Does India Love Taylor Swift?
As a wide-eyed teenager, I unabashedly listened to Taylor Swift.
Those were days without touchscreens and internet connectivity was unpredictable like the weather. Yet somehow, I managed to store Teardrops on My Guitar, White Horse and Love Story on my phone’s memory card. I played those songs on loop, Enchanted by the lyrics and the strong country vibe.
Taylor is now a global phenomenon. I say this without any skepticism or mockery (haters gonna hate). Of course, we don’t expect her to solve the Russia-Ukraine crisis or intervene in the complex fallout between Israel and Palestine. (She could, you know, given her superpowers).
I think her stupendous success comes not simply from her singing. It’s the craft of her storytelling which I find lacking in so many pop-sensations and the fact that she connects with her fans on a deeply personal level. My Swiftie friend tells me that Taylor’s songs become our songs. She sees us at our most vulnerable phases and provides the elixir for our heartbreaks.
None of it would be possible, certainly, without her shrewd marketing skills and dedicated team of musicians and backstage employees who brought The Eras Tour to life. She has succeeded not only in putting more money in her coffers but has also enabled small businesses to thrive through her live performances.
When rumors were in the air that The Eras Tour was going to hit the big-screens in India, I tried to brush it off as nonsense. I didn’t believe Taylor when she sang Pack your dolls and a sweater/ We’ll move to India forever. I told my hyperexcited friend who had brought the news to me that perhaps her film would be screened in the giant metros, like Delhi or Mumbai. Not in our small city, I emphasized.
So when the film turned up in Guwahati and could be pre-booked online, I was more than surprised. I was actually browsing through BookMyShow to book tickets for Killers of the Flower Moon, which, to my dismay wasn’t going to be screened in my part of India. (I am yet to watch that masterpiece). But I was still very excited at the prospect of Taylor’s arrival, albeit, in a virtual medium.
It was only when I searched for available seats to pre-book Taylor’s musical, I realized how popular she is in my riverine city. If I didn’t quickly book the tickets, it meant I could lose my chance at catching her show!
I must tell you that Taylor Swift literally plays everywhere in India. You browse through a rack of clothes in a mall and find August filling up your ears. You are eating dosa in a restaurant and the ambience grows wistful with Back to December. Anti-Hero is like the unofficial anthem of several Gen Zs who inhabit the complex fabric of Indian identity. There’s even an IG handle @swiftienightofficial which boasts of hosting twenty shows all over India.
I had never danced inside a movie theatre. But it was impossible to sit quietly, munch popcorn and watch The Era’s Tour. You would think by the large presence of the fans and their larger-than-life gestures that Taylor Swift was actually there in person, performing her magic. We all became a unified whole, like the feathery leaves of a Willow tree, going through all the albums with grace and awe. Inside the dark theatre, our phones glowed like fireflies as we inserted our souls into Taylor’s lyrics, almost pulled into her creative web involuntarily.
Doesn’t India love Taylor Swift?
P.S. My love for Taylor Swift grew more during the Covid lockdowns as I embraced her albums Folklore and Evermore. I think I am more drawn to her subtle, sad songs than her loud, peppy ones. Champagne Problems, Last Great American Dynasty, The Lakes, Maroon, Hoax, Mad Woman, All Too Well, and Tolerate It are perhaps amongst my favorites.
© Kaustabh Kashyap
