There is something about Strawberry Fields. Half of my euphoria about getting into law school stemmed from the fact that my college organized Strawberry Fields, India’s largest competition for bands, a three day festival where people would play rock music, live. I had never seen a concert where rock music was played, Allahabad wasn’t that kind of place.
Did it live up to my expectations? Yes, it has, without question. The four SF’s that I have seen have been my favourite times of the year they were held in. The music has ranged from terrible to great, but whatever is being played, when I’m standing on a field listening to the music coming from the amazing system, I feel inner happiness at the beauty of it all. My first year, I ran from the acad, where I was doing work for LeGala, to the field at least twenty times per day. The music at Strawberry Fields has always had a huge quantity of really bad metal. Even that has a bunch of fans who talk about how broootal the previous band was. But one can always find the good bands who entertain you with their awesomeness. Strawberry Fields is where I first learnt to appreciate metal, especially the more extreme forms of it. I listen to a few metal bands but they’re kind of progressive or alternative metal like Opeth or Baroness. Full on loud sonic assault metal is however, I think best appreciated live. The rush of headbanging and the enthusiasm of the crowd can make you appreciate the skill and virtuosity of the band that’s playing, and the music grows on you.
However, Strawberry Fields is not just about the music, it is about the sheer epicness of it all. On the days of the prelims, there is music from morning till night and you can chill right there, with a beer in your hand, while the bands keep coming. It feels almost as good as sitting on the beach with a beer. You can hang out with great people, you listen to fun music, you can get super happy if a great band plays, and later you can head bang as much as you want. You’ll eat a Nizam’s roll or a Hungry Hogs hot dog for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can sit in the field till late at night, talking and drinking. If you’ve been working at organizing all day, you can have the satisfaction of a job well done. My first memory of SF is walking towards the field and upon hearing a band play an Avial cover, ‘Nada, Nada’, running like hell to get there as soon as possible. It was glorious.
The prelude to the final day has always been the same. I go for the NLS open quiz, first thing in the morning, doing progressively better over the years but always just falling short of how well we wanted to do. And then, the field. The first band, almost invariably, not metal, plays at around 5:30-6:00 and the crowd is much better than previous days but it’s still relatively sparse. I always feel a little bad for the first band, they’re the only ones to play in daylight and to a relatively smaller crowd. Then, happiness. Because as soon as they start playing, the next 4-5 hours are pandemonium. Lights, lasers, smoke, loud ear shattering music, it feels a lot more intense than the previous two days. The lawschoolites are all in their enclosure but that is also very crowded. One sings along, screams, applauds, headbangs and by the end you’ve had a terrific time. Inebriation helps, of course but is not compulsory and it is the music which alters your consciousness to make you happy. The headliners which for me were Pentagram, Parikrama, Raghu Dixit and Rudra respectively always play a short but stunning set and when it ends, an emptiness sets in, because you know the next one’s twelve months away. I can ramble on and on, but the last SF just ended two days ago, and I miss it. Next year’s the last one, and whatever else happened in college, I’ll always miss these three days a lot.
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