Osibisa Unleashed

Pic courtesy: http://collectorsfrenzy.com/

In the autumn of 1981, one of the most popular groups of our times, Osibisa's sound of joy was unleashed in India, when they toured the cities Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore, Madras and Calcutta. More than 350000 people enjoyed the 8 shows in total, each of them attended by 20000 to 50000 people.

I was in Bangalore that year October. Local papers announced that Osibisa was to perform live in Bangalore as part of their 'Osibisa Unleashed India Tour'. 20000 watts of sound output with strobe lights and special effects, were expected to make an impact on the music buffs. I was as excited as my brother Kamalakanth and my Bank colleagues SM Padaki and a few others.

The tickets were initially priced at Rs.500/-, 250/-, 125/- and 50/-. I was very conservative those days watching my low bank salary. Almost a month before the concert, I discussed with my brother about buying the tickets in advance. He said he has his own plans and I can go ahead and buy mine. So, I chose the Rs.50/- class and bought my ticket. Within a couple of days, they announced Rs.25/- ticket and I was shocked and disappointed! The thought of losing Rs.25/- made me rather depressed. I asked Kamalakanth about his ticket. He coolly replied that he went for the Rs.125/- class, as he has to maintain certain standards, being a practicing dentist, and if any of his patients attended the concert and they found out that he went for lower class, he may lose his prestige and practice! I told him, I went for the Rs.50/- class not because I could afford to spend that much but they hadn't come out with the Rs.25/- tickets when I bought mine!

However, that day in October we reached the RSI football stadium on MG Road in the evening. Kamalakanth parked his scooter in the parking area, we walked over to the entrance and parted, him standing in the Rs.125/- line and myself searching for the queue to my class. It had rained heavily that afternoon and we were still worried that the show may get cancelled if it started raining again! There was heavy rush and a long queue to get in. I saw my colleague Padaki and his family cheering and waving at me. They were standing in the Rs.25/- queue! After almost 30 minutes of being pushed and pulled in the rush, I was inside the stadium!

Some Osibisa number was playing on the cassette at a rather low volume, and the stage lights were being tested. The entire ground was looking like paddy field just tilled with a power tiller! There was slush and mud all over and walking was rather difficult. Each step made me slip slide and skate, and I was holding on to the metal folding chairs for support as I walked almost to the back where there was some grass on the ground, that was slightly comfortable to stand and watch the show.

Those who bought the Rs.25/- tickets were silently sitting on the solid stone and cement stands, looking very comfortably at that. I was imagining about the front stalls where Rs.500/- down to Rs.125/- class people were struggling to keep their clothes free from dirt! I also thought about Kamalakanth who in an attempt to save his prestige and maintain his class by buying Rs.125/- ticket, was stranded between the Rs.250/- and Rs.50/- classes in the sea of mud, struggling to watch the show!

As soon as Osibisa entered the stage and started to play, there was a loud cheer from the crowd and people started to run to the front, breaking the bamboo barriers and settling down in the Rs.500/- class! Many slipped and fell down, got free mud bath and the ground was full of chaos as security people watched helplessly! I too managed to reach the Rs.250/- class and watching some smart guys standing on the metallic folding chairs, I too climbed on to a chair and made myself safe!

Rest of the evening went on without much calamity and weather was clear. Only problem was moving around in the dirt, so not many tried to dance to the music. Those who broke the barriers and reached the front were whistling, cheering and dancing aggressively, while I was slowly swinging on the chair I had landed on, nodding my head to the rhythm of Osibisa, that not only Unleashed Afro-British music that evening at full blast, but also unleashed a herd of spectators who bought Rs.25/- tickets and reached Rs.500/- class and enjoyed the concert to the maximum, while the ones who bought higher class tickets stayed aloof and watched helplessly as their clothes were painted with mud!