Sound of Storm engulfs Napoklu

More music, more crowd and more fun defined the second and concluding day of Storm music festival, which took place in Napoklu near Madikeri on Saturday. A host of 19 bands took to the stage, with some of them even getting down to encourage the shy crowd to come forward. The afternoon session of the music festival was opened by Astitva, a Hindi band.

Speaking about the changing music trends in the country, drummer of the band Indian Ocean, Amit Kilam said, “About seven years ago, Indian bands only performed songs in English. But, we have now become comfortable to sing songs in our native tongue. This is a good shift as they are now respecting our nation’s diversity.”

The band collaborated with Shankar Mahadevan for the show. The jam sent the audience to a state of trance as they grooved to their music, screaming for more. “We played Tandanu, a hymn fused with some of our music, for the first time,” Kilam said.

The show also showcased bands like Swarathma, Dash Berlin and Devika Chawla. Meanwhile, the band Brute Force played on the other stage, much to the excitement of electric trance fans.
For many, the festival was an opportunity to try out everything from wall climbing to rappelling. “We have tried rappelling, zorbing, Rodeo bull, wall climbing and even paint ball. This is perhaps one the best camp out music festivals I have attended so far,” said Nikhil Gupta, a software engineer.

The event, which was attended by over 3,000 people last year, recorded nearly two times the number this year. Storm is planning to hold more such events next year. “The idea is to accommodate as much as we can and package it for everyone. In a big sense, last year was only a trial for us and this year, we have packed much more for the crowd,” said Lavin Uthappa, one of the directors of the event.