Magnetic Fields: Vibing to electronic music in a 17th century palace

A 200-km drive from Jaipur, Alsisar Mahal hosted a three-day music festival after two years in December

Last month, nearly 200 kilometres from Jaipur, the Magnetic Fields music festival at Alsisar Mahal (or Alsisar Palace) brought the urban hustle and bustle back to a small village in Jhunjhunu district located on the border of Haryana and Rajasthan. Musicians from India and abroad — including Four Tet, Ben UFO, Grandbrothers, Onra, Tribe Mama, Batu, DJ Masda, Chloé Robinson, Anthony Naples, Pangaea and Young Marco — and approximately 5,000 people saw the ritzy 17th century palace-turned-luxury hotel metamorphose into a music sanctuary.

The grand architecture of the venue is a vestige of India’s glorious past but the roads that lead you to it are narrow, barely accommodating one car at a time. The seventh edition of the festival and its first return after the pandemic, invited the curiosity of villagers. Some peeped outside their homes to catch an unusual glimpse of a traffic jam, while others helped with directions.

Partly blocking the contrasting view of its vicinity, the façade’s guarded wicket gate opens to a bar and a food court. It is a fertile ground for small talk, while snacking on all kinds of cuisine — from vegan, sustainable, Mughalai to south Indian — at stalls by Blue Tokai, Aku’s, People of Tomorrow, Sher Singh, and many others. A bottle or can of water was priced at about ₹100 and the food from approximately ₹500. There is another such food court on the way to the tents. The stretch also houses stalls by apparel, accessories and wellness brands.

The festival hosted 15 stages, including Ray Ban Afterparty, VR showcases Silehkhanna 1 and 2, Puqaar, sound therapy at Magnetic Sanctuary X Plugin, art events at palace’s courtyard and star-gazing at its rooftop.

Diya Taneja, 22, who works at Delhi-based firm, was sitting with her friends, having coffee. “I have not heard most of the bands that are playing here. I’m here just for the vibe. It’s unmatched. I quite liked the set by Elsewhere In India: Murthovic & Thiruda,” she said, when asked about the one thing that brought her to the festival. Jaipur-based architect Radhika Sogani, “This festival has introduced me to new people, different music. It feels good to see so many people gathered at one place after two years of the pandemic restrictions.”

Music’s propensity of bring people together reflects in Fieldlines: The Forgotten Songs Collective. It weaved an intensely intricate mosaic of folk songs on electronic music as Vinayakâ, an electronic musician, collaborated with eight members of the Biate tribe, one of the oldest tribes of Dima Hasao, Assam.

“We sing about farming, hunting, love, sadness and nature. The instruments we play are over 100 years old, including the gong and siranda. The flute was made with bamboo just before the festival,” says 75-year-old Lallura Darnei Vill. Akshatha Shetty and Piyush Goswami, the founders of Rest Of My Family, who stumbled upon the tribe during their travels said the members were the last remaining musicians in their community. The festival brought the tribe’s first ever performance outside their village at Puqaar stage and Jameson Connects South Stage and was attended by musician-actor Monika Dogra.