Coldplay-ing

Encounters with a civilised crowd in Ahmedabad…and dancing that felt less so

The path to salvation is hard, say the wise. The first prerequisite is to free oneself from all expectations, which was the right state of mind for arriving in Ahmedabad where Coldplay were to perform. With known hotels charging what celebrities usually pay, we headed to a fortnight-old hotel in Gandhinagar, which had barely made it to Google Maps. It was still without a kitchen, power backup or trained staff, and one floor above a marketing school whose cultish chants woke us up every morning. Yet, the hotel was doing brisk business with couples coming in, women keeping their faces covered possibly in deference to some local custom, and staying at a distance while men completed check-in formalities.

At the concert, we received baptism by crowd. Even as we walked towards the venue, it seemed the concert had already started. They were talking, snacking at roadside shops. It was about enjoying togetherness: If we’ve only got this life, this adventure, oh, then I want to share it with you, with you. It was easy to lose sight of your companion, and with phones not working, one couldn’t be so sure of finding them again that evening, which brought even older couples closer, making them hold hands.

Then, one became one with the hundred thousand glowing wristbands changing colours, except once when they remained ‘yellow’ for a good reason. The audience knew each song: Cause you’ve got a higher power/Got me singin’ every second, dancin’ every hour.

When all that dancing made the stands tremble, I was reminded that we were after all in a country of falling bridges.

If the entry was slow, the return was even slower with thousands of people stuck in narrow lanes – a recipe for disaster? Nope, this was a relaxed lot, unperturbed by whistles and sirens. Gonna hold up half the sky and say/Only I own me, was the message. Thousands of smartphones were up in the air. They had filmed the performance, themselves, their friends, and at the end, the wait. They waved and cheered at people looking out of their windows. Even after exiting, there was no rush to get anywhere as we – we were happy to be a part of them by now – dealt with what we had experienced: Life short as the fallin’ of snow/And now I’m gonna miss you, I know.