The Quagmire of North East Music Festivals

A number of music and cultural festivals are hosted amidst the pristine valleys of the North East. Some manage to sustain while others perish, but majority of them are mired in political instability and a helpless lack of sponsors that make the process of setting up an arduous task. soundplunge_test inquires.

In December 2013, on display was a grand show of one-upmanship where Nikhil Chinapa’s first-time festival VH1 Supersonic and Percept’s Sunburn were trying to place each other in a piston and compress until one of them was forced to cave. It came to light that an obvious EDM market was engendered and the competitiveness of the sellers escalated. In no time, news headlines tumbled from ‘festival-boom propaganda’ to calling it a ‘war’. But, if you’d widen your gaze over the Vindhyas to look at festivals happening in the North East, which pack a tremendous punch of the glorious rock spirit, the EDM bicker seems like a storm in a tea cup.

Shillong’s Beer Fest, which started in 2012 on a small scale with only Shillong-dwellers paying attendance, had mighty aspirations for 2013. “Some NGOs wanted the government to implement the ILP (Inner Line Permit) whereby people from outside have to take permission to enter Shillong (Meghalaya),” says Meban Warjri, proprietor of Evenflo Entertainment, the company that organizes the fest. News broke, protestors had their way, and the festival didn’t happen in 2013.

For those not in the know, the Inner Line Permit is an official document issued by the central government that allows an individual to travel to North Eastern states that possess international borders – Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland.  The rule was implemented to curtail illegal inflow of denizens of neighbouring countries. But, activists from NGOs in Meghalaya were disheartened with the judgement that it didn’t bring Meghalaya under the ambit of the rule. The long and short of it is, activists staged protests thereby preventing Beer Fest Shillong 2013 to take place.

Protests staged by NGOs in Meghalaya

Meban adds, “(It’s) not only the Beer Fest, but a lot of other events that couldn’t happen in the second half of last year (2013) because of the agitation programmes. But the situation now has become better. The government has decided to have talks with the NGOs. The agitation programmes have been cancelled or put on hold. So we’re hoping this year we can do some good shows.” Unfortunately, the 8th edition of Shillong’s Autumn Fest 2013 was the other one to bear the brunt of the implement-ILP agitation.

While the ILP issue already poses like a proverbial antagonist, sponsors raise their hands in surrender, forcing organizers to a dead-end road. Meban adds, “The main problem with Meghalaya and all North Eastern states is a lack of sponsors. I don’t know why the sponsors are not willing to sponsor in this part of the region. Even if they want to sponsor they will cough up small amounts. That’s the main problem for event managers here. We cannot give a very good event, which is at par with the rest of India.” He retired at the assumption that music markets in the North East are small.

While Meban helplessly articulated the issue of sponsors, David Koch, organizer of Fireball, Guwahati’s largest rock festival, put things into perspective by explaining the concept of ‘inflow of crowds’. “Every time I approach them (sponsors) they ask me the footfalls. They expect a crowd of 5000 to 10000 people per event. For an event like Fireball I get a crowd of maximum 2500 people. Nothing beyond that! I’ve been trying to change the scene but slowly sponsors are getting involved to some extent for rock events.” Koch even knows the reality of Bollywood-loving audiences in Guwahati. “When it comes to Bollywood nights, any artiste like KK or whoever it is, the event can easily collect a crowd of over 10000. But when an Indian band headlines you hardly get a crowd of 2500. If I plan to get in touch with them for those, (Bollywood Nights) sponsors will get involved because it’s a huge market.”

The splendidly bucolic stage at Ziro Festival of Music

So if political agitations and sponsors are not a hindrance enough, Mother Nature is always lurking around the corner to strike hard and strong. Ziro Festival of Music, nestled in the splendid valley of Ziro (Arunachal Pradesh), has had trying times negotiating with nature’s fury for its first edition in 2012. Ritnika Nayan, production manager of the event company (Music Gets Me High) that sets up the festival, recalls incidents that were grit-testing. Firstly, Guwahati was the closest connection to resources, which was 14 hours away. Secondly, one week before the festival, a power cut in Ziro engulfed the valley for a week. A lot of coordination with artistes had to be done. Dying phone batteries were getting charged from only one generator source. Thirdly, landslides were taking place without a preamble, converting a one-day road journey to the camp site into a two-day ordeal. Lastly, the rains couldn’t find the pause button. Murphy evidently had his way in all of this.

Founded by members of Delhi-based alt-rock band Menwhopause, Ziro Festival’s plans for 2014 are looking sturdy in the pipeline. Co-founder and guitarist of the band, Anup Kutty says, “This year we want to encourage more people to camp in the festival area. We want to build a bigger and better camp city for our audience. Most Indians are still not completely comfortable with the idea of camping at a festival. We want them to experience that side of the fun”.

The all-girl rock band from Arunachal Pradesh, The Vinyl Records, recounts their performance at Ziro Festival as one of their fondest memories on stage. They felt it was “… one of the first event of its kind where so many bands” got together in the state. The vibe of the valley, the cocktail of interesting people, and rock-meets-traditional music brought alive the otherwise quiet town of Ziro.

Since the show must go on, stages get built, lights get erected on poles, crowds arrive, drink to survive and make merry. Despite all odds, the 2012 edition of the festival started on time and delivered music as promised.  The magnetic pull of Ziro Festival 2013, according to Open Magazine’s article, can be summed up as, “…not the difficult journey, nor the permits, nor the stories of last year’s unfortunate weather—prevented some 1,200 people from turning up for the second edition of the event in September, more than double last year’s attendance.”