Bieber for a purpose

I think you can probably guess what this week’s column is on.

What’s the one event that’s had newspapers going mad for the past week? What’s had most teenagers going insane and most adults going even crazier (though for different reasons)? 

That’s right. The Justin Bieber concert. I had decided to go to the concert with my friend Amrita weeks ago. My parents were reluctant because it was very close to my exams, but, after much tantrum-throwing on my part, they agreed to let me go, as long as I studied extra-hard before the concert to make up for lost time. For weeks there were WhatsApp chats being made and a million things being organised. We arranged to go with two other school friends who were going with their mothers. 

Then, disaster struck. One day, I was sitting and eating dinner when my mother asked me, “Aaliya, is the concert on a Saturday for sure?” I was pretty sure it was, but wanted to confirm so I ran to my laptop and checked. 

Turns out it was on a Wednesday. I literally freaked out. Not only was the concert six days before the exams, it was also on a school day! After many frantic emails to the Vice Principal, phone calls and texts it was decided that we would complete our German oral exam and head straight to the concert. So on Wednesday, we all went to a friend’s house, changed, slathered on sunscreen and left for 
DY Patil Stadium.

Once we reached there everything was a jumble — finding the correct gate, using the disgusting bathroom in Pizza Hut and standing in the scorching sun, passing time by rating people’s outfits until, finally, we were in! We quickly ran to the hordes of people and tried to work our way to the front. Sadly, we were in the General Section, which was all the way at the back of the stadium so had to really fight hard to see the screen. Amrita and I pretended that we had lost our mothers and guilt-tripped people into letting us go to the front! Many times we were nearly crushed in the crowd, but we soldiered on. There was even a girl from Punjab who had taken leave from school and come all the way to Mumbai with her family, just for the show.

Finally, we made it to the front (of the General Section, sadly). Before Justin Bieber came on the stage, there were three DJs. Sartek, Zaedon and Alan Walker. Sartek and Zaedon were both very so-so. They mainly played songs that no one even knew, and everyone basically wanted to see Justin Bieber and leave anyway. Alan Walker is quite famous for three songs — Faded, Alone and Sing Me to Sleep. When he played those songs the crowd went wild, but otherwise it was bit boring, because everyone was either tired or really had to use the loo. 

After Alan Walker, the stampede really became crazy. My friends and I were nearly crying, because there were people pushing us from all sides. We nearly gave up and left but then realised that it would be impossible to fight the crowd and go back. We were also really terrified because we had seen a young girl being carried away on a stretcher just a while ago and didn’t want the same thing to happen to us as well. 

Finally, though, we heard the first few bars of music. My favourite part was when Justin Bieber played Cold Water and Love Yourself on the guitar. His guitar went out of tune in the middle and it was amazing to see how he carried on so calmly. Of course, everyone went wild when he played, ‘Baby’ and ‘Boyfriend’, because they were among his first few hits. I also really loved ‘What do you mean’. After singing ‘Purpose’ he left the stage and the lights went out, but everyone was really confused because he had not sung ‘Sorry’, which is one of his biggest hits. Then, suddenly, the lights came on again and the first few bars of ‘Sorry’ started playing. The clapping was thunderous. 

Finally, the concert was over and we trudged back to our cars, our ears still ringing. I was really sad, though not for long because some very exciting news greeted me the next day. Ed Sheeran is coming to Mumbai in November. And. I. Will. Be. There.

The writer is a teen drama queen who plays the violin, sings, dances, and acts, in real life and on stage.