The untamed Musical night in the mountains

Have you ever sat at your balcony or terrace with a coffee mug or a beer bottle in hand and music on? While the cool breeze play with your hair and you snuggle closer with your partner you would have wished to listen to your favorite band play in front of you along with the delicious aroma of food wafting through your nose. Sounds straight out of a dream right? In the hustle and pollution filled environment of city life, all we get is a closed and loaded pub to enjoy the music.

We at Mywanderlust.in, understand the need of much required break from the busiest city life and hence have been organizing various musical nights named Musicathon at the foothill of Dhauladhars range of mountains in Bir-Billing, the paragliding capital of India. After 4 successful versions of Musicathon, we decided to cater to a larger audience in a wider setting and hence came the idea and implementation of Unheard music and art event. that was held in Dharamshala ( in Himanchal Pradesh)  on the Holi weekend in March.

Amidst lush green fields. snow covered mountains, mesmerizing voices of peacocks, birds, streams and under a billion stars we pitched over 200 tents which was supposed to be the home for the guests for 3 days that was the duration of the event. Apart from the tents, there were food stalls and proper washroom facilities. Though a vast campsite, it has all the arrangements for adventure activities like zorbing, sling shot bungee, zip lining etc. Two big man made swimming pools at the corners gave respite from the heat at the day time and bonfires at various distance during the nights kept the guests warm from the chill.

The idea of this festival was to invite people from all around so that they can leave their hectic, monotonous, tedious life and enjoy a couple of days of utter bliss, peace and happiness. Away from the hustle bustle of the city life and work pressure, we wanted to give everyone an experience that they cherish for a long time.

The event was a nice blend of art and music. There were workshops like Doodling workshop, for the Ishan Avasthi in you (Tare zameen par fame).  acrylic painting workshop, for those who wanted to paint he world in bright colors. Dream catcher workshop, for all the dreamers who want to make this a better place to live in. Poetry workshop, for the budding poets and Rumi of tomorrow. Drum circle workshop to depict harmony and serenity among nature and humans.

But apart from the various workshops, what attracted and pulled all the audience towards itself were the various bands that came, performed and conquered the heart and soul of all of us. The magic was lead by Fakiri Band, whose djembe thumps and the unique piece of music by the lead singer on the Indian society compelled everyone to make loud thud noises which filled up the camp site. Then came with a loose kurta pajama, a boy of 20 years Aashran Mahajan So cute he could steal your girlfriend, and a voice so mesmerizing that you would let him. His self composed songs connected straight to everyone’s life and relationships.

Then came on the stage, a noodle hair spectacular young man with his gang, Mayabini Band. They are still in their embryonic stage so they have nothing released yet. Also, the sound of the band is very versatile yet raw at the same time. Mayabini varies from songs on life/love/blinding politics/religion and every sphere of life that the band experience themselves. It’s basically real life experiences presented musically. But the self composed songs, their co-ordination, confidence, vocals and music dispersed so many emotions in the audience that you could see people snuggling up close with their loved ones towards the bonfire with a glass of scotch in their hand. Yes! they evoked a feeling of warmth and hot chocolate on a winter night.

As the time elapsed and the sun starts setting far away in the horizon, the fairy lights twinkled like stars, logs of wood burned angrily at frequent distance, cold wind blew and concussed the audience to pull their partners and pullovers closer. Glasses starts getting re-filled and to amplify the warmth, came Ahen. Most of the world anyways love sardarjis because of their jolly nature, helpful demeanor and contagious energies, and he was no less. He commenced with a nazam for his late pet, jeffu, for my baby pet laila and all the other pets that were present there. For this gesture, no number of thanks are enough. And then, once he initiated with his compositions, he created such a affectation that the entire campsite echoed with the loud cheer, damp eyes and thudding footsteps.

Night drew nearer and proportionally the excitement, energy and exhilaration of the guests also increased manifold. We have not yet been able to get over the buzz of Ahen that another beautiful artist came on stage- Kalyani. She was a one woman army without a band. But with just her guitar, heart warming smile and enthralling voice, she extended such solace, serenity and peace that you could listen to the happiness in your heart.

At almost around 12 in the midnight, when the moon shone in it’s full glory, the dhauladhars were bathing in the moon light, the chill of the winter increased and the fire died down. Anyone would think that the audience must have been tired and was retiring to their respective tents. But the craze and anticipated welcome of Gaurav Kadu from Fiddle craft bulldozed everyone for loud exuberance. He stepped up on the stage and took the event by storm. The crowd went mad, laughing, dancing, singing along and plunged themselves completely to mark the end of the day at around 3 in the morning.

The next day Mohit Morani made everyone guffaw till their stomachs ached with his witty and light hearted comedy. Check this guy out for freshly brewed content on political issues, daily life chortle and the latest on COVID19. Holi celebrations started right after this and everyone smeared themselves in the colors of life, forgetting the caste, color, religion, creed, gender. True to it’s nature, Holi united everyone once again, this time at a strange place, among strangers, who, along with the vibrance of colors, took with themselves he vibrance of new friendships, memories and promises to visit again.

For pictures, videos and snippets of the event, kindly fetch yourself on the following links and spread the word as much as possible. We will see you in our next event- Unheard Music and Art festival 2.O

Instagram: unheardmusicfestival

https://mywanderlust.in/package/310/unheard-music-arts-festival/

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