SHIVA VALLEY
All about shiva valley
By Mehma Anand Apr 26, 2017
Tuesday nights at Shiva Valley is not an unheard thing of if you have ever visited Goa. A sacred liberality that has been a part of Goa’s biggest hippie tradition for over 10 years. As the sun sets on the well-sharpened sharp skyline of Anjuna shoreline, the music turns up and the general population turns in. trance devotes from over the world make their way to experience Shiva Valley. In order to be a part of a trance reality that is unseen in India.
The crowd raves along with some of the biggest names in the global trance world. Avalon, Nigel and Earthling keep the crowd company and enrich them with the best music for a psychedelic trance. The unified trance state is difficult for one to describe with words, a scary one for most but heavenly for some. The dance floor is surrounded with statues and murals of Hindu gods with neon lights blinding the large numbered crowds making their teeth glow. Loose bodies of Rabbis, Monks, Sadhus and Sufis all moving and grooving to the music, or as they say meditating while medicating.
If and when you come to a realization that you are now blue from all the dancing, you can make your way out to indulge yourself in some tea and snacks. The sound of the crashing waves intersecting with the music makes this trance a favourite. Don’t go with the expectation of forestry or high technology trance, Shiva Valley trance is a good old Goa trance and that’s what intrigues the crowd to it. You could probably find a better sound, a more pleasant location and much more renowned DJ’s, but there is a very bleak chance that one can find the spirit that they find at Shiva Valley elsewhere. Generations have transferred their energy back and forth amongst each other at this venue; they have danced and partied to psychedelic music. A Hindu temple as per the Vastu Shastra is a place that is driven by its open symmetry and rhythm, which in turn creates a sense of harmony within those in its presence.
The believer’s faith is externalized through a ‘Yantra’, a manifestation of the immanent spirit of the temple that cannot be seen with the naked eye. At Shiva Valley, this conviction is defined through the people and the music. Light-sabre duels raging on synched perfectly to the rhythm of the speakers. The lights glance off the murals on the walls, making for a kaleidoscopic spectacle. The red-green lasers paint seems to repaint the Hindu art that night, mesmerizing the crowd. The decoration is half the battle won – draped along the sides and back of the shack are fantastic tie-die murals depicting various Gods.
Fig. 55 Socialtahelka (2016)
Fig. 56 Whatsupgoa (2017)
