A storm it really was..

Deciding on whether it would be a right thing to do staying away from my family and friends on my birthday was the biggest dilemma until last week. Then i decided “Storm 2013” it is gonna be. what could be better than spending a birthday away in the wilderness of coorg camping out with hundreds of other like minded souls who would trip on music.

Fueled up my June in the morning on Feb 1st and started our journey to Storm Fields, Napoklu, Coorg. The drive was pretty smooth with only two quick breaks, one for lunch and another for cuppa at Bylukuppe Cafe Coffee Day and continued our drive on SH88 to reach Madikeri. We followed the route then towards Mangalore and took a quick deviation to the left on the Bhagamandala-Talacauvery road to reach Napoklu which was roughly 19kms away. Storm 2013 signboards greeted us all along the way with the cool breeze blowing though numerous coffee plantations. We reached Napoklu around 4:00 pm.. We could hear the music from the bands performing right upto the state highway. Without taking much time, we quickly parked June at a near by sports ground and got a ride on an Ambassador to the event area.

Agam playing their trademark routines could be heard from a couple of km away. We quickly managed to pick up our season tickets from the counter and made our way to the baggage checks.. met these really funny looking skinny dudes sporting mohawks hair dos. And they also had sniffer dogs who appeared cuter than ferocious. Wished i could have taken a couple of them home to give Hugsy and Bugsy some play buddies. Which am sure would mean my mum would blow her fuse out. Once done with the checks, we walked towards the camp site.. we were welcomed by this huge setup of a mermaid in white and also a hen and her chicks.

The camp site had Quechua tents and warm, clean sleeping bags. My only peeve against the organizers was that while the tents were expected to be cozy, the ground on which it was placed was quite uneven.. am still suffering from a stiff back and also pretty bad sprain in the neck. This despite the fact we managed to dump a lot of our clothes and slept over it. The loos were definitely better compared to the ones last year, a major improvement. Though they were chemical toilets, there were quite a few attendants ready to clean them up. Although taking a cold shower almost froze my family jewels, i guess the decision to do that wasnt that bad afterall.. trying to battle the sun and dust in the day and keeping yourself clean.. it wasnt a bad deal. The Budweiser drinks stall was well managed but could have been a bit closer to the performance stages. Also the food at the event was well cooked though the pricing was on a higher side, i wouldnt complain.

This was the second edition of the music festival and i was excited primarily coz i was there with my BFF on my birthday and also coz of the line up.. Indian Ocean, Shankar Mahadevan, Papon, Raghu Dixit, Karsh Kale collective, Swarathma to name a few and also a lot of budding Singer/Song Writers aswell.  The music at the Spice Stage was groovy and you cant stop shaking a leg or two.  The DJs and the lights n lasers and the music take you on a different high altogether. Rubbing shoulders and getting cozy by the bonfire with the music stalwarts to give you company at the camping site is one experience you would never forget for years to come. The Details on the event and artists can be found on their website here.

These were a few pictures shot by me during the event. Excuse the image blur, gotta blame it on the lighting and shivering hands 🙂 . Click on the Thumbnail to view a high res copy of the same.