Out of all the great canyons and rivers, a world classic- the last lost horizon, the land of White Copper, the Grand Canyon of Asia—the River Zanskar! “There’s a high chance of us flipping our raft, you know, since it’s a grade five rapid”, said our jolly, large-bellied river guide, Rana.

The group was nervous; our rafts parked 30 yards from the ominously dubbed rapid—The Dislocator—aptly named by a group of river guides who dislocated their shoulders trying to run it. As the always-smiling-optimistic river guides scoped the rapid out with an air of nonchalance, the group of 19 river-noobies waited apprehensively, contemplating their lives. “Don’t worry, guys—we’ll be fine”, said Rana, oh-so-reassuringly. Let’s rewind to a week before. Our group, which was an amalgamation of Indians, Australians, and Americans, met in Leh—the touristy, festive, militaristic capital of Ladakh, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in Northern India.