Tucked away high up above at an height of 2400mts,
Lays a land where Humans and birds fly in harmony.
A land where kids do not fly kites, but dream to fly on one
Renowned by the world, less recognized by its own country
The people here earn their bread by making others fly.
It is Bir, an adventure hub in Himachal Pradesh of India. Bir, undoubtedly goes synonyms with Paragliding. Though it is a popular spot for Paragliding, it has not got the much needed recognition it deserves. The fact that the Paragliding World Cup was held in 2015 in Bir village went down without much buzz. Novita Singh makes a documentary ‘Glide’ that accounts the harmony between Paragliding and people in Bir.
“As I started flying, a year later Jyoti followed. And slowly the craze for flying started spreading in locals. And as tandem started, it became source of income and boys who were unemployed started flying for money” said Rajesh Awasti, One of the early pilots. “A craze for flying developed. We would watch pilots taking off from Billing. We hoped we could also fly one day” Said Piku & Goli, The local pilots. “What more a pilot can ask, but to fly?” He added.
1984 was the year when Bir billing hosted its first international hand gliding rally. Since then, Government organizes annual event encouraged by the endoursements from foreign piolets. Novita Singh visited Bir for the first time in October 2014. Singh started working on the documentary six months later.
Paragliding Because Some Birds Are Not Meant To Be Caged
Video :: GLIDE
Singh described the filming process as life-altering. “A whole new dimension of air opened up for us and to understand that was superb,” she said. “When you fly cross country, you are on your own. You need to understand the wind, air pressure zones, thermals and where they might be, to be able to cover distance, and if anything goes wrong you have to have the presence of mind to be able to handle it. It is adventure sports after all, and you cannot panic.”
The documentary is in the editing stage and is currently crowd sourcing for funds.
Source – Scroll.in
