Indigo's Jumping Jack - Jeemutbahan a.k.a Jim

Ever looked at rope skipping as a championship sport?? Well, you'll be surprised to know that there is a professional organization for Rope Skipping Enthusiasts in India under the aegis of Rope Skipping Federation of India(RSFI). Indigo's very own creative mastermind - Jeemutbahan Roy a.k.a Jim happens to be the vice-president and technical head of RSFI. Recently, his team comprising of 4 children from the age group of 11 and upwards bagged laurels at the 7th National Rope Skipping Championships organized by Rope Skipping Federation of Madhya Pradesh (Yeah....there are state level initiatives too) at Bhopal.

A detailed account of their heroics was published in Nov 22nd Edition of DNA, as shown adjacently.

As Jim says in the concluding lines of the article,"Rope Skipping is equivalent to 40 minutes jogging and 20 minutes of swimming. Besides the sport dosent require much equipment."
So...what are you all waiting for?? Put on your JUMPING SHOES and skip your way to a healthy life.

A ride on the wild side

A couple of weekends back, a few of us from Indigo Consulting went on a cycling+camping trip near Karjat (approx 70-80 kms from Mumbai). The idea was to drive down to a suitable location (read village), unload the bikes, and let the road lead the way. It was great fun (and a lot of work). We road through B-roads and villages, uphill and downhill. Along the way, gears slipped, pedals fell off, brakes jammed, all adding to the sense of adventure. But the best was yet to come.

After having cycled our hearts (and lungs) out, we decided it was time to find a spot to cook and retire. We reached Mhasa village after dark and explored staying in the village school and the village temple. Unfortunately neither was available and we were running out of time. We finally just stopped and unpacked in a clearing across a bridge over a stream. And what a place it turned out to be. Pitching tents, collecting firewood, lighting fires, cooking, drinking, cleaning-up. It was great. But the highlight was an early morning dip and bath in the fresh water stream.

The rest of the day was spent swimming in the Pimpalgaon Dam near Malshej Ghat and then riding downhill on the Ghats.

Must do this again....