Composer-singer Vishal Dadlani talks about his love for paragliding: It gives me as much joy as the biggest of concerts
As certified paragliding pilot Vishal Dadlani takes off for a flying excursion in Maharashtra, he shares what makes the sport ‘the best experience in the world’
The love for the sport!
Other than being an incredible adventure sport, paragliding is something that allows me to be very deeply and closely connected to Nature. It teaches you patience, humility, gratitude and empathy. You are always on the lookout for other pilots who are flying with you. It helps build a sense of trust. The ability to fly with birds, reach into the sky and experience the texture of a cloud – you can’t find that anywhere else! So, paragliding teaches you how to be constantly aware of and grateful for everything that we have and we tend to take for granted. It’s the greatest experience of my life. I’ve played concerts to 150,000 people, but even compared to that, paragliding is right up there. I feel everyone should try it.
First steps into paragliding
I got into paragliding purely by chance. I was building my house outside Mumbai and during one of the site visits, I saw people taking off from a place close by. I was intrigued and asked about it. I started learning in December 2017 and did my first course, P1. When I gave it my first shot and was in the air, I knew this would be a part of my life. All the fear vanished and the joy I experienced is inexplicable. A year later, I did got my P2 license. I wasted two years, thinking about flying and waiting for the right weather, not realising that I could travel to different parts of the world to fly more often. When I went to Bali in 2019, I realised that I wanted to do it more and other pilots told me where I could do it. During the 2020 lockdown, I got all the time to explore it fully, as there’s no better social distancing than paragliding.
Flying across the world
My first few flying experiences were at my home sites in Kamshet called Tower Hill, Shelar and Girlfriend. I did Bir (Himachal Pradesh) too and it was a difficult one. My first flying experience abroad was in Bali in 2019, followed by many other places, including San Diego, where I explored this beautiful site called Torrey Pines for a couple of months. I was flying there every weekend. I’ve flown New Zealand, Spain, France, Switzerland and Kazakhstan a couple of times. I want to fly South America.
Vishal, the pilot!
I am a P3 APPI pilot. APPI is the international association of paragliding pilots and instructors based in France and they issue licenses in India as well. With a P3 APPI license, I can fly independently anywhere in the world and get support from all the affiliated flying clubs all over the world.
Difference between flying abroad and in India
Flying abroad is very different, as there’s no safety net, as you’re flying alone, without people from your school. But, the paragliding community across the world is very supportive. People in Spain were super supportive. You learn a lot when you step out on your own.
Any incident that left you scared/nervous?
I’ve had a few rough landings and a couple of proper crashes. Of course, it’s an adventure sport, so you do need to understand that there is a certain degree of risk involved. I have been lucky to not be spooked at all. I’ve always just wanted to get back in the air whenever. My injuries have been slight and I’m grateful to have kept for my love for the air and sky through all of it.
Infra in India
India has an incredible terrain for paragliding and Kamshet is probably one of the best places to learn. People come from all over the world to fly there, as the initial hills that you fly from are not very high, so they’re not intimidating. In terms of infrastructure, because of all the schools in Kamshet, the infrastructure is growing there. But at a government level, it would be wonderful if we could bring a little more focus to the sport, because I have been to places like Annecy in France, where the economy is driven a lot by paragliding. Similarly, Ölü Deniz in Turkey is a beautiful beach town and during the paragliding season, people come from all over the world and the entire economy of the place is driven by paragliding. Where we fundamentally lack is providing safety to pilots in terms of medical evacuation facilities in case of an accident. So, if someone in the government is reading this, it would be great if we could start looking at search and rescue provisions for Indian paragliding pilots.
Tips for someone starting out
Understand what the sport is. Paragliding is the only sport where you can fly without an engine. You go up, you climb. In skydiving, base jumping or any other human aviation sport, you descend rapidly. But in paragliding, you learn to climb, just like the birds do. So, be patient till you get to that stage. Don’t rush and learn properly. And once you learn the process and get to fly with and like the birds, it’s all worth it. It’s the best feeling on Earth.