COIMBATORE: The crowd at Kluney Manor, Ooty, goes wild as the Gorillas in Groove, (a band from Chennai), plays its music. “I want people to go crazy. If they don’t fist bump at us, then what is the point?” asks Pravir.R , the drummer. The music is wild and ear-splitting. People let their hair loose and the head banging begins.
Monkey Town Arts and Music Festival, the latest indie music fest in Ooty, has kicked off on a groovy note. Monkey Biscuits a band from Bengaluru croons Of Monsters and Men and Alt-J numbers. All Girls’ band The Void sets a different mood with ‘Nero’, inspired from the legend of the Roman emperor, who played violin as his country went up in flames. The girl’s band also had the audience dancing as they belted out a peppy version of ‘Bang Bang’.
Not just music it is a veritable carnival. The Poi artists juggle, musicians share songs and stories over cigarettes and vodka shots. The sound engineer, a jovial man dressed in Dead Pool outfit, poses for my photo, but refuses to take off his hood. “Our fate depends on this man. He tweaks the audio levels to make us heard the best possible way,” says Chirag Vaitheeswaran , a band member of Mind Map.
Chirag lugs around a dome-shaped bag, which he treats like his baby because it houses one of the world’s rarest instruments called the Handpan. He is the only one in India who is making it now. Originally made by the Swiss, the Handpan comes with around seven tonal fields, Chirag explains to me. “Don’t pound it too hard; it will lose its tonal quality. Each tone field has been achieved after hours of hammering back and forth.”
Chirag and Abhijith, the didgeridoo player from Mind Map, oblige me with a mini performance. The sound of the Handpan is melodious and blends beautifully with that of didgeridoo. Chirag treasures the memory of finding it. “I found it in Gokarna. It was a beautiful sunset. I saw a man playing the instrument.” Such chance encounters help musicians find each other, especially in the field of indie music. Says Abhijith, also known as Psydidge, “One of my friends told me about Chirag and we touched base. We felt the vibes and jammed for hours.”
The venue bustles with artists and story tellers. Naveen Gokhale an art enthusiast has carted paintings all over from Chikmagalur to display at the fest. Naveen, who started a career in animation, has championed an art community called N.A.M (Nature, Art and Music Collective), in Karnataka. “Our aim is to offer a platform for people from all fields of performing arts. We also hold an annual festival called Malanad Calling in August where painters, musicians, theatre performers come together. Our aim is to provide mediation for art enthusiasts and artistes and promote local talents.”
The Kuru Circus is a similar project by Ari Jayaprakash, who has worked in the Indian underground art movement and is a graphic novelist. His projects intersperse music with mythology, paintings and art. “The project is based on Ari’s Kuru Chronicles, a graphic non-fiction novel full of mythology and batman and superman legends. On a regular concert of the Kuru Circus, you will see musicians responding to Ari’s paintings and multimedia,” says Chintan, a band member, who has worked closely with Parikrama.
Ari says he has a lot of hope for the indie music scene in the country. “The kids are doing interesting things. In the future, there will be a confluence of different genres. The urban music scene in India is evolving. The real revolution will be when metal bands from Trichy and Jalandhar perform on one stage.”
Many of the musicians are in their early 20s. A band member from Space is All We Have, who is also a law student says, “My parents wanted me to do a professional course. I don’t hate law. But, I did not want to miss the fest. I am going to rush to Bengaluru for my convocation tomorrow,” he smiles. How good is the response to whacky genres such as ambient rock which his band specialises in? “Lots of people love our soundscape. The scene in Bengaluru and Mumbai are improving. We have already performed at the Chennai and Mumbai IITs. The musicians in India are helping each other out.” The Bengaluru based all girls’ band, The Void, faces a different set of challenges. “We have curfews at home. But, then almost all gigs happen at night. Our folks took some time to get used to the kind of music we play," says Rithika Perumal, bassist of the band.
After the concert, a few of us trudge up a hilly plain where our tents are put up.
I am accompanied by musicians, journalists and a few organisers. The whole idea of Monkey Town began from here when Abinesh Balu, a 25-year-old real estate professional and his school friends decided to host something offbeat in Ooty. “Ooty is more than just a tourist place. And there were so many music bands, when we studied in school. I do not know where they all vanished.” Initially, the idea was to showcase just the Ooty bands, but then words spread from one friend to the other and soon the idea snowballed into a full-blown fest featuring 15 bands from all over the South! “And, there definitely is an audience for indie music here. “The team’s idea is to give more opportunities to the local bands of Ooty for the next year’s Monkey Town. The icy Ooty breeze cuts into our skin. We huddle around the bonfire and sing John Lennon and Bob Dylan songs. None of us looks at our watches or has any plans to retire. Time stands still as we belt out ‘Imagine all the people, sharing all the world…’
