Touted as the largest music and comedy festival in India, the BACARDÍ NH7 Weekender returned to Pune with its first on-ground event since the pandemic hiatus. The event was held at Mahalaxmi Lawns in Pune on March 26th and 27th. It featured a predominantly Indian line-up of music artists and comedians. After cancelling earlier plans due to a spike in Coronavirus cases in January, the music festival made its comeback only in Pune. Over the weekend, festival organisers ensured that pandemic-related safety measures like entry to only fully vaccinated ticket holders, on-ground rapid tests (antigen), and temperature checks were enforced. This year, NH7 Weekender had 4 arenas and 5 stages, headlined by artists like Indian-American rapper Raja Kumari, singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad, rap-duo Seedhe Maut, with many other supporting indie acts. The event also included a comedy stage in the Bazaar arena where Indian comedy acts like Varun Thakur, Urooj Afshaq, and many more regaled the audience with their sets. After acquiring the festival from OML (Only Much Louder), NODWIN Gaming introduced the Gaming Lounge where attendees played popular video games like Street Fighter and FIFA, as well as retro gaming machines like Just Dance. Students from SCMC volunteered as members of the Weekender’s crew. Their responsibilities included coordinating backstage interviews with the artists and press, creating social media posts and managing the media counter, among various other things. Maansi Anand, a volunteer from Batch 2023, said, “It was brilliant to learn so much from such experienced media professionals at the event. Loved witnessing such a grand event after two years, because it finally felt like normalcy was back.” After two years of the lockdown on account of the pandemic, the return of BACARDÍ NH7 Weekender to Pune is a sign of returning post-pandemic normalisation in the city’s cultural experience and nightlife circles.
25 Jan 2022
Yashvi Shah
