Swaying to the rhythm, dancing away the blues in Kasauli

Music lovers enjoy the Easter weekend at Baikunth Resorts in Kasauli.
Driving up to Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh will bring you across all the DL, CH, and PB registration numbers coming from or going to this town nestled in the Shimla hills. Well, apart from the great weather, the crisp air, summer homes, the resorts and the little market and some old architecture  there would be nothing much to come too if you had seen it all. The other destinations in Himachal are just as endearing as this little town and some places are, undoubtedly, preferred over this destination for its aloofness from the rest of the world. 

Ustad Fazal Qureshi, Ravi Iyer and Pandit Ravi Chary jamming. 
But my affiliation to the place stems from my family of course with my inclination to peace and quiet, I have the perfect getaway for the weekend at no additional cost of course! 150 kilometres from the noise and pollution of my city of Ludhiana, a bed and comforter are enough to help me catch up with lost sleep and unfinished dreams… 

So when I am told that I have to accompany my cousin to a music festival at one of the resorts, some of my worst fears surfaces to my expression adding to the fatigue induced by an uncomfortable ride from Chandigarh to Dharampur. Of all the things that I wanted to stay away from over the weekend, the impending trauma to my soul from some overcrowded music concert was the last thing that I wanted to endure. 

But just like the good sport that I was, I did end up accompanying my cousin to the said festival completely unaware of what was to be! Well, let's just say there was some more misery in store for me. At the end of a million steps that I climbed to reach the stage, I was tempted to pull out my inhaler, and take a puff, but the sheer un-coolness of being differentially abled in the lungs was far too much for me to bear and let the inhaler be where it was. 

Just as I was catching my breath it took me a while to guess that there was something amiss with the concert. Well, it was definitely not the kinds that I am used to… Here I was sitting cross-legged right in front of the stage. I could even scoot ahead a few inches and shake the hand of Tabla Maestro Ustad Fazal Qureshi, Sultan of Strings Ravi Iyer and Pandit Ravi Chary who were performing on stage. But I wasn’t sure whether they would take too kindly to my geniality in the middle of their performance!

So as my breathing went back to normal the ambience of the Kasauli Rhythm and Blues Festival 2016 at Baikunth Resorts settled in on my conscious mind and eventually seeped into my heart. Allaying my qualms about what kind of event it would be was the cool Kasauli breeze and the general happy vibe that I got from the people around me.

Shilpa Rao driving the crowds wild at the music festival.
It didn’t take me long to actually warm up to the whole music festival thing especially after the Mihir Joshi band went up on stage and got everyone to their feet to dance. I was surprised to find myself grooving to the music in spite of having had one of the most gruelling days. Balmy, is the word I would like to use. Once restored to my general good humour, I looked around for the organisers, with my curiosity getting the better of me. I did manage a chat with Leslie Lewis and Mihir Joshi before I moved on.

So this event is organised by the Genesis Foundation to raise aid for children who aren’t able to get medical assistance. Here’s me raising my glass to the good work. A chat with one of the founding trustees of the organisation, Jyoti Sagar revealed to me that this was the fifth edition of the Kasauli Rhythm and Blues Festival and that 100 percent of the funds raised are dedicated towards the treatment of critically ill children as all overhead costs are borne by the trustees.

Once I was done with an informative chat with Jyoti Sagar, the soulful voice of Shilpa Rao was soon ringing clear in the air. Her rendition of the song Iktara brought me back to the front of the stage where I did spend the rest of the evening. Later, I had chat with Shilpa Rao after her very energetic performance.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 23, 2016 at 9:09 AM

    Thanks for providing a peep into an event that we can only dream of. Wish we were as lucky! Well covered 😊

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownAugust 12, 2017 at 2:47 AM

    Next time please arrange one pass for me also

    ReplyDelete

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