Sula Fest!

"Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it a rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven and to the soul." ~ Angela Monet

Nestled among the valleys of Nashik, located approximately 230 kms from Mumbai, Sula Vineyards present you with the perfect opportunity to celebrate life in all its glory. The ride from Mumbai to Nashik is really smooth and beautiful, once you are out of the hustle bustle of crazy town, you find yourself in the arms of nature. 

The drive to Sula Vineyards is very picturesque and the route is pretty well marked and hence should not present any challenges. The only thing you need to keep in mind is not to miss the service lane for Ambad MIDC exit, if you skip that then you get into town and delay your arrival. From this exit, the vineyards are about 7kms into the village countryside which gives you a divine scene with fishing ponds, cute street kids, cows and all that Indian jazz.

It is just a glorious place to hold a music festival! Sula festivals is held annually in the month of February and is a must visit if you are a music freak. A celebration full of music, wine, food and fashion is what a perfect day cradled in the lap of nature feels like and Sula fest brings that experience right to you.  

This luxurious property is built in over 30 acres and house amphitheater, large grounds which provide an excellent open space, some great restaurants especially their rooftop restaurant, lush green grape plantations, a factory as well as a tasting room. If you are there what you must do is take a tour of the wine making. There are a lot of options available so you can choose whatever you feel is good for you. We took the entire tour and boy were we glad that we did. 

The passion that emanates from the employees who work here rubs off on you or maybe it's just the wine. The logo of Sula itself is the epitome of amalgamating the beautiful sun ripened grapes with a Rajputani Moustache and a tilak on the forehead just to bring some Indian culture to it. The guided tour is brief but covers mostly everything there is to know about the wine making process as it takes you move along from the winery, to the barrel room and finally to the Tasting room.

The wine tasting involves a brief explanation of all the varieties that Sula has to offer as well as discussion on wine etiquette, temperature, aromas, swirls and combinations of food each goes well with the range of Sula. I'm personally quite fond of Shiraz but it was amazing to see that India is catching up to the wine culture.

Do yourself a favour and load up on the wines that Sula has to offer and head upstairs to the roof top restaurant that gifts you a scenic view, the memory of which that you will cherish for the rest of your life. The vast expanse of grape plantation with murmurs of people all around you is the apt place to chill and kick your heels for a bit to relax.

The place is full of memorabilia and great food that you can enjoy as you browse through the numerous food buses, kiosks as you swim through the crowd. It being an event, we were lucky to taste some of the best food and alcohol around. You can pick up some unique presents for loved ones which may be slightly heavy on the pocket but very light on the heart. 

Of the activities that Sula fest has to offer like tarot reading, foot massages, caricature artists etc. you must try the grape stomping or "Pigage", the traditional Roman wine making method of macerating the grapes by foot. Just carry soap. Trust me, you'll thank me later.

Now comes the best part - M.U.S.I.C! Okay so I'm not going to get into the who's and the what's..I'm just gonna say enjoy the clips as you do let me reminisce a little here myself. 

This first group - Kabir Cafe sing the poems of Kabir and they do a fabulous job of it. I officially am a fan!

The thing with music festivals is that crazy and sometimes obnoxious people like us get enough chances to capture moments which make you laugh for the rest of your lives. So, here are some... (not trying to me mean Ok!)

 

Anyway the groups came coming and going and the energy was insane!

The fillers were okay but everyone of us were waiting for Raghu (just heard the group for the first time and kept cheering so loud that people thought we were their groupies..he he he) anyways, these guys were so amazing and totally left us wanting more.

Since we were only there for a day we couldn't wait till the end and we regretted it but that's how music influences you. It always leaves you wanting more like lust of the skin. It becomes a language we all speak, we all read and we all breathe. Music helps you speak your heart without even uttering a word from your lips. It brings tears when you are hurt, or it makes you feel jubilant. Music gives you life, it charges every cell in your body. It helps reunite you, or give you company when you feel alone. Music is the best companion you will ever have and anything that helps commemorate how grateful we are towards music must be celebrated. What better way to appreciate music and that too with people who indulge in it, revel in the joy it brings along with a whole lot of alcohol.

As you leave with that experience, music fills your heart, sometimes in place of love!