Locomotoring

Beer and music at Stern Grove

We have recently returned from a short visit to Delhi  and are a little home sick. So a couple of weekends ago we decided to go to the Stern Grove Festival for Kailash Kher’s group Kailasa. The thought of soaking in the coolness of Stern Grove listening to  Tauba Tauba sounded fantastic after Delhi’s grueling heat and mugginess.

Walking into Stern Grove is like walking into one of the woody preserves in Bay Area – cool and moist with tall trees and dirt trails. By the time we got to the show, the main arena was too crowded so we had to sit with hundreds of others on the surrounding hills. It so happens that from most vantage points on the hills, trees mask the view of the stage. So there was no choice but to immerse ourselves in the music and watch the crowd around us. And what an eclectic crowd it was – a young student working on his homework, a couple playing scrabble, a pair of young lovers being all coy and  flirty, a middle aged lady swinging her hips rather enthusiastically to the Bollywood music, people working on their six packs of beer and then stumbling about on the steep and slippery hills.

Kailash Kher is a popular Bollywood singer with a poetic voice and sad eyes. His Bollywood songs are fun – a mix of Sufi soulfullness with modern beats. He had the crowd swaying their bodies Bollywood style. And every now and then somone would start flailing arms and legs trying to do Bhangra. All in all, it was  a nice little antidote to our homesickness.

Here are some more photos from the Kailasa festival:

Festival pros with comfy seats and scrabble

Main arena with picnic tables

Result of too many Bollywood movies and ganja

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