With the much-awaited Mad Decent Block Party, helmed by American record producer, Diplo getting cancelled due to ‘curfews’ in some parts of the city, Riya Sharma and Shrabasti Mallik find out what this dent in the cultural scenario of Delhi means for gigs ahead
Amid the agitation by the Jat community against the reservation of seats in government jobs and educational institutions, Mad Decent Block Party, wildly popular concert helmed by American record producer, Diplo, was cancelled on Saturday due to permission denied by the police.
“The police did not grant the permission due to Jat stir in Gurgaon. This is the reason why the concert stands cancelled,” said a source at the venue. He added, “We got the confirmation one hour back and since then, we have been informing all those who are coming in for the concert.” When we asked him about ticket refunds he replied, “There would definitely be refunds but that will depend on the gateway, one booked their tickets from.”
People who turned up for the concert seemed disheartened and shared a similar feeling. “We came here to see Diplo but when we reached, we saw that the ticket counter was closed and the crew was dismantling the set-up. And, when we asked them, then they told us that the event got cancelled,” shared Supriya Chugh.
The gates were expected to open at 3pm but when we reached the venue to see what the scenario was, we were quite surprised to see not only the low turn out but also people packing up. There were also some who were expecting for a delayed concert but their hopes were crushed when the organisers released an official statement at around 5pm confirming the cancellation.
But we found out about the cancellation much before the statement when Bookmyshow took down the ticket sales of the event from their site around 3pm. We would call it sheer luck for the organisers that there was no major uproar from the disheartened fans, some of who had passes to meet and greet Diplo.
This cancellation comes at a time when Delhi/NCR was finally gaining momentum as a major hub for culture, art and entertainment. So how does this affect the cultural milieu of the cityIJ We spoke to Sandeep Marwah, head of International Chamber of Media and Entertainment Industry and he not only expressed his disappointment at the event but also gave a few helpful solutions. “It is a sad fact,” he said and continued, “It makes no sense to curtail an event as big as this due to political disturbances. But then again, what more can you expectIJ You have to go through so much just to organise a large scale event and the first place you go to is the police. And the fact that they could do nothing but cancel an entire event, just shows that the city is yet to be bring things into control.” But he looked at another option, too. “What we, on our part, can do is to look for more such events but lesser in size and make them indoors, in controlled conditions,” he said.
Tarun Chauhan, founder TSC Consulting and TEDx speaker, on the other hand, gave us a different picture. According to him, to go ahead with the musical extravaganza in the current situation in Delhi, is a mistake in itself. “I am not surprised by this,” he said. “Someone should have had the maturity to talk things through but the current environment is not even suitable for a dialogue,” he added.
But all said and done, the dates for the Mad Decent Block Party were decided months in advance — much before any turmoil in the city.
However, not all hopes are lost. The organisers, in their official statement have mentioned that they will not only try to reschedule the party, that Delhi/NCR deserves, to a later date but also promised to refund the tickets if that plan does not materialise. The statement also clears the fact that the tickets bought for this event would apply for the rescheduled one.
Well, as optimist fans (also heartbroken ones) all we hope is for the organisers to bounce back with a bigger and better show soon.
Official Statement
Though people, who had reached the venue much in advance to get tickets on the spot, found out that the police denied permission leading to the cancellation of the event, the official statement from the organisers came around 5pm. They did not make excuses but cited the facts and apologised to their fans. Just not that, they also said that the safety and security of the fans and artistes were of utmost priority to them.
The statement read: Sunburn and Oji have always strived to provide the best live and electronic music experiences for fans in India and will continue to do so in the future. We deeply regret the cancellation of tonight's Mad Decent Block Party at Dhanchiri Camp, Gurgaon due to last minute curfews being imposed in various parts of Haryana.
The safety and security of our fans, artists and crew are of utmost importance to us and in light of an official warning from the police, the show tonight stands cancelled.
We are working to reschedule the show to a later date. All existing tickets will be valid for that show. In case of no rescheduling, all ticket holders will receive a refund.
Never say never
After the party was cancelled around half past five, Sunburn, on their facebook page announced that another dance party would be organised at Hype making it Diplo’s solo India debut, along with Gorgon City and DJ Nucleya. It goes without saying that within seconds, the limited tickets were sold out as the announcement also mentioned that the existing Mad Decent Block Party tickets were not valid for the event.