Magic

I never believed in magic. I'm the logical type, you see. Magic is for the children, for fairy tales and poems, for the weak who console themselves with lies.

But how wrong am I. I could not have been farther from the truth.

Magic exists. All it takes is a moment, and it's there, staring you in the face.

I experienced magic this weekend at NH7 Weekender in Pune. I saw it envelop me, caress me, carry me away. For one weekend, I went on a vacation I will never forget. Back to a place that was my home away from home for three years but now is just a place I can visit once in a while. I met old friends, people who grew with me, around me. I made new friends, in the most unexpected way, people who have changed me for good. I walked down the corridors I trudged along for three years. Met those people who structured my life, gave it direction. And I attended India's happiest music festival. They don't call it that for nothing.

I stood mesmerised as musicians spun magic with their words, their tunes, their instruments. I danced along as they carried me away on clouds of joy. I ran from The Dewarists stage to the Other stage, pushing and jostling for the best view. I screamed myself hoarse and head-banged till my neck hurt. I didn't sleep. I was happy. And that's all that mattered. From Kailasa to the Raghu Dixit Project, from Shrilektric to the Karsh Kale Collectiv, from Trilok Gurtu to Seun Kuti, from Agam to Thermal and a Quarter, from Alien Chutney to the Bombay Bicycle Club, from the Manganiyar Seduction by Roysten Abel to Swanand and Shantanu; every single one of them together wove a collective spell that made me leave the world behind and disappear into a land of happiness and magic.

Leaving that festival behind and saying goodbye to old friends and new was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Experiencing such magic and then having to leave it all behind was insanely difficult.

The dream had to end, the spell had to break. But unlike a dream which you barely remember when you wake up, this magic is something I will always carry in my mind. Moments which I will flick through at will to find that magic again. Because those moments were real, they happened and they will always, always be a part of me.

November 2, 3 and 4, 2012, thank you for making me believe in magic again.