02 · GALLERY
Five frames.
Alsisar Mahal is a 17th-century desert palace in northern Rajasthan, 200 kilometres north of Jaipur. For three days in December each year it becomes Magnetic Fields. Courtyards, ramparts, rooftop terraces, all programmed. Peacocks walk through the lineup. The Mahal sleeps a few hundred so most attendees camp outside the walls in tented camps. The North Stage on the central courtyard is the headline, the smaller South Stage is the discovery floor for Indian electronic music. The programming runs Indian artists alongside international touring, and the cross-pollination is the most editorially interesting thing happening in Asian festivals.
The South Stage is the discovery floor. Most attendees never leave the North. The 4am sunrise sets at South are the festival's secret peak.
India's destination-festival slot. The heritage-venue counterweight to Sunburn's beach scale.
Annual, three days in early December. Days two and three are the deeper programming. North Stage on the central courtyard is the headline; South Stage (the smaller discovery floor) is where the new Indian electronic music breaks. Sunrise sets at South Stage are the festival's secret peak.
Annual three-day festival, early December. Camping outside the palace walls (tented camps); the Mahal itself sleeps a few hundred. Daytime workshops 10:00 to 16:00, music 16:00 to 06:00.
Fly Jaipur (JAI) or Delhi (DEL). From Jaipur drive 200 km north to Alsisar (3-4 hours). Festival shuttles from Delhi and Jaipur on the opening day. The Mahal is at the centre of Alsisar village, signed.