'It's like a rock carnival'

Strawberry Fields’ —the three-day rock festival — of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), held at the Palace Grounds during the weekend, ended on a high note with popular bands ‘Skyharbor’ and Parvaaz performing on the final day.

The festival saw students troop in from different colleges in the City. The festival also attracted many others who were fans of rock music.

The students of the organising committee of ‘Strawberry Fields’ confess that they had a great time co-ordinating the fest.

They describe it as a great learning experience and admit that managing 50 bands was no easy task. This year’s fest had 100-plus registrations, which were cut down to 50. Twenty-five bands played on the first day while another 25 played on the second day.

The last day had five qualifying best bands — ‘Clown with a Frown’, ‘Orchid’, ‘The News’, ‘F-16s’ and ‘Anthracite’—  perform.

The student body did everything from getting sponsorships, sending invites to colleges and managing the event. Even frisking and security procedures were done by the students. “We do frisking ourselves. It’s pretty strict and we don’t let people enter with bottles, cigarettes and other sharp items,” explains Nimoy Kher, a first-year student, who says that he enjoyed being part of organising the fest.

Paroma Mitra, a fourth-year student, who has been at the core of organising the fest, says, “This is one fest that we at NLSIU really look forward to. We spend sleepless nights just making sure that things go without any hitches. This is also the perfect time to break the ice with our juniors. This is the only time, in the year, that we get time away from our hectic schedule.”  

Mihir Shukla, a final-year student, has seen the fest grow in the last five years. He thinks that it’s undoubtedly one of the biggest rock fests in the City. “This is the only fest that promotes original rock music and this year, we thought we should have some local bands playing. Hence, we roped in ‘Skyharbor’ and Parvaaz just for some Indian flavour,” says Mihir.

Mihir feels that there are different levels when planning a fest on such a huge scale. “We plan, organise and execute everything to perfection and if anything goes wrong, we are held responsible,” Mihir adds.

The participants say they had a great time catching up with old friends and forging new contacts. Reuben, the guitarist of ‘Clown with a Frown’ says, “There’s a lot of competition and we chose to play a mix of alternative and funk rock music. Most people who play at this fest take it very seriously.”

Kabya of Kolkata-based rock band ‘Not Yet Decided’ observes, “The music scene in Bangalore is alive and kicking. We got to hear some original tracks during this fest. We largely play rock music. We write about things that we see around us and sometimes, jot down our own experiences.”

There were some expats as well among the audience. Sherry from Iran, who had came with a bunch of friends, says, “It’s more like a rock carnival where you get to hear good music and some have great food and beverages for company. Those who come here are real rock fans.”

Anusha Rao from Jyoti Nivas Colleges says, “This is the only fest in the country that satiates the hunger of true rock fans. There were some really good boy bands playing this year.”