When does India get to horse around?

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Do you dream of saddling up a powerful beast and riding it across the desert sand? Then the first edition of the Sandstorm festival has been designed just for the likes of you. Says Govind Rai of Go Bananas, organisers of the massive event, “We are expecting over 700 horses and 6,000 people from across Indian to be part of the four-day event. While everyone can enjoy professional races like Endurance, Pole Bending, Barrel Racing etc., novices can also get to experience horseback riding after attending a beginner’s workshop.” When you have had your fill of the equestrian segment, jump over the fence for some serious adventure and fun. “The location on the river bed is scenic and the extended areas are unexplored and teaming with wildlife. We wanted to expose urbanities to this environment and that was the idea behind providing tent accommodations,” says Govind.
After an adrenaline packed day, of hot air ballooning, hand gliding, safaris or SUV off-roading, relax in the cool desert air with the screenings of popular horse-theme movies, music shows courtesy of Swarathma, Submerge, Raahie, Dualist Enquiry and more, followed by star gazing with astronomical telescopes and kite flying at night. Anirudh Krishna is from Chennai and considers this a perfect opportunity to take a little break from work. “I am especially looking forward to watching Nikhil Chinnapa, hot air ballooning and catching up with old friends from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru who are joining me there. We are a little worried about the alcohol situation though, because Gujarat is a dry state,” he winks.
Swarathma is hoping to premier at this festival a remix single they have been working on with Dualist Enquiry. “It’s a very off-beat festival and we have never played in Ahmedabad, so we are quite excited about that,” says band member Jishnu Dasgupta. Film marketing executive, Krithika Rawat from Mumbai is driving down with a contingent of ten friends. “Since we are a large group with different interests, there’ll be something for everyone to do as opposed to festivals with only a single focus.”