Celebrating Old Friends

We saw Rewben Mashangva sing the Naga blues,the prodigious Envision from Delhi experimenting with new previously-unheard sounds,Bombays Zero sing about whiny girlfriends and the regulars Orange Street with their yearly brand new hit single. Each year we went back home resolving to play the guitar better,write better songs and get on next years compilation. And then GIR became host to Scandinavian metal acts reaching out to a very niche metal-hungry audience forcing people like me to look for kicks elsewhere. Early this year,Amit went for a swim in the ocean and never returned.

In 2008,Adhiraj Mustafi a fellow Delhi musician undertook an ambitious project of organising a massive music festival in Delhi with three big stages,ample beer and about 60 bands from across the country. Nothing of this sort had happened before. We didnt have to smuggle the booze in any more. We were grown ups enjoying music the way it was meant to be. That the brand died a premature death because of a warped business model is another story but drunken musicians still speak of Eastwind much like hippie fogies talk of the time they congregated in a farm close to New York back in 1969.

More recently,the NH7 Weekender has become a must-attend calendar event in India. Its comparable to any big European music festival,with an impressive production and lineups featuring quality international acts like Imogen Heap and Basement Jaxx. Last year also saw Zero do an unexpected reunion,reliving their good old GIR days. Over the last year,there have also emerged mini-destination festivals such as Woods Talk Rishikesh,MAD Ooty and Gulmarg Winter Festival Kashmir that sell both the place and the vibe. I am also personally involved in putting together a festival in a remote little village in Arunachal Pradesh called Ziro. While this may seem like a highly enviable job,it mostly involves sifting through hundreds of eager bands and spending sleepless nights wondering about the long-term effects of getting 20 crazy acts,including Sky Rabbit and Teddy Boy Kill,to a sleepy northeastern village.

Sniffing business opportunity in this trend,even big names in the entertainment industry are joining in the fun. Take for example,Lost Festival conceptualised by Bollywood hunk Arjun Rampal and Percept with a rather odd tagline Get Lost! Ironically,those were the precise words that went through my mind when I read their contract. It forbids their bands to play in any other festival up to a couple of months. This aint cut-throat Bollywood,Arjun. Its good old rock n roll. Let people discover new music,new friends and new experiences. Stop worrying about exclusivity contracts.

It reminds me of my first taste of a real music festival in 2007 at the worlds biggest indie music carnival SXSW. There were 1,600 bands playing across four days in the little town of Austin,Texas and I was stumbling down the iconic Sixth Street drunk,looking for an act to get off on. In the midst of all that overwhelming madness,I noticed a rather sombre queue of people outside a warehouse. They stood patiently as if waiting for their turn at the altar. I joined them and as I neared my impending doom,the girl in front of me turned around and passed me a quick toke. You will need this, she said. Thanks,whos playing? I asked her. Blonde Redhead. Id just made a new friend and discovered a killer band.