This writer grew up in a quiet, middle-class suburb far away from town, where grainy uncles warned about rock music spoiling good kids. And yet, from the riffs of Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend to the Indian voices of Pentagram, Parikrama and Zero, the genre was a part of one’s adolescence. The return of Mahindra Independence Rock Festival this weekend marks a homecoming for many 30-year-olds like this writer longing for the lost rebellious spirit.

Still in the United States, the festival’s founder Farhad Wadia understands that emotion. Over the last nine years, he has been working to revive the flagship project which began in 1986. “It was always the intention to bring it back. The pandemic came in the way, otherwise it would have returned two-three years ago,” he tells us. The return, Wadia adds, owes much to the teaming up with Hyperlink Brand Solutions, founded by VG Jairam, that will promote the festival alongside Wadia and Paytm Insider.