The ones who went all the way NOVEMBER 11, 2005: Mid-Day, Mumbai
Sanjay and Astrid Rao Hobby: Paragliding THE INITIATION: Sanjay was a marketing executive, and Astrid worked in an ad agency when they first gave a shot to paragliding. They loved it so much that it soon turned into a hobby and within a year, into a profession.

"We first tried paragliding in 1996. I can't even begin to explain the feeling of soaring in the sky. It was exhilarating, a feeling that kept drawing us back to Kamshet every weekend. It became something we loved doing together," tells Sanjay.

HOW IT HELPS: Sanjay and Astrid were overjoyed that they had found the one thing they both enjoyed doing. "After taking up this sport, we were always in a superb mood. It's not like one of those married scenarios where you are being dragged for a movie that you don't want to watch, or do something you don't really want to do. Especially for a working couple, getting a common hobby is a very important. It's the only way to spend quality time together," explains Sanjay.

KAHANI MEIN TWIST: Astrid always wanted a house in the hills and Sanjay felt like he hadn't quite found his calling on the career front. But when they fell in love with paragliding, they found a common thread to their dreams. "We quit our jobs, bought a house in Kamshet and started a paragliding institute called Nirvana Adventures," says Sanjay. The couple now shuttles between Mumbai and Kamshet working as paragliding instructors. Work is now like a holiday," they say.


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