FLYING FOX
LT COL NOEL ELLIS
28/X/2021
It was ages ago that one was made the Head of a “Spider School” three decades back. The name sounds weird but indeed it was a ‘Colony of Spiders’.
One was familiar with the ‘Spider Colony’ SC as one had the privilege to be part of as a Gentleman Cadet (GC) from IMA Dehradun. One had volunteered for ‘para jumps’ during term break. That small little parachute on your sleeve was a coveted accoutrement and worn by only a few. Some of us who had decided to forego their term break for adventure activities were sent to the SC.
About fifteen of us were packed in a ‘Shaktiman’ and dropped in the ‘Deoban Forest’ somewhere parallel to the Mussoorie hills. It was cold and there was snow at places when we reached our camping spot. A couple of tents were pitched and it was home for the next few days.
The first day was a LD (Lecture Demonstration). We sat on the Grand Stand to witness the demo. The opening lines were, “Welcome to the Spider Colony”. Boooom, Bang, rat-a-tat-tat, smoke and down came men and women dressed in blue overalls & orange scarves from the massive vertical rock face we were facing. People were rappelling, climbing, crossing the Burma bridge, sliding on a fixed wire rope etc. Before we realised what happened, the participants disappeared somewhere in those rocks.
The visual impact was such that it appeared that there were spiders crawling all over. Had we stayed there a little longer, we all would have got caught in their web & got eaten away. It was total shock and awe but that memory is still fresh.
Kindly take your eyes to rock face number 6. Numbers were very prominently marked by painting huge numerals on the rock face. They demonstrated each technique on different rock faces. It was the last technique which left a lasting impression. It was called the “FLYING FOX” technique.
A Pinja came down using two ropes, face down and almost gliding like a ‘Spread Eagle’. He took the first two steps to get perpendicular to the rock-face. Then he just pushed the rock and spread his hands and feet like we see sky divers descending. In both his hands he had the ‘rappelling ropes’. Within a flash he was on the ground plunging more than a hundred feet. His timing was so precise. Before touchdown, he brought his ‘mittened hands’ close to his chest which actually helped in arresting his fall, some kind of brake and did a soft landing. What guts, what timing, what control? It was mind blowing.
We had our hearts in our mouths as five of them came down one after the other. Moment they were free of the ropes they shouted “OFF RAPPEL” , an indication to the next climber that the ground below is clear and safe to come down. Clearly this technique needed a very strong heart, solid stamina and years of practice to attain that level of expertise. Hats off to them.
In the evenings, we would wander across in the jungle when we saw flying bats like animals. This was witnessed by my wife also when one had got posted there. There were actually those fluffy, furry squirrels which used to glide from tree to tree effortlessly. The skin of their bellies used to stretch, helping them to fly across, like a skydiver and the men whom we had witnessed demonstrating us the most difficult technique to come down a vertical rock face. We christened them ‘flying foxes’ keeping the similarity of the technique we had witnessed.
Those days there was a ‘worm’ in my head that whatever involved some kind of ‘daring’ one had to do it. If not para-jumps then it had to be Rock Climbing. We as GCs were not allowed to do the flying fox, as our practice was way insufficient to take a chance for a ‘would be’ officer’s life to be subjected to such risk. I had decided that one day I will definitely do the flying fox. This thought kept simmering and stayed with me even after I had successfully completed the ‘Rock Climbing Course’.
Time went by. One did the Guerrilla Warfare course with the same outfit, five years after becoming an Officer. It was followed by para-jumps which earned me my para-wings, thus was worthy of wearing a ‘Maroon Beret’. Later one got posted as an instructor to the same institution and above all was heading the Spider School, where I had witnessed the ‘flying fox’. This time I just did it. Besides being a ‘Qualified Spider’, now I had also become a fox that could fly.
What more could I have dreamt of! Did I have it in me? I wonder!!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND & TASHI DELEG
© NOEL ELLIS
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