MOUNTAIN SONG The “getaway“ music festival is the curse of Indian indie. The lure is easy to understand--spend a few days camping in the foothills of the Himalayas or on the banks of a river, and listen to eclectic, edgy music with hundreds of like-minded people. But 2010's Ladakh Confluence, set 11,500ft high near Leh, came to an abrupt stop after protests by local tour operators. 2011's Ujaan Festival, due to be held at the beach town of Frasergunj at the border of the Sundarbans, was cancelled after concerns about the event's ecological impact.
The criticisms and concerns are all valid. Music festivals are hardly low-key events, and they're often rightly seen as urban “invasions“ by local communities shut out from the festivities.
But the Escape Festival (starting 20 May), at the Naukuchiatal Lake Resort in Uttarakhand, seems to have got something right. The fest is now in its third year, and is one of India's few “camping“ festivals, in the spirit of European festivals such as Glastonbury.
“We thought carefully before scaling up our event from the little private party that it started out as,“ says Escape founder L. “Mama“ Tochhawng. For one, the festival is held at a rented-out resort, and doesn't encroach beyond its pristine 32-acre confines. Tochhawng and his team also seem to have their priorities right. “In 2010, which was the year we had an influx of over 1,000 people, we looked seriously at keeping our carbon footprint minimal,“ he says. “We also had to make sure that local communities were involved and participated at all stages of the festival.“
The three-day festival has three stages, and the line-up for 2011 includes glitchy dubstep duo Teddy Boy Kill, and alternative acts Menwhopause and Indigo Children. There will also be plenty of interactive events, including guitar and drum workshops with many of the participating bands, and a “Flee“ market with stalls from local artists.
Krish Raghav GETTING THERE Naukuchiatal is 35km from Kathgodam, and 41km from Nainital. Both towns are well connected by bus and train to Delhi and Dehradun. The Ranikhet Express and the Uttaranchal Sampark Kranti Express ply daily between the capital and Kathgodam.
Once there, taxis and buses are available at the Haldwani road ways bus stand. Festival passes are priced at `2,500 and camp ing packages start at `6,700. To book, visit www.escapefestival.in
The criticisms and concerns are all valid. Music festivals are hardly low-key events, and they're often rightly seen as urban “invasions“ by local communities shut out from the festivities.
But the Escape Festival (starting 20 May), at the Naukuchiatal Lake Resort in Uttarakhand, seems to have got something right. The fest is now in its third year, and is one of India's few “camping“ festivals, in the spirit of European festivals such as Glastonbury.
“We thought carefully before scaling up our event from the little private party that it started out as,“ says Escape founder L. “Mama“ Tochhawng. For one, the festival is held at a rented-out resort, and doesn't encroach beyond its pristine 32-acre confines. Tochhawng and his team also seem to have their priorities right. “In 2010, which was the year we had an influx of over 1,000 people, we looked seriously at keeping our carbon footprint minimal,“ he says. “We also had to make sure that local communities were involved and participated at all stages of the festival.“
The three-day festival has three stages, and the line-up for 2011 includes glitchy dubstep duo Teddy Boy Kill, and alternative acts Menwhopause and Indigo Children. There will also be plenty of interactive events, including guitar and drum workshops with many of the participating bands, and a “Flee“ market with stalls from local artists.
Krish Raghav GETTING THERE Naukuchiatal is 35km from Kathgodam, and 41km from Nainital. Both towns are well connected by bus and train to Delhi and Dehradun. The Ranikhet Express and the Uttaranchal Sampark Kranti Express ply daily between the capital and Kathgodam.
Once there, taxis and buses are available at the Haldwani road ways bus stand. Festival passes are priced at `2,500 and camp ing packages start at `6,700. To book, visit www.escapefestival.in
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