Bungee Jump - Bangalore

My First Bungee Jump: A Leap of Faith in Bangalore

I experienced what people call "Bungee Jumping"—leaping from a height with only a rope tethered to your leg or body. It was incredibly cool, and those 5 to 10 seconds of freefall were truly marvelous, an irreplaceable feeling.

It all started with AXN's "Who Dares Wins - Mic Whitney." I watched it religiously and always dreamed of trying a bungee jump. In 2004, when I was in my first year of PUC (Pre-University Course), AXN partnered with Xtreme Sports to bring a massive 150-meter-high crane to Palace Grounds in Bangalore. My dad was all for it, but convincing my mom was a challenge. I had to assure her it was safe, and even if the infinitely impossible happened, it would be worth the risk.

My dad picked me up from college, and to my surprise, my mom came along to Palace Grounds. We arrived at 5:30 PM, and even from outside, I could see people taking the plunge—it looked incredibly cool. Once inside, I headed straight to the registration desk. Back then, a single jump cost Rs. 750. I paid, but they asked me to call my dad over to sign a waiver, absolving them of responsibility for any "misfortunes."

Once that was done, it was time to wait. I was so pumped with adrenaline that I just wanted to jump then and there! But hours crawled by—three hours, to be precise. By 8:30 PM, when my turn finally came, I was so bored of waiting that I just wanted to get it over with. I stepped into the "restricted section," had the bungee cord secured to my leg, and boarded the lift (I prefer calling it a lift rather than a cage) that would take me up. As the huge crane hoisted us higher, the Australian instructor told me to lean back. Even though I was harnessed and anchored, it was terrifying to lean away from the cage.

At the very top, the "dude" told me to turn around, detached my safety anchor, and instructed me to face the open air and slowly lean forward out of the cage. I didn't even jump! Just a slight lean of about 10 degrees was all it took. Before I even knew what was happening, I was plummeting towards the ground. The gust of air rushing past my face and the sheer speed of my descent were genuinely scary, but the feeling itself was awesome. Just when I thought it was over, I recoiled back into the air, only to fall again towards the ground. This exhilarating bounce happened three times before I settled into a more static state. Oh, I forgot to mention, it was all happening at night!

Finally, I was lowered down. Then came the photo session; my dad captured the moment on camera as I was helped onto solid ground. And that was it... my first bungee jump.

It's an awesome experience, people, truly worth trying! Now, my aspirations have shifted to skydiving and hand gliding. I think bungee jumping comes to Bangalore roughly every two years, though I'm not entirely sure.