Flying - Adventure & the Spirit of Community
- Vineet Nandan Gupta
- Feb 1
- 4 min read
Flying is my first Love and the First Love is always crazy.
Ask anyone, about their story of first love and there is always a crazy romantic adventure associated with it. Something impossible, way beyond the limitation that could be imagined but it also encourages the human being to start working towards it and things start to fall in place.
There is No Logic, No Explanation, Pure Magic & It’s Blissful.
At the age of 4, my first epiphany was that I would be a pilot soaring in the sky. At the age of 21, there is a stark realization that this dream needs to be self-funded and that the journey to create those resources is necessary for the magic to unfold.
At the age of 23 years, while traveling across the Golden Pass route in Switzerland, paragliders are soaring in the sky, and that's the moment of realization that this first piece is fairly easier to accomplish, to taste the first flight.
Finally at the age of 28 years, tasted my first solo flight as a Paragliding Pilot with no looking back since then and making it a point to hit the sky once every year, remember there are always priorities to be set & resources to be streamlined.
Where Does Community Come into Play?
Everywhere…
I have been flying with Nirvana Adventures at Kamshet, near Pune since 2014. The first time when I went there for the Elementary Pilot Program, there were 20 other people like me from different walks of life, who had come there to experience their first flight, some of them were inquisitive, and some of them were made to be part of the program, & all of us going through the different life journey.
Every time, I have visited there for flying, and have met different personalities, & also the regular ones who keep on coming back.
Native Place, Kamshet is where we base ourselves in the lap of nature at the foothills of Sahyadris in the western ghats of India. Kamshet has been nurtured by the founders of Nirvana Adventures which has put it on the global map of paragliding and also created opportunities for the local population in a symbiotic manner.
People You Meet
Visitors, Adventurers, & local people, are truly fascinated with each other. They are united by the common motto & language of Paragliding. Inquisitive to learn from each other, understand each other, help each other out, & so much more.
The stories that are shared and learnings are soulful, you have to be there immerse yourself & experience it.
A person who has built a hardcore engineering consulting company setting up projects in remote locations of India, someone who has seen the advertising world evolve, someone who has treated patients at high altitudes, a poet, musician, social activist, entrepreneurs, & folks from around the world.
Some international folks have visited India for the first time and traveled directly to Pune to fly or learn flying or on paragliding holidays.
Opportunities That is Created
Imagine finding a buddy in a different city or a foreign country where you know no one, but one message, and there is a connection established with someone out there who treats you as a friend and pays it forward.
I have personally had those unfiltered conversations at the flying site while para-waiting & at the guest house about the deep challenge being faced in a professional setup & business environment only to get a headway in two hours.
You see a natural talent and the mind goes into possibility thinking of how this can be nurtured and things start to fall in place.
The name that is globally identified in the Paragliding community
Fly Nirvana - Kamshet - India
You know you have made it when you are standing in a queue to check in your luggage which is a paragliding bag and an unknown person comes and strikes a conversation.
I have been that person once at an Indian airport striking up a conversation with a foreigner & a fellow pilot at Nirvana Adventures narrated the same story at a paragliding site in France where he was wearing the Nirvana T-shirt, waiting for the wind conditions to become conducive for flying.
Validation, Association, & Respect, that is what has to be earned and it is goodwill generated through the community.
An ecosystem that has nurtured numerous aspiration
Flying or any Aviation Sport comes with its own set of guidelines, Safety First & Always,
DO NOT Compromise on the safety guidelines and standards, if you deviate from what is being taught & inculcated, you will pay the price for it.
When such discipline is ingrained, you know that there is going to be accountability & seriousness from fellow community members.
A relationship that is built & nurtured continues forever, talk about new ideas, pivots, transformation, & the zeal to do new things and more. It is right out there.
Just Imagine, the first generation of kids after paragliding came to this small hamlet are pilots and instructors at different flying schools, & the next generation of talent is being trained to compete globally and take over the world.
The people who met there for the first time have a different level of camaraderie altogether.
Scale with Community Equation:
People + Purpose + Guidelines = Community Building + Growth
Holds, In True Sense.
Humans, fascinated by the birds experience free flight, fly in parallel with birds, nurture and share their passion & commitment. The outcomes have been unbelievable.
Still, wondering how will you create such passionate experiences for your business enabling true Community-Led Growth?
Do write to us at hi@vineatrepeat.com
Comments