Now I am turning into a very very lazy and cynical person these days ...errrr thats how summers are, right ?
So some series of events led me to naukuchiatal this summer. ok, being less interesting, it was work !
It was 'Escape Festival'.
what is that ? Well as the organizers put it - it is a festival of Music and Art , in hills , with the backdrop of a lake . (All True!)
Now to tell you the truth about Escape Festival - it was good.
No lying.
Was it truly an Escape ? - not sure .
The festival creates a mystical blend of everything in middle of nowhere...you are just there, looking at it...It opens you up to a lot of ideas, different music, Indian bands you might not have heard about, you see people painting in the corners, art being created as music goes on, movies being shown from A to Z..anything , anything ! And literally fire gets added to the scene ( ok! Its just a fire juggler ! )
The festival was (and every year is , this was the third year btw) of 3 days.
Something out of day 2 : So one of the stages had blown away last night due to a storm and everything switched to just one stage called 'Soul Garden' , with the back drop of the 'tal' . This was better since all the action including the flea market was now at one place and less confusion.
Of what I remember I had great company and Antoine, the french singer with just his guitar had everyone hooked , as the sun reached the horizon.
Another band called 'Men Who Pause' was simply great. The music got better with each song, every one had them surrounded, banging heads or swaying to the melody, with the last song about the 'sardar' (two of the band mates are sikh) , the wind started blowing harder , as the song progressed the backdrop white sheet started blowing with the wind ... but the music was on man , it was , no one stopped or moved ...with the last lines of the last song the wind was a semi storm I guess !
So - so much fun , still not sure if it was a true escape ?
hmmm .........
The entry pass for each day was Rs.1000 (or Rs.2500 fro three days). For a traveller like me - it was expensive. Plus the area has limited number of cheap and clean accommodation options which go away quickly. One can easily opt for a tent at the site (which was Rs 750 a night on sharing basis!) but they gave you ver jungle camping feel, that you are camping right in middle of nowhere in a jungle . (And food per plate was Rs400)
So a true escape will be when money will not be a point of hindrance. The idea has to be free flowing and money should not stop anyone from joining .
The festival website : http://escapefestival.in/
Some of the highlights / people/ bands to look out for - Menwhopause , Peter cat recording Co (PCRC), Antoine, Gandu- the loser (a controversial movie) , Manoushka- the lady who played with fire , Dhruv Sangari (giving the festival music a new dimension), Smarat X (The Urban Jungle- read it to understand the dynamics and rules of your city )
As I mentioned summer makes you lazy, so forgot to take a camera and click anything - all photographs borrowed and credits given .
For more awesome photographs , do visit their facebook page , you will be delighted .
So some series of events led me to naukuchiatal this summer. ok, being less interesting, it was work !
It was 'Escape Festival'.
what is that ? Well as the organizers put it - it is a festival of Music and Art , in hills , with the backdrop of a lake . (All True!)
 |
| The 'tal' of Naukuchiatal , Photo Credit : Raghuraj Menon |
 |
| Another view of the lake at Naukuchiatal .... its a bit weird shaped lake , goes anywhere from anywhere , the way it feels like ... |
Now to tell you the truth about Escape Festival - it was good.
No lying.
Was it truly an Escape ? - not sure .
The festival creates a mystical blend of everything in middle of nowhere...you are just there, looking at it...It opens you up to a lot of ideas, different music, Indian bands you might not have heard about, you see people painting in the corners, art being created as music goes on, movies being shown from A to Z..anything , anything ! And literally fire gets added to the scene ( ok! Its just a fire juggler ! )
 |
| The Soul Garden stage at Escape Festival 2011 , Photo credit : Sucharita Tyagi |
The festival was (and every year is , this was the third year btw) of 3 days.
Something out of day 2 : So one of the stages had blown away last night due to a storm and everything switched to just one stage called 'Soul Garden' , with the back drop of the 'tal' . This was better since all the action including the flea market was now at one place and less confusion.
Of what I remember I had great company and Antoine, the french singer with just his guitar had everyone hooked , as the sun reached the horizon.
Another band called 'Men Who Pause' was simply great. The music got better with each song, every one had them surrounded, banging heads or swaying to the melody, with the last song about the 'sardar' (two of the band mates are sikh) , the wind started blowing harder , as the song progressed the backdrop white sheet started blowing with the wind ... but the music was on man , it was , no one stopped or moved ...with the last lines of the last song the wind was a semi storm I guess !
 |
| The 'Magic Forest' Stage at Escape Festival ... which blew away afterwards , Photo credit : Raghuraj Menon |
So - so much fun , still not sure if it was a true escape ?
hmmm .........
The entry pass for each day was Rs.1000 (or Rs.2500 fro three days). For a traveller like me - it was expensive. Plus the area has limited number of cheap and clean accommodation options which go away quickly. One can easily opt for a tent at the site (which was Rs 750 a night on sharing basis!) but they gave you ver jungle camping feel, that you are camping right in middle of nowhere in a jungle . (And food per plate was Rs400)
So a true escape will be when money will not be a point of hindrance. The idea has to be free flowing and money should not stop anyone from joining .
The festival website : http://escapefestival.in/
Some of the highlights / people/ bands to look out for - Menwhopause , Peter cat recording Co (PCRC), Antoine, Gandu- the loser (a controversial movie) , Manoushka- the lady who played with fire , Dhruv Sangari (giving the festival music a new dimension), Smarat X (The Urban Jungle- read it to understand the dynamics and rules of your city )
As I mentioned summer makes you lazy, so forgot to take a camera and click anything - all photographs borrowed and credits given .
For more awesome photographs , do visit their facebook page , you will be delighted .
I sooo agree with you! I could not go to go Escape Festival in 2011 because I had to choose between and another trip. And of course when I worked it out in my head, it wouldn't have been less than 9K overall, which made no sense at all!
ReplyDeleteI am glad someone shares my view-point.
We could be soulmates ;)
DeleteIt was wonderful blog and the images are really beautiful and you explained about the festival is really awesome.Bangalore to Chennai bus in Vivegam Travels
ReplyDelete