World Music Day special: When Paris danced

On June 21, around half past four in the afternoon, Pierre and his friends started setting up their impressive sound system in front of an electronic shop on a busy street in the famous St Germain-des-Pres area of Paris. The group, which calls itself Yena, was preparing itself for the musical extravaganza that would, in a few hours, consume the entire city.

An hour or so later, they start belting out quality music of all genres, joining hundreds of other bands which had taken to the streets of Paris on World Music Day, a concept that originated in this very city 30 years ago. And if you love music — of any kind — then on this particular day, there’s no better place on earth than Paris.

June 21 is celebrated in Paris with as much gusto and devotion as any other traditional festival. The phenomenon, which was born here in 1981, inspires tens of thousands of Parisians to take to the streets and swing to live music whose variety is mindboggling. There are amateurs and professionals performing a few feet away from each other. Most of them play music in front of shops or next to road-side cafes.

This year it was no different.  On one end of a street in the St Michel area, a band called ‘Former Life’ was dishing out heavy metal, head-banging stuff while a few metres away, half a dozen enthusiasts dressed in dhoti and saris, with dholkis in their hands, were singing the eternally fresh ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ tune.  Beyond them, a couple of feet away, people were enjoying a hip hop music and dance performance.

Says Alice Albert, a music enthusiast and one among tens of thousands of listeners, “The unique thing about this festival is that people listen to music on the move. The best part is the surprise element. You never know what music you are going to hear next. And if you don’t like the music of a particular band, you can move on to some other performance which is not far away.”

Considering its street setting and the fact that people don’t spend much time on any band, the atmosphere is relaxed and festive. However, the performers themselves are deadly serious about what they dish out. According to Pierre, street music is a real test for them. “In a concert, we know that people are going to listen to us. However, to become the centre of attention while playing on the streets is more difficult as people are not here for us. Besides, the musicians know that if they don’t perform well, there are always other groups down the street.”

June 21, however, was not all about fast, heart-thumping music. In the St Michel area, a band of retired people in their 70s called ‘Papyfou’ (Crazy Grandpas) delighted the onlookers with their slow-paced music.

For some Parisians, the World Music Day is all about ‘partying’. These party enthusiasts don’t bother with live performances. A sound system with powerful bass placed on a pick-up truck or a van is good enough. They get into high spirits listening to the thunderous beats of techno or trance music.