Outside, the rain poured. We were sheltered inside a remarkable tent, bedecked with all sorts of things from the Indian sub-continent – rugs, lamps, cushions and other exotic goodies. Sitting in a circle were a group of people apparently in a trance - we were entranced just watching them. They had been chanting for about 20 minutes, each with an accompanying instrument including everything from a guitar to tabla to a harmonium. Occasionally a few would drop out, occasionally one would let out a yelp or a wail as though possessed by a sudden burst of energy. After the chant had died down one of them said that the chant encourages the gods to bring rain. Why you would want to bring rain in this sun-starved country is anyone's guess, but a statement like that certainly fitted the atmosphere.

The scene painted above is typical of Wild Heart, a festival that we performed at last night. Located in a small valley in the heart of the Sussex countryside, it had a very New-Age feel to it. Incense filled the air. The tattered Argos tents you find at normally find at festivals were replaced with beautiful yurts and other impressive alternatives (in fact one true ’wild heart’ camped out in a hammock). All food was organic, litter was non-existent, and recycling was the order of the day. The shops were more likely to stock trinkets from a remote village in Asia or Africa than anything from the UK. The people, without exception, were incredibly friendly and almost all of them knew the Sanskrit origins of my name. And true to the festival’s name they were all ’Wild Hearts’ – people with a yearning to reduce the gap between humans and nature, people who see something of themselves in Chris McCandles (the young wanderer made famous in Jon Krakauer's ’Into the Wild’ – READ THAT BOOK!)

We played at about 8pm in a cosy tent filled with Moroccan bean-bags, Persian rugs and the sweet smell of well-made chai. The set was just so, so much fun. The crowd were really attentive and warm (apart from a bunch of little kids who ran around in a circle in the room and wrestled with each other, it was pretty amusing to watch!) As well as our originals we played an improvised rendition of ’Round Here’ by Counting Crows at the request of Matilda, an awesome blogger, musician and film-maker that we met (and whose jumper I wore throughout the set!), and ’One Day Like This’ by Elbow, dedicated to a lovely woman who offered to drop us at the train station. They all made us feel so welcome, and requested us to keep playing, which we did with pleasure :) The evening was nicely topped off when the festival organiser, Huw, greeted us as we were packing away and asked us to play at a larger festival, ’Into the Wild’, being organised for August 2013. It was a truly beautiful day, and made me realise how much I miss the countryside!

For those starting term at university, have and amazing first week back,

Vedantha

29/09/2012 - ’Into the Wild’ at Wild Heart Festival