I am catching up on my blogging…so, some of these posts are about events which might have taken place quite a few months back. Hopefully the photographs won’t be stale! 😉

In the last 5-6 years, I have tried to make up for lost time, in living life the way I enjoy. Be it traveling to a place which was on my wish-list for more than 10 years, learn to use a camera, learn dancing(still have 2 left feet), learn to play the guitar(6 months) or maybe just go visit a music festival!

Which brings me to November 2015. My “girlfriends” in French class were discussing about some event called NH7 Weekender. As usual, I had to poke my nose into the conversation, and I found out about this Music Festival, which attracts not just the best bands from within India, but also from outside. And, I was told that this year’s star band would be none other than the legendary Megadeth!

Now, if there’s one genre of music I can’t stand, it has to be heavy metal. So, though I was impressed, I wasn’t really looking forward to their music, with due respect! So, the only thing which attracted me was the chance to take some concert photography.

With some trepidation, I purchased a ticket for the 2nd day’s event, and paid a bomb, because it was a last-minute purchase.

And on Sunday afternoon, I tagged along with a friend (who on seeing how lost I looked, made sure that I did not get lost in the crowd, and patiently explained how I should navigate through the concert!) to Aquatica, a water park in the northern fringe of Calcutta, where the festival was being held.

With band names like Undying Inc., Megadeth, Oh Rocket!, Underground Authority and more, I was well and truly overwhelmed. I felt like a country boy lost in a Metropolis!

But, some of the bands very really superb, like Papon and the East India Company. I was later told that they are very famous, and Papon has done the playback of some big Bollywood movies. Since there were 4-5 performances going on simultaneously, I missed a few, But, speaking purely from a photographer’s perspective, I found Undying Inc. the most satisfying! These guys were literally shouting their heart out…and the only part of the lyrics I could comprehend were all different manifestations of the F-word! As I wondered aloud to a friend, who is all of 16,”Why do they need to swear so much??” She couldn’t stop laughing!

I think I should stop talking now, and let my photographs speak. There are 2 parts to any music festival- The performers and the audience. I have tried my best to capture both, and try to capture the spirit of the event. I should add that never in my life had I faced such tough conditions for photography, because I literally had to stand on my toes to get elevation under low light condition, with hundreds of delirious fans dancing and singing all around me! Damn, it was fun!

Let me know if you like them. And yes, I still can’t figure out why rock bands have the names that they do! 😀