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Rock Yatra: Rocking
Like Never Before!

By Khagendra Bikram

HAD I speculated that it was going to be like mob at Pashupati on Shivaratri or Teej, I, by no means, would have made plans for that Saturday evening to join Rock Yatra. No, not even a flash of thought appeared in my mind which was overjoyed with the thought of rocking in masti with the beautiful numbers to be sung live at the Dasharatha Stadium by 1974 AD, an upcoming band getting popular very quickly among the youngsters.

Don't ask me, how much I exercised to fetch tickets for some of my friends and me. At first, I thought that there would be ample number of tickets but later I got wind of all the tickets finishing up. I hurried and in the last, the tickets were in my hand with much sweltering and toil.

On the much-awaited day, we started by 3 pm to reach the venue earlier. Hundreds of people were seen swarming when we reached Maitighar. While we moved forward, we confronted crowd trying to head towards the Stadium. We found it very difficult to pass through the jam-packed road and footpath. However, we reached the stadium gate finally but to get through the gate, it seemed, would be possible only for body builders or wrestlers!

I usually don't like to be a part of the crowd and so do my friends. We tried a lot to enter the stadium but all our efforts went in vain. One of my friends suggested we had better return. But I and another friend were much interested to get into and enjoy the programme. Only with my maximum possible strength did I succeed in entering the gate but my friends were left behind. I was cheerful thinking that I would sit somewhere in cozy place and enjoy the programme.

But no sooner I was inside the stadium, I was bewildered to see the human sea extending all over the stadium. The programme had already started. I hurriedly looked for the area secluded for a 500 - rupee ticket holder but in that human sea I thought it would be like scaling Mt. Everest. Then I wandered for a place with maximum visibility of the podium. But, I could not make out where the podium was. The music was coming like buzzing of bees. Overall the programme was like a 'mela'!

After half an hour, I thought I would rather return home. At the gate, I felt pity to the rock and roll fans who were being lathicharged. The poor police personnel who were never trained to control such a large mob were trying to take control of the mob. I found nowhere to go until the programme finished at about 6 pm.

I reached home exhausted and was cursing the organizers for poor management and sound-system.
Next day one of my friends said, 'I had never attended such a well-managed and beautiful program!' I knew he was being sarcastic. He further added- 'I nearly got my bones broken as bonus in addition to music concert with a bare payment of five hundred bucks."

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