At the Pink City of Floyd, circa April 2002

It has been almost 5 years since that momentous day in Bangalore and it still sends shivers down my spine reminiscing that magic Saturday, right from meeting Roger Waters "In the Flesh" (pun intended) to finally being in the Waters concert that evening.

It all started off casually that afternoon while strolling on MG Road with some friends, when I suddenly countenanced a very familiar face ensconced between 3 burly bodyguards and traveling with an entourage that was very “phoren”.....it took less than 5 seconds to realize that it was the same face I had come down all the way from Delhi to see. What was surprising, though, was the fact that he was strolling so casually on “happening” MG Road with no one actually recognizing him. It was good that no one discerned him for it helped me coolly walk up to him and meet him one on one, take his autograph and strike up a small conversation as well. In between, however, a group of people had gathered and we all had to be shooed away from there but not before I had already taken his autograph on the quickest piece of paper I could lay my hands on - my company’s business card :)

By that time, I was almost walking in a dream - having met, autographed and spoken to one my rock legends. In keeping with the mood, we hit one of our favorite pubs, Pecos and guzzled beer till we ventured out for the venue, the Palace Grounds in a state of “happiness” where the only color of grass was brown.

And then the show started.......aptly the opening track was “In the Flesh" (incidentally the name of the tour) which drove the 30,000+ crowd to frenzy. The crowd, mostly Floyd freaks, soaked in the occasion. The opening number led to Pigs on the Wings, Another Brick in the Wall, Parts 1-3, Mother, Dogs, Welcome to the Machine, Wish You Were Here, Shine on You Crazy Diamond (all parts), Time, Money, Brain Damage, Breathe, Eclipse, Comfortably Numb and then tracks from his solo albums Pros and Cons & Amused to Death viz. Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, Perfect Sense (Parts I and II), Amused To Death and many more which left the crowd screaming for more. The show ended up with a solo number from his forthcoming album Flickering Flame.

The ambience was electric what with the unmistakable smell of pot filling the air and people swaying to the psychedelic music. Waters was phenomenal as was his regular backup "Bleeding Hearts Band". In fact his son, Harry Waters, was on the keyboards during the concert and did a more than commendable job. I thought Roger missed a few good numbers from his magnum opus Radio K.A.O.S. which I position as one of his creative best.

The setting was amazing with innovative graphic video projections like the Prism, Machines and fantastic acoustic effects with sounds Floyd fans are so familiar with viz. the helicopter, psychedelic laughter, the barking dogs, sirens, the ticking of a thousand clocks, clanging of slot machines, wailing children, the heartbeat etc. The 30,000+ crowd were left “comfortably numb” as they sang along, word for word, note for note, every number thrown at them for a period of three hours. Overall a great concert and one that will always remain very close to my heart. Post Roger Waters, “the lunatic in my head” would no longer scream, “there’s someone in my head but it’s not me”. For time and everything else had stood still, that eventful evening when I attained my rock nirvana.