Holi parties-cum-music festivals are the most happening spots to be at for youngsters. International deejays, unlimited food and drink options and interesting themes are drawing the crowds, says Divya Kaushik
Being mad, careless, lazy or crazy, everything is allowed here. You can choose to turn up in your kolhapuris and jholas or flaunt your Gucci shades. You can just grab a sunny corner to watch people dancing, rolling on the floor or jumping like toddlers. Or you can join them. No matter you have the company or not, you are sure to have a gala time. The only thing you need to do, probably now, is to make sure you are attending one of the Holi parties in the city. Those days are passé when the festival, to youngsters, was about riding across the city, splashing colour and sometimes dancing on streets. Now with all this they also plan to be at the most happening Holi party. Even the self-confessed “sober” ones admit that they might not have been a part of wild celebrations, but Holi parties-cum-music festivals are on their to-do list. “Nobody forces you to take a duck in the pool or to play with colours. You can just be yourself and enjoy the spirit of the festival. You can meet interesting people, artistes, musicians have conversations, dance with them and have fun your way,” says Deepshikha Chawla, a graduation student at Delhi University.
Energy is infectious. Music ranges from techno to EDM and commercial. No dress code is followed. These are precisely the best things about these parties, which have grown in number in the last few years. “The reason the number of such festivals is on rise is because they give chance to interact with varied people. For music lovers these music festivals provide an option to listen to the best in the industry. We organise a Holi party every year, but this year due to other engagements we have stayed away from it. But we’ve been getting requests to arrange for deejays. It is one of the busiest season for them. Even local deejays, who charge somewhere around Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 for one night, charge around Rs 1 lakh for a day. It is similar to New Year’s eve. Also, these festivals have been able to pull expat crowd. Not all of them can visit Mathura and Vrindavan, so these festivals are like mass celebrations where all can mix and have fun. To suit the taste of many foreigners, there is variety in music, food and drinks,” informs Shikhar Siddhartha, owner of an event management company, Chic Management.
A lot of attention is being paid to décor and designing, from invitation cards to social networking pages. Holi Cow festival, which is the brainchild of designer-partner Raul Chandra and Nida Mahmood, has attractive invites, which are divided into three categories depending on the prices: maharaja cow, fat cow and simple cow. “We started conceptualising the fest a month in advance. Every year, we try to give a new twist to the visual side. There will be lots of hearts and floral prints at the venue. I have added fun elements even to invitation cards with a maharaja crown with lots of embellishments,” says Nida Mahmood. Manu Mathew, the owner of event management company Subculture, has made special arrangements for fashion designer Nitin Bal Chauhan’s pre-Holi bash. “The theme is UV and we will have body artistes to offer interesting body art to our guests,” he says. But Gunjan Sharma, a musician who will be playing at one of the festivals here, says music remains to be of prime importance. “At the festival where I will be playing, there will be three stages for EDM, live band performances and commercial. It is like catering to varied choices,” he informs.
Holi Cow will have four stages for Indian, Western, EDM and indie music. Over 40 artistes are expected to perform. “last time, we had shadi band with nagadewallas and everybody went berserk. This time, it will be crazier and more entertaining,” adds Nida.
Holiguns is just three-year-old and it has expanded magnificently. “We began with crowd of 400 people. This time, more than 3,000 revellers are expected,” says Aakash from IOS Sports Entertainment, which organises the festival. “We try to make people as comfortable as they are at their homes. People want ambience where they can relax in and have fun. We also promote recycling with bullock carts, thelas and dustbins made from tyres,” he informs. The organisers have joined hands with Rolling Stone and VH1 as partners. Well-known DJ Jerome Isma-ae will play for the guests.
Rang Festival, which will take place at 32nd Milestone, Gurgaon, will have three globally-acclaimed names such as Mad Maxx, Atriohm and Ajja. “They are costing us over Rs 4 lakh each, which includes fare for the performances, accommodation and excursion. Our ticket prices are higher than the other festivals. We charge premium because we offer premium experience. Every year, we bring in five to six international DJs. Electronic music is growing exponentially in India. Music calendars with international new-age musicians are packed throughout the year. People are particular about the kind of music and that’s why we focus on this factor primarily,” says Gaurav, MD of Eventwala, an event-management company that organises Rang. The festival budget is pegged at Rs 25 crore.
While entry to some parties are strictly by invite, you can buy tickets for others at the price ranging from Rs 500 (female stag) to Rs 2,500.
(inputs Karan Bhardwaj)