The second Enchanted Valley Carnival that took place at Aamby Valley City last weekend was a ginormous success, surpassing the success figures of its debut last year.
India is slowly opening up to alternative forms of music- trance, dubstep, reggae, electronica, techno; name it, and you’ll see that the scene in India has progressively evolved. What’s good to see is that India is now being put on the map of international music. The variety of music festival offerings is easily debatable, with each festival finding its group of loyalists and haters. Some attend festivals for the love of music, some for the experience, and some only to catch an artist (usually commercial) they’ve heard of before. Let’s talk about all this, and a lot more that happened at the EVC 2014.
Unfortunately I couldn’t make it on the first day, but from what I heard, I only missed out on loud David Guetta fangirling moments. I’m not complaining! And yes, it was a relief to see a lot of cars going back on the afternoon we got there. There was a vibe of genuine appreciation in the air, and it felt good.
Venue
The road trip from Pune to EVC lasted for a little over an hour. A smooth journey over the expressway followed by a long, winding road in the hills, surrounded by greenery on both sides, coupled with some soft trance playing in the car- the drive to the venue came like a breath of fresh air after a hectic week in the city. On reaching, we found the perfect spot on the runaway parking, and proceeded to soak up some sun and good vibes on a warm Sunday afternoon.
Artists
Alien Chutney, Anish Sood, Arjun Vagale, Ash Roy, Breed, Calm-Chor, Dualist Inquiry, Kohra, Madboy/Mink, Nawed Khan, Nucleya, Praveen Achary, Regge Ranjha, Shaair and Func, Borgore and Solarstone were just few of the names on the impressive lineup this year. Add to this David Guetta’s headlining act and New World Punx’s first tour in India, this festival definitely left us all enchanted. Stage production, visuals and lights were awe-inspiring, not to mention absolutely insane! Fireworks, smoke and confetti blasts on the main stage added on to the grandeur and charm. Last year’s problems of sound clashing were also fixed- this meant having the stages far apart from each other. Most of the people had their fair share of complaints though. But these petty things were soon forgotten, thanks to the hottest DJs in the music scene spinning some of the craziest numbers you’ve ever heard.
The music was that good, you could be high without alcohol. True story.
Organisation
Kudos to the organisers & event managers for pulling off an event of such magnitude. The traffic and parking was well organised, the coupon counters, food stalls and bars were well managed and the amount of security measures taken was impressive. The prices of things available were of course on the higher side, some even bordering on ridiculousness (coconut water for a 100 bucks? No, thank you!) Maybe we can have better pricing next time around? But what really needs to be looked into next time is the bathroom facility and water supply in the bathrooms.
My experience
If you enjoy this genre of music, no matter where in India you live in, you absolutely must put this down on your Bucket List. If you enjoy the experience of attending a music festival, this one lives up to its name and leaves you enchanted beyond words. Personally, what thrilled me was that I got a chance to meet the artists in person. An experience of a lifetime if I may say so myself!
The drive to the venue, the campsite, the stages, the lineup, the energy, the vibe, this is only going to get bigger and better!
Image Credit: Sanil Mahajan
Published- http://www.thepunekar.com/reviewed-enchanted-valley-carnival-2014/2014/12/