Believing in the gospel according to U2

Three days before The Joshua Tree tour came to Mumbai in an exclusive article written for Hot Press a music and politics magazine produced out of Dublin U2 front man and legend Bono compared coming to India with on a pilgrimage He said But taking The Joshua Tree Tour to MumbaimdashBombay as it wasmdashwill be some kind of pilgrimage to a subcontinent that gave the world four major religions Hinduism Buddhism Sikhism and JainismAs one of the worlds most active and visible philanthropists Bono who was born Paul David Hewson also went to express admiration for Indias progress Even with those present concerns its hard for an antipoverty campaigner not to stand back in admiration of a country that has brought the most people out of poverty in the shortest time of any democracyDharmesh Datta vice president marketing PVR will take the train from Andheri to Navi Mumbai for the concert today despite a broken foot PicSameer MarkandeIts not very different for their fans The trip to Navi Mumbais DY Patil Stadium is like a journey to meet their God Their music is like religion to so many who grew up in the 1990s listening to their songs on repeat When this writer who is a not a fan but confesses to listening to With or Without You on loop during a break up saw them live at Madison Square Garden in 2018 New York she was struck by the screaming fans who repeated the words bucket list They had finally seen U2 perform live and they could now get on with their livesFor Mumbaibased theatre director Quasar Thakore Padamsee once was not enough He first watched the band at Wembley Stadium London in 2009mdashthat too over two days One day from the stands and the other from the good seats he laughs The next time he watched them was in 2015 in Chicago He is now gearing up to watch them today even though the most important event in his calendar his annual drama festival Thespo 21 kickstarts tomorrow A selfconfessed U2 evangelist Padamsee is on the path to convert everyone into a U2 fanTheatre directorwriter Quasar Thakore Padamsee at a gig in Chicago in 2015 He has seen the band perform thriceThese days I am battling with my 10yearold godson who doesnt like their music So I make it a point to mouth their lyrics and if he says Oh thats cool I say Thats U2 Padamsee believes in the gospel according to U2 and has always connected with the lyrics Anytime I find myself stuck in a situation I go back to them Like any good director he talks of the technical details It was U2 who decided that they wanted better screens for their live shows and thats how LED technology was adapted to musical needsThe bands eye for advanced technology is one of the main reasons they havent performed in India until today Bono was quoted in an interview Our shows have been quite technical over the years Its an effort to break down the distance between the band and the audience Transporting those technologies to locations like India can end up driving up ticket prices But ticket prices havent driven anyone away from this show Vice President marketing PVR Dharmesh Datta first bought tickets for the December 1 Singapore show and now for the India concert Nobody cares about the money My friends are flying in from all corners of the country We all grew up on their music says the fan who is going to take a local train today from Andheri to Nerul despite a broken foot I cant miss U2 I still listen to them every dayFans Mihir Joshi and Luke Kenny recently hosted a show where they discussed U2 album The Joshua TreeLike Datta who says that their music has shaped his sensibilities for life restaurateur Arpana Gvalani who ran Bandras Gostana says that she has one U2 song for every situation I am a super fan but an unlucky one I have tried to attend two of their concerts in Australia Once I missed the flight and then I lost my passport My parents bought me a ticket to Singapore and I finally saw them But it wasnt as easy as that Gvalani found herself stuck in a bad hotel only to be awake all night It was then that she saw a message on Facebook asking people to arrive at the stadium at 6 am When she reached she was handed a new pass It was later in the evening when I came back for the show that I realised that it was a special pass We got first entry and were right up at the front I hung out with two Indian girls from London and a Pakistani man We had the best time says the 45yearold who calls herself a super fan because she knows the lyrics to each of their songs start to finish I can tell you songs from albums like Pop that are ideal for a breakup They have helped me through many situations she laughsGvalani who also used to host vinyl listening sessions at Gostana says that the first LP she ever bought was of U2s album Boy Today the fans will be listening to songs from The Joshua Tree which has all their biggest hits Mihir Joshi once RJ and musician and now host of the MJ show recorded an entire episode on the album with Luke Kenny right before the tour was announced We wanted people to be interested in listening to a whole album again and its such a great one to start with Its the pinnacle of their mastery says the 38yearold Joshi tells us that U2 also had a small part to play in his love story My wife Neha was a listener of my radio show and used to call and request only U2 songs But its the fact that the band uses its music to spread a message that he finds special The way they use their songs for political activism is unparalleledAdam Clayton Bono The Edge and Larry Mullen of U2 arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Thursday night PicDatta KumbharFor now everyone is getting ready to head to the stadium most by the chartered train that has been organised by booking platform Bookmyshow Padamsee says I remember my whole gang including Kunal Roy Kapoor actor going for the Rolling Stones concert in 2003 We saw some older fans there and we who were then in our 20s were laughing at them And then Kunal said Guys that will be us at the U2 concert if they ever come here Well here we areBonos Rushdie connectThe first time Bono came to India was when he was reading Salman Rushdies Midnights Children The musician and writer have shared a special relationship Bono putting melodies to Rushdies words In 1993 at the Zooropa tour at Wembley Stadium Bono had invited Rushdie on stageCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates