Most people have a bucket list of activities they want to get through in their lifetime, and I am no different! Scuba diving, paragliding, bungee-jumping and skydiving are all on the top of my list. I’m lucky because my family shares my interests, giving me a better chance of enjoying and completing these.

I was fortunate to get a chance to scuba dive quite early on. The fear of marine life, fear of drowning, of having to breathe through the mouth and the eerie silence under water were the challenges to overcome. But that done, what an absolutely wonderful and surreal experience! The depth and intensity of colours underwater, the feeling of being up close with a variety of marine life... You have to see it to believe it.

A few years ago, vacation plans took us to the Himalayas and I got a chance to paraglide. You can imagine my excitement, which quickly turned to anxiety when I visited the jump site – limited credentials/certifications of the tandem glider, poor maintenance of the equipment/ tethers, poorly maintained cliff tops and an activity at the mercy of the wind gods. After two failed attempts owing to harsh winds and clouds, we finally took the plunge (literally) off the cliff and embarked on a 2-3 minute glide with a parachute. It will be a memory for life!

Armed with two successful checks off my bucket list, I got bold and sought out the big one— skydiving. Just the thought of feeling the rush of wind and floating in the air while looking down at the vast expanse of earth below was so tempting! This is an experience most thrill-seeking adults would like to try out – most of my friends have it on their list. But when I set out to try it, I came up against a number of logistical obstacles once I got over the huge cost of the sport. For one, drop zones tend to be at distances of about 3-hour drives from metros. Next, inclement weather and wind conditions frequently cause cancellation of bookings. Safety concerns and the need for a critical number of people per session are other issues. Despite my wanting to skydive, somehow things did not line up for quite a long time.