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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Matheran in Maharashtra



Matheran a unique hill station in Maharashtra



Matheran is a colonial time small hill station in a quiet corner of Maharashtra. I say unique  because unlike the devastating flood inducing development in Uttarakhand, and most other hill-stations in India, Matheran  has maintained its character of a sleepy town.

All development  is highly regulated, motor vehicles are not allowed and  you need to walk or take a horse cart to move around. Recently GHAC organized a trek to Matheran, which began by some social responsibility by distributing stationary and sports kit at a local school for underprivileged kids.
GHAC Team distributing stationary and sports kit to school kids

GHAC Team at the beginning of Trek in Matheran


For most of the time weather was very nice with light drizzle making the hills lush green and mysterious with the fog.





Rains added to the fun








The Magic of Mist

We  had a great time exploring, hiking and just chilling in Matheran. A Few more treks to Matheran are planned in coming weeks. Please check here to join them.








Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Slacklining - Balancing for fitness


Slacklinig- From Street Performance to Modern days


I am sure all of you have been to circus or have seen Banjara kids perform on streets of India using tight rope. I always wondered how they are able to do it.  The  higher the rope the faster my heart used to beat. While in Circus there is a safety net to keep the performers safe, there is no such thing for the Banjara kids performing on the streets.

Net or no net, slacklining has been performed in India for ages, but like a lot of ancient Indian art forms it has also lost its relevance in the modern days. But we at GHAC here love to keep on trying new things and some time back we started meetups for Slacklining. Now you may wonder what are we doing in Slacklining. Well a few things to note here:

  • The Slacklining used for GHAC events is actually not very high, it is just around 1 ft in air. So that even if somebody falls there is no injury.
  • The slacklining may not be very high but you still have to cross it without any support and that forces your instincts to work to balance your body.
  • This is where the benefits to your body start coming, as your body and mind are on high alert your ability to focus increases many folds. 
  • The adrenaline rush in your blood gives you a  high and you thoroughly enjoy the crossing of the slack line.
  • As you try to balance your body various muscles in your body come in action and all energy is used to keep the balance on the slack line.
But more than anything else the whole process is full of  fun and you should listen to the squeaks of joy and laughter coming from the participants. Below are some pictures from the recent event that we held in KBR park. 

Balancing Act

The best part about Slacklining is that you do not need any expensive equipment or training, all you need is a little bit of space and will to have some fun (how tough is that ?). Age is no barrier as long as you do not have any major injuries in your limbs. We regularly have parents enjoying with their kids as family during our Slacklining events.
So what are you waiting for Slacklining is a regular event at GHAC, go ahead and RSVP for the same and have some fun with adrenaline rush.