On the weekend past, I found myself dancing like a fool amongst a group of men dressed and painted from head to toe as Tigers, while a manic drummer bashed away on his skins beside me faster than a humming bird flaps its wings. I was at the Fireflies Music Festival set amongst the Fireflies Ashram about 30 km out of Bangalore. I’ve not been to an Indian music event before, but this, featuring a fusion of new styles and traditional, was fantastic! Let me describe the scene…
Situated at the bottom of a small but steep hill, and in front of a docile lake is a towering Banyan tree whose wide trunk stands as the centerpiece of a large stage that faces an amphitheatre built into the hill. It was here amongst a small forest of trees, and far enough from Bangalore to avoid the night time curfew, that a few thousand young music fans arrived to dance, sing, and party the night away from sundown to sunset. Once the sun was well below the horizon, green and blue lights illuminating the trees through the dust created a mystical scene and an inspiring atmosphere.
A resounding theme for the night is one of peace and environmental awareness, and after a few stirring speeches on the importance of community and sustainability, the real fun began. An hour later the whole place was completely alive with singing, dancing and drumming that at times felt almost tribal. What struck me most, as an outsider, was the mostly young crowd’s enthusiasm for the traditional music from a Qawali band and a South Kerala folk band, which I must say, outplayed and outcrazed the more modern bands, and had the crowd in a frenzy! Despite the apparent ‘westernisation’ of Bangalore, this is evidence to me that India’s pride in its own culture will remain strong in the future.
At about three in the morning I allowed myself a 20 minute snooze on a blanket while a band with Prog-Rock stylings thrilled the dozens of people walking around in Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin shirts. When I woke up, I found that many of the rowdy revelers had themselves succumbed to their booze and many sleeping bodies were now scattered amongst the trees. Amongst the final acts of the night was a Bangalore hip hop group called Low Riders, who re- injected some energy into the night and carried a hopeful message of peace in India and the world. Not long after, the inevitable rising of the new day prompted the masses to dreamily shuffle out and drive home for a big long Sunday sleep.
Contributed by Jeremy Veitch
