AR Rahman performs at NH7 Weekender festival in Delhi

The red-tapism of Delhi bureaucracy that had once strangled its own reputation, has finally loosened enough to let the city’s music scene breathe.
The annual NH7 Weekender festival, which was held in Noida for its first three editions, moved to Delhi this year with AR Rahman’s performance being the highlight on Saturday.

Rahman: Rockstar of the evening
Starting with Only You, Rahman belted out many romantic hits like Dil Se and O Humdum Suniyo Re, amidst unending applause and cheers from fans.Shouting out to the crowd, Rahman said, “There is something unique about this night. At a concert like this, you need to have a rockstar.” And so came the Rockstar hits – Nadaan Parindey and Jo Bhi Main. Though Rahman concert regulars said they missed Sivamani on the drums, the musician was joined by newcomer Shaswat Singh on stage, for Wat Wat Wat from Tamasha.
Loudest cheers from VIPs of Delhi
It wasn’t just the young and crazy fans in the crowd who were cheering for Rahman. The loudest cheers came from the VIP zone, where senior officials of the Delhi Police, deputy CM Manish Sisodia, tourism minister Kapil Mishra and other AAP office bearers were seen enjoying the concert. While Sisodia was interrupted every two minutes to pose for a photo, Kapil Mishra enjoyed the music. The minister even posted a photo a few days ago, captioned, “I bought my ticket, no VIP passes for event.” He told us, “I have nothing to add. You can see the results. Look at the crowd! Now that it has started, we will keep organising more events in Delhi.” He further added, “Ab Dilli mein NH7 event ho raha tha toh yahan toh aana hi tha.” Well, we’ll see about Sunburn next week.

11:15 ki last local
One of the major problems faced by the crowd who went for this festival in Greater Noida in the previous years was the venue of the event, because the distance was a huge turn-off for many. But this edition of the festival was walking distance from Sector 10 Metro Station in Dwarka, and the queues were longer than usual even after 11pm. Asma Khan, a college student who lives near RK Ashram said, “Of course, Dwarka is far, but it’s still closer than Greater Noida. The last time we were in Greater Noida, the event was great, but in Delhi it’s even better because there are no transport issues.” Snehal Gupta, an IT manager who lives in Gurgaon, told us, “Delhi has much more traffic. But with the Metro at walking distance, it wasn’t too much of an effort. The next morning, I’m going for a marathon, so I will hopefully reach on time as well!”
Alcohol confusion?
Many youngsters were under the impression that they won’t be served any alcohol because the event was in Delhi. But liquor was served ‘legally’ at the venue to those whose photo ID said that they were above 25 years in age, and they got a red band.
Next weekender in South Delhi? The organizers were excited to be in Delhi for the first time for this edition of the festival. Rajiv Jain, EEMA vice president, told us, “You can draw parallels with Noida. So many people have come with their families just because the event is in Delhi. Next year, if we manage to organize NH7 Weekender in South Delhi, tab kamaal dekhiyega.” He added, “We haven’t really planned anything like that. Of course, anything can happen in future. And why not?