Two whole days of food, wine, fashion and music. SulaFest2014 was quite the experience!
Disclaimer: All views expressed here are personal and from a frustrated EDM gig goer point of view. If anyone finds this offensive go buy yourself some sense of humour and read it again.
I was supposed to leave Bombay for good and move back to my hometown a week before SulaFest. God knows how and why my trip got extended and I land up at the Sula Vineyards not knowing what to expect.
Getting thereβ¦
Let me begin with my travel to Nasik from Bombay. Β To be completely honest, I was not satisfied by Β βGralloβ the apparent official travel partners for Sula who took close to 7 hours to reach a venue which was less than 200 kms away. Anyway, as I got off the bus haggard, I start walking towards the venue and went through the routine security check and jazz only to walk into the prettiest and most colourful sight I have seen in a while.
The Vibe
Given that EDM gigs in India are the new fad with kids in crop tops and colourful sneakers making you feel older than you ought to feel, SulaFest was that breath of fresh air I was hoping to inhale at some point in time. The vibe was extremely chilled out with people lazing on the lawns or sitting on the steps in front of the main stage nursing a glass of wine or chilled beer and looking perfectly content with life.
The other very important aspect for me (and for those without a heavy bank balance) was the main Sula building overlooking the vineyards where you could buy your choice of wine at MRP just before you could enter the festival area and tipsy your way through. Β Personally being a wine lover, it was a great experience sitting on those benches overlooking the vineyards and drinking wine to my heartβs content. The bazaar was a cute hippie area with interesting and quirky merchandise from brands like Princess K and the Big Bag Theory. Grape crushing, foot massages, tarot card reading and other such activities ensured that I was thoroughly entertained throughout the festival.
The Music
Most of my time at SulaFest was spent at the Main Stage or in the (god sent) Sula building – drinking wine in abundance which barely left me anytime to chill or rage at the Electro Stage. However, the upside was that we could hear the music from the Electrozone Stage where Ankytrixx, Sashanti and DJ Anna played some gnarly and banginβ sets. Watching the crowd go into a frenzy wasΒ even better. My favourite acts on the Main Stage were Avial, Gaudi Live, Wineet Tikoo, The Dualers (who people mistook and wished it was Dualist Inquiry β big ups to Sahej on that)
The main reason of my attendance at SulaFest, Simon Posford (Shpongle). Simon completely blew my mind, heart and whatever else is left (no pun intended) away. Wine and Shpongle is an uncanny combination but trust me when I say this, I was transported to another universe nevertheless.
The Production
I think the production at SulaFest could have been better. The sound at the Electrozone Stage was too loud and the psychedelic set up did not help the cause. However, the main stage was much better with the right amount of light and sound. Props to the Sula team managing it well, though. An added bonus was definitely Vero Moda’s fashion show thatΒ launched their high caliber fast fashion forward jeans brand β Noisy May.
Fooooood
Touted as a Gourmet festival SulaFest it did complete justice to its tagline. The pastas from Little Italy were creamy and melted in my mouth while the Khow Suey from Busago was an explosion of yummy flavours with every bite. The chocolate strawberry crepe was delicious and surprisingly went very well with the wine.
Verdict
Would I attend SulaFest again next year?? HELL YES!! This is the best farewell I could ask for. Wine, food, Shpongle and friends β a perfect end to a perfect journey.
(Images Courtesy : Sula[tps_header][/tps_header] & Farhan Shaikh)