On the 30^th of September we landed in Delhi, with the temperature hovering above the 35 degree mark we quickly made ourselves comfortable at a friend’s. Many beers, chola baturas and naps later we were forced into a hatchback. Like sardines in a can we drove through rush-hour for the sound-check at Mocha Bar (Nehru Place, Delhi). Mocha’s a cozy venue with an extensive bar, with time running short we ran through sound-check like a bull in a glass-ware store. Don’t know why we hurried. Anyhoo, we played to a modest crowd who seemed to have lost their voices. On the whole, it was a good gig for us. We went back home – happy, drunk and content.

The 1^st of October saw the unrelenting heat touch the mid-30s. Again, employing self-imposed exile we retreated into the confines of beer, bad jokes, food and sloth. Attitude (Gurgaon) is a well-planned venue with a raised stage and good stage gear. When we dragged ourselves through the mighty, red doors, I headed straight to the bar, no speedbreakers. After pints of Murphy’s Stout, momos et al, we took stage. The crowd, for some reason, stayed behind the smoking room doors. Bands do have off nights, this had to be the ‘offest night’ for us. It was an extra large, paid rehearsal. Again, on stage we were really happy as a band.

With two shows under our belt, some expendable income and time on our hands we headed out to the ..Himalayas… The chill of the Parvathi Valley bit into us as we headed towards Kasol, Himachal Pradesh. A tiny hamlet nestled on the floor of the valley with the river Parvathi tearing through the town. Having spent over 15 hours getting there, our designated driver, a total wanker with issues de la tete, kept nodding off or talking to himself or slapping himself, the whole nine yards – unanimously branded a psycho. A pint or two on arrival, it was the sack. The next morning we dragged our carcasses to a community known simply as Tosh. With its feet firmly planted in the virtues of the land, Tosh gets by, everyday, hoping the hefty Himalayas’ weather wouldn’t hamper ‘later-today or tomorrow’ - simplicity to die for – for us city rats. A view worth losing nine lives at least and a sharp, needle-like cold that might kill you, a few nights were spent contemplating Karma, cricket, cities, music, food, band, yada yada yada.

Row 21 on the Royal Nepal Airlines RA206 was occupied by us. Sipping on Heineken, Ananth and Guru filled out forms and; I took up the onus of reading, chatting the hostesses for more beer, critical mass. Pssst… Ananth hasn’t had a bath in a while.

We touched down in Katmandu post-lunch, and while we waited for our ride to the luxurious Hotel Manaslu. The room is a cozy one with the necessary modern amenities so we don’t forget who we are and where we come from Kathmandu is a liberated city. The women seem to be on-the-ball. They are the ones on top and it seems like they don’t make any bones about it. The rain came down in torrents and we had to spend most of the afternoon indoors. Having grown sick of the tobacco filled room no. 207, we headed out. The idea was to catch a drink and dinner in Thamel. A few paces from our hotel we found an Irish Bar. Guinness, Killkenny, Wild Turkey and Jamieson were the choice of the night. Head full of Irish booze sauntered back to our room.

We kicked off the Festival on the 7^th of October at Cafereena (Durbar Marg – the owner claims it’s the largest restaurant in KTM – I’ll have to dig deeper on this one), an exclusive gig. The crowd had braved torrential downpour this added some whisky to our already flaming hearts. What was amazing was that we actually found people who wanted to listen to songs off Sodium Trail (Download for Free!) . Screams of, “Walk Rewind!”, “60 WAAAAATTT SUNNN!” rented the air and the blues-heavy set went down well and this was the first time we had to play encores – two of them.

Woke up to another grey day and after surfing some channels on the television, I came down to the Internet Centre to update you – the ParaCrew. We’re going to play tonight at the Corner Bar (Radisson) alongside the legendary Aussie Jimi Hocking (ex-Screaming Jets). Nervousness is a-creeping.

Stay tuned to the ether, droogies!

Cheers!!

Ganesh (the Bass Player)

PS: Here’s where we thank Music Gets Me High (www.mgmh.net) for fixing up us the gigs in Delhi. Thank you.