Love at Lunagarh

My fingers pressed hard onto the red rope which was fitted onto the raft, holding it as tightly as possible even as the waves were pulling me hard with them. The rope was the only way to keep me onto the raft. The waves and me fought for a while. But they were more strong. I was beneath the water. And last I saw before my vision blurred the red rope slipped off my hands and there I went....
Bobbing in and off water. Voice of our rafting guide Kieran resonanting in my head. "If you fall off the raft keep your feet towards downstream, above the water lie on your back and watch the sky." Where were my feet or my head.
A few moments back Kieran had said, "And now in front of us is the next rapid, Longhorn." He smiled and then winked to say, "Lets try to make it a bit longer this time. Yesterday we avoided it, today we shall try to go straight into it," he smiled.
We were going straight into it, not it water right. This can't be happening to me, I thought. "I can't be off the raft." But there I was twirling and twisting with the waves, my head bumping into rocks. (Thanks to the helmet or I wouldn't be alive)
The waves are wicked creature, they were more than happy to have me as company. So by turns they would pick me up on their shoulders to show me the sky and the drop me back in the water. I floated away drinking the pure water of Yamuna, melting straight from the the glacier just 80 Kms away from where I was tossed off the raft. I floated for over 300 metres. For once, the coward that I am, I thought that I am gone forever. I bid goodbye to ma pa. Thankfully the waves, no more amused with my company, left me alone to follow my guides orders. Within minutes I was pulled back on the blue raft, frozen and wide eyed.
That was Tons river, a tributary of Yamuna, or say a younger and more spirited version of Yamuna. After a six hour drive away from Dehradun and beyond the crowded Mussorie is the virgin Mori. I spent three days there, away from work, from Delhi, from competition, from tension...... from everything and even from myself.
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There were birds, insects, stars, river and rain for company to keep me busy. The first day we rafted on the river, I was a bit scared of it. I was timid, so everytime a wave would come I would tightly shut my eyes and hold onto the rope of the raft, not willing at all to slip into the river. The second day I was friendly and bolder. I looked straight into the river, rowed with more energy, challenging the river to get me. And it did get me the third day when I finally made friends with it. It shook hands with me, drowning me with it.....
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It is such a relief to be sitting next to a blabbering river, you don't have to talk at all, the river will carry on the conversation. It looked like a noisy bunch of school children. A few waves rushed to go ahead while a few others pushing them back to return; not sure of destination the river merely laughed and forlicked around. A little bird sat next the river watching it as i was. I was searching for calm and the bird was looking for it's food. So it hopped closer to the water, still maintaining distance, it dropped it's beak look for food and may be located it. Then reluctantly it took a plunge into the chilling water and then off at once on top of the tree away from my sight. The bird and me both got what we were looking for.
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It has been a long time since I felt the first rush of attraction, the alleged feeling of being head over heels in love, the time when you keep smiling and are happy for no reason at all. I was in love at the Lunagarh camp. With whom?