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Nothing glues society more than good food and music.
Walking through a swarm of people in colourful outfits, dolled up in glitter and I can smell and hear things that make me hungry for food and good music. It's a treat for all my senses in one go.
Here I was at the World of Music, Art and Dance (WOMAD) festival, on a sultry summer day of 2019. I was standing on lush green grass overlooking a long field of colourful flags, tents, multiple stages, and, surprisingly, a Ferris wheel. I was suddenly transported into the magical universe of JK Rowling, the Quidditch World Cup in particular, where green fields were lined with tents of all shapes and sizes housing magical folks from around the world. Charlton Park, Malmesbury has a similar vibe except the magic in the air is music and the colours. The weather was bearable, not the usual UK summer heat but I was clutching my bottle of water and sunscreen ready for the big grand moment at WOMAD 2019, my first-ever music festival experience outside India.
I arrived on a Friday morning, having missed the Thursday night headliner Afro-Cuban All Stars, which got the crowds dancing to their Latin grooves. After taking a train from London Paddington to Chippenham and then the festival shuttle, my two-hour journey gave me time to prepare for the next couple of days in engaging with a diverse set of cultures and languages.
While purchasing my ticket, I stayed back for the duration of the festival, which meant camping on-site. This festival was getting more exciting by the second! While there was much to see and do, including spoken word, yoga sessions under the trees, and gong showers, my list of indulgences was more about losing myself in the sounds of world music performed by global artists.
The crowd was brimming with all kinds of people: young, old, and children and each of them is in their summer colourful best with a few additions like glitter, feathers, and an occasional interesting hat. I found out that I can become a glitter warrior myself if I find the right stall but I leave that for a little later; the air around me is intoxicating and I am trying to take it all in, one festival-goer at a time.
WOMAD (World of Music, Arts, and Dance), since its inception in 1982, had a vibrant history of bringing international artistes together for a weekend-long celebration. Over the years, it became an amalgamation of art, music, food, and extremely loud fashion. With my tent intact, I made my way to my first-ever WOMAD.
My days at the festival are a whirlwind of emotions, music, dancing and so much food. My stomach was lined with plates of pad thai, massaman curries, french fries, paella, and the list goes on. But what really made the entire WOMAD experience worth it was discovering music from around the world in one lush green field. A band from Ghana, Santorfi, had me grooving to their funky music, so much so that I joined the crowd to bust a few moves; the energy in their music was magical. There were even some familiar sounds; Anandi Bhattacharya with her mesmerising vocals accompanied by tables and a slide guitar and Ustaad Saami, a Pakistani singer, who transported the crowd into a trance. My excitement escalated when I watched the headliners, Macy Gary and Ziggy Marley, live in action; I know their music but to experience it in a crowd that enjoyed it as much as I did was a treat.
Walking through the grounds of Charlton Park was a bag of surprises. I stumbled upon the World of Art one evening when the Pif-Paf theatre company played their celestial sound anf lights cloud installation as campers danced around it. Trust the child in me to come alive and go back every night to see the installation in all its glory.
I found myself drawn to the open-air stage on more than one occasion and I was glad; I got a chance to witness traditional Eastern European music played by The Klezmatics from New York. There was just so much more: Ethiopian jazz, hip-hop, swing, and late-night DJ sets. This was my first time at WOMAD and I thought I was prepared but I had no idea that I would be able to enjoy so much of world music, under the bright blue UK sky.
WOMAD opened my eyes to a whole new world of diverse music, not to mention art and physics; there was so much to do, so many places to be, and a host of interesting and beautiful people all around. In retrospect, I wish I had chosen glamping over camping, carried more sunscreen, and had a snug jumper for the night. I also wish I had, occasionally, taken out my camera to capture those musical moments but the energy at WOMAD makes you want to live in the moment.
WOMAD 2023 lineup is out now and my heart breaks because I won’t be able to go this year. The stage was set to be lit with music from around the globe: Nihiloxica from Uganda, Susana Baca from Peru, and UK’s iconic Bombay Bicycle Club amongst others. I think as someone who has had a first-hand experience of this brilliant, one-of-a-kind festival, it is safe to say that I’d go back in a heartbeat. WOMAD is about so much more than just amazing music; in addition to these talented artists, there were live literary events, intellectually stimulating talks, crazy installations and fantastical activities. And, in its truest sense, WOMAD is a community, collaboration and diversity, and a musical extravaganza for festival lovers and music nerds alike. I’d rather be there than anywhere else that time of the year.
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