The Big Scary Indian Tour Diaries continue today as the band travel from Pune to Mumbai, where they were able to spend a few days seeing the city ahead of a massive show at the Hard Rock Cafe. Above, the band spy on the local vehicles, noting the “awesome detail” that the cars and buses have been decorated with.
We got home a week ago from India so now I am being disciplined and sitting down to summarise the rest of our trip. From Pune we drove back to Mumbai. I feel like calling it Bombay now because that’s what all the locals call it still. Bombay is home to Bollywood, and 12.5 million people. Therefore, there are people everywhere. Lean-tos are pushing up against public walls, fresh produce is carted around on platform-style wheel barrows and the uber-rich mingle with the heart-breakingly poor. Little kids use the footpath as their toilet, yet one of the most extravagant and famous hotels (The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel) is found here. This disparity applies to all the places we visited in India, but in Bombay the slums are a lot more visible than anywhere else.
Here was the first of the Aussie BBQs, with all bands present. Its good being on a line-up with Karnivool as you’re guaranteed a crowd. The production was pretty late in being set up due to the American consulate partying all morning at the venue due to the great result of the US elections. Some of the wiring looked pretty cluttered to, but apart from that the gig ran super smoothly like any other venue. The in-house guys knew what they were doing, they mixed the other bands well and there was some sweet lighting too.
From Bombay we flew to Delhi. Apparently you gotta leave a lot of time when you want 26 musicians to get to a plane on time – we were pushing the limits of the final call, let alone the luggage allowances – DFAT picked up the tab on that one, thanks. Straight off the plane we headed to a boys’ orphanage in old Delhi which has a special music program, who The Aston Shuffle had contacted. I have NEVER experienced so much affection and joy. These kids were pretty excited, but they were so funny and I guess grateful. Sheppard played a few songs for them and they were all dancing. When we gave out some T-Shirts and Tim-Tams they nearly killed each other trying to grab them…
We played at a pretty exclusive doof doof club in Delhi called Shroom. It was a total coke-parlour: black leather seats and an entirely white fit-out, with space-age curves. Apparently the entry fee at this place can sometimes get to $80AUD, and they don’t allow jeans and thongs. The crowd were a mix of ex-pats and trendy locals and there was a pretty sweet smoke machine. From the roof-top bar you could see the fireworks from locals who were amping up for Diwali, an important Indian holiday that is sort of the equivalent of Christmas or New Years. In Delhi we visited this awesome artists community called Haus Khaz Village, which was really reminiscent of Berlin. Although it wasn’t cheap, it was really exciting to see such a cool creative space and artisans at work, along with cool bars and restaurants. Apparently the whole enterprise is illegal, so every few years when a new government comes in all the shops get closed down, and slowly re-open as they find the right person to bribe.
From Delhi we head south straight down the cuts of the sub-continent for one last night in Bangalore. This was my favourite city by far – heaps of trees and a cooler climate, with calmer roads. The venue we played at was a beautiful spacious block with a grassy backyard. A cool Indian guy owned it and his pet dog Gonzo was a legend. Here we met a bunch of really exciting young locals who were trying to promote culture and advocacy. One guy is working at a website designed to get laymen engaged with government, from whistle blowing on bribery to making suggestions for local improvements; another chick was managing a few bands; an Aussie girl was working with local artisans in an exchange of skills – they were teaching her their trade and she was teaching them how to fairly sell their items. On the final day we had an amazing traditional southern meal, served on banana leaf and eaten with hands, followed by a visit to a local micro-brewery for some delicious beers.
In summary the trip was lucky and amazing. It felt a bit strange travelling in luxury through a country that has definite issues with regards to wealth distribution, but we were grateful to meet the young people who had much the same desires as us back home, and more motivation and opportunity to really shape a developing nation. They want to see more travelling bands, and to promote a young music scene of all the cool local bands too. Sounds Australia and Stage Mothers (who organise all the Aussie BBQs) created an incredible tour for us, and with the help of the local promoter Anuj from Only Much Louder, the tour went seamlessly, with good crowds, great sound quality and a tour that none of us can ever forget.
-Jo Syme
All around great guy Cal (who tours with the band) getting his “local” on.
The Laxmi Road Markets in Pune, where we performed at the NH7 Weekender.
The port next to the Gateway of India in Mumbai.
Roadside lunch that cost us about $1.20 in Aussie Dollars.
A sacred cow ruling the roads of Mumbai.
Sweet poster art in Mumbai.
And here is some more vehicle art in Mumbai…
Photos by Jo Syme
