Himalayas overpowering us from both the sides! sheer view of cold water soothes my nerves immediately. Cool and shrill air in Himalayas give me the confidence of wading through those waters.
And comes my first challenge! our raft is about to ride waves of whats called rapid!Gosh, you have no moment to think or to get scared. You simply ride those waves going up and down. Cold waters of Zanskar splashing all over your body . You neither have time to notice a deep gorge forming in your abdominal cavity nor time to notice your shaking hands and legs. For me the moment of riding on that first rapid is a liberation. The moment my raft rides that rapid, giving me no time to feel my fear, my romance with water starts! I feel the cold waves of Zanskar lapping up my raft,my paddle,my face,my hair. The stiff body breaks the barriers of fear and flows with the river. Just when I have managed to survive the first rapid in my rafting journey I see a small kayak sailing through the water.This very kayaker is going to keep me safe in the river. Seeing him sail through those waves is a sheer beauty. Fluid movements of the kayak and pleasure on the face of the kayaker makes you fall in love with rafting. Gives you the confidence to paddle through those waters. Mind you, the kayaker is fun to be with, you ask for a splash from him and he is more than willing to gift you a freezing cold water splash with his paddle!
My first splash came even before I realized its coming! And then I realized the pleasure and excitement of it. A person who had incredible fear of water is shouting and demanding a splash! In the entire rafting journey, I did enjoy a few splashes from our kayaker. The force with which the splashes came on us, reminded me of what kayaker said right in the beginning, Water is my passion as well as profession.
My rafting ends where Zanskar and Indus river meet, at The Sangam. I see waters of different colours meeting each other. I saw a passion sailing on water. On the shore I see a professional helping us to get out of rafts and quickly move to the warmth of our vehicles. Kayaker's words keep ringing in my mind, Water is my passion as well as profession. 
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