“I was born lost and take no pleasure in being found”- John Steinbeck would’ve most certainly felt at home in Lavasa this Holi. I sure did find my way to The Lost Party, a music festival that took place between March 6 and 8 in the Sahayadris. For those of us who missed out on this one, the whole idea behind creating The Lost Party is to bring together different kinds of music in a settlement whose citizens are god gifted musicians and anybody and everybody who appreciates music is welcome.
Confession time. A campout music festival? As awesome as the music is expected to be, with an expected turnout of about 2,000 people over three days, what are the odds that camping will be hygienic, tents, food and showers. I was a bit sceptical to say the least. But lets campout made it a perfect experience with their team working round the clock. Spacious tents with a separate space for showers, they did manage to create a comfortable one-of-a-kind camping experience.
One could’ve never imagined that a music festival amidst Holi celebrations can be so much fun. But the multi coloured faces of most people here had a different tale to tell. After all, a music festival that goes beyond the scope of music and brings to you fun elements like swimming pool in camps, busking, bonfire and so on, is bound to make you lose yourself, but hey, willingly so.
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Now to the most important part of the festival; the music itself. Scattered across two stages, music at The Lost Party was diverse: electronic, acoustic, classic, any style was welcome and represented in a different area, live concerts, DJ sets, solo artists, bands and beyond.
For those of us familiar with the recent music scene, the festival saw artists like Dualist Inquiry, Reggae Rajahs and Fabrizio Maurizi.
No doubt then that we found ourselves tripping on that music and dancing to the DJ’s tunes almost the whole night. Adding to the funky music element was the silent disco party, a special arena created for those who wanted to dance the night away to the electronic beats, albeit in tandem with the “Loud music shuts down at 10 p.m.” deadline. With huddles of vodka and beer flowing in the whole night, the music sure as hell brought out the 'gypsy at heart' for most of us.
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Let’s get lost but with a sense of gratitude shall we? The Lost Party truly believes that the essence of a community is to give back to the society. And so, once this settlement moved out of Lavasa, all the sold camping tents were donated to the homeless and equal quantities of water as sold at the festival was donated to the needy post the event.
This high octane journey surely had us asking for lots more. I can safely say that for those three days, we totally escaped the world that so wants us to grow up (and behave). Now here’s hoping that they come back with yet another crazy, hippie musical extravaganza next year.