Every year on August 15 and 16, rock fans all over the city would head to Rang Bhavan at Dhobi Talao in our black Scorpions or Pantera tees to attend the Independence Rock festival. Those magical moments sadly ended in 2004 when a second home for rock fans shut down. The show’s organiser Farhad Wadia would greet everyone with his trademark ‘boys and girls’ introduction. Indus Creed would open with 'Trapped' and close with 'Pretty Child'. Or Parikrama would play covers of Pink Floyd and Lynyrd Skynyrd with some originals thrown in. Even Gary Lawyer and Pentagram performed. Younger bands like Acquired Funk Syndrome and Demonic Resurrection also got their stage time. We had the best batata wadas and chai before visiting the stinking rest room; made instant friends just because we hummed songs together. Most often it was Deep Purple's 'Smoke On The Water' or Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. A few concerts were special when rock bands like Jethro Tull, Wishbone Ash, Police and Uriah Heep performed. But then other open-air options mushroomed around, like the Andheri Sports Complex, the MMRDA Grounds and the Jio Garden at BKC.
But Rang Bhavan was much more than just rock 'n' roll. Besides other luminaries, I was lucky to experience performances by classical vocal legend Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, thumri queen Shobha Gurtu, ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh and tabla wizard Ustad Zakir Hussain there. I also caught a concert with legendary Kathak dancer Pandit Birju Maharaj doing his peacock dance including other lavani and abhang shows. Of course there were concerts like the Jazz Yatra, organised by the late Niranjan Jhaveri, that had been underway long since I came to Mumbai. I’ll never forget special performances by keyboardists Joe Zawinul and Herbie Hancock, guitarist Mike Stern and the Australian Art Orchestra headed by pianist Paul Grabowsky. Unlike the Independence Rock festival, where we strained our necks standing, the jazz concerts were a more comfortable affair with seating arrangements for all.
Today there are plenty of closed auditoriums for large musical events. There’s the National Centre for the Performing Arts at Nariman Point, especially for its Western classical, jazz and Hindustani classical shows. The Shanmukhanda Hall in Sion has a spectacular annual tribute to Ustad Alla Rakha among many other events. The halls and auditoriums are peppered all over the city. There’s the Nehru Centre in Worli; St Andrews and Balgandharva Rangmandir in Bandra; Fine Arts Society in Chembur; Ravindra Natya Mandir in Prabhadevi; and places in Borivili, Vashi, Thane, Kalyan, Vile Parle… and so many more.
Despite so many options, I still miss Rang Bhavan every time Independence Day rolls around. Certainly for the music, but also those delicious batata wadas served by the ladies in nine-yard sarees.