To Mumbai
December 28th, we board flight 6e2328 to Mumbai. After a ton of co-ordination, phone calls, sorting logistics and jamming for countless hours, we take off to the city that never sleeps to grace the invite for Antariksh to play live at Mood Indigo (IIT Bombay). I remember buying an Upma and hot coffee for myself. Delhi was freezing and I needed to get warm! But the moment i stepped out, the coffee and my enormous jacket back fired. It was noon and Mumbai was a blazing 31 degrees Celsius! Our welcome was warm to say the least.
Touchdown
We stripped down to our shirts, collected our bags and walked out of Terminal 2 to find Astha. She was a part of the organising team and had come to receive us. The heat was absolutely unforgiving and had us dashing towards our vehicle. We dumped our stuff in the boot and locked us up in the car. The cool and conditioned air was such a relief! With all the heat beyond the window, we rode peacefully through the bustling streets of Mumbai.
IIT Bombay Campus
Driving into IIT felt amazing! There were happy faces strolling all over the campus. Food stalls were in abundance and there were various performances all through the day at multiple venues open to viewers. Sunidhi Chauhan was performing that same evening at the main stage and people stormed in to book an early entry into the open ground. The energy that pervaded the atmosphere was indescribable!
Exploring IIT Bombay
We found our stay and quickly freshened up. Hopped on to comfortable clothes, grabbed some snack and diffused into the crowd. Walked around the campus in awe of its vibrance and confusion. Luckily, with help from Sejal (another kind organising team member) we sneaked right in time for Sunidhi’s performance. The ground was now a sea of people jolting screams into the air. Our set was scheduled for the next day on the same stage. The thought of playing to this crowd got us incredibly thrilled. The rest of the evening was an experience of its own. The musicians, lights, stage, crowd and Sunidhi herself were euphoric.
Soundcheck!
Cut to the next morning, breakfast was some good old idli vada, sided with hot coffee. I had undertaken a very intimidating task of co ordinating with four cinematographers which kept me busy taking a million calls. Sound check was in the afternoon under a glowing white sun! Well, we had canopies to cover us from the pleasant sunlight and our will power to survive the humidity. The stage tech was sorted to a tee owing a smooth sound check. Sarang mixed us like a tape and we couldn’t be happier! Content with the mix, we proceeded to satiate our hungry guts. Post a quick lunch and a refreshing shower, we headed back stage. The paths began to buzz with people just like last evening. It was exciting to see so many people gather to watch Antariksh at Mood Indigo.
Antariksh Live at Mood Indigo
The sun set, lights dimmed and the crowd murmured in wait. Escorting us to stage was a team of techs and a bunch of cameramen. The emcee walked up and introduced Antariksh. Our visual played on the backdrop and the crowd lost all calm. All I remember is sitting on the kit and engaging the live player. Beyond that, it was 90 minutes of sheer energy exchange between us and the mad spectators. We delivered song after song and the crowd responded passionately! An endless stretch of people sang along to ‘Jee Le Zara’, ‘Raahiya’, and ‘Quest’ to the top of their voices. And Varun made sure every person in the crowd jumped to the chorus of ‘Fanaah’. The constant engagement hyped us up so much so our red bull cans were left untouched. All of us were absolutely overwhelmed by the intensity of the mega event!
In other News and Updates
The show was a hit and a very fulfilling experience for each one of us. Antariksh at Mood Indigo made a mark among the audience with its fresh and original music. The invites pouring in from various other colleges in the following months were a testimonial to it. We soon after played at IIT Delhi and Kanpur in the month of March. All of this buzz manifested a collaboration with Merchant Records for a song, for which we travelled to Mumbai yet again to shoot under their banner with Salim Merchant and his team. That in itself was another wonderful experience which I may share soon. Meanwhile, do keep supporting us and listen to our music on all platforms. The new song is due for release very soon and will be updated on our socials post its production. May we see you soon at your city in the coming season. Cheers!