Paw Play

If you spot poodles, golden retrievers and bull dogs dawdling around at this year's Bacardi NH7 Weekender, don't be surprised. Pets of music lovers are invited to the festival this year.

If NH7 can pull this one off, it will become the first pet-friendly music festival in the country. "The whole idea is to create as many pet-friendly spaces as possible. It is a great way to bring your dog to a place where you want to enjoy yourself," says Shivani Mathur, a Mumbai-based canine behaviourist, who operates a canine events company called Party Barky Hai with Ragini Parmar. Party Barky Hai is collaborating with the music festival this year.

NH7 will be held in Pune, Delhi and Bengaluru this year. All one has to do is bring Tommy to the pre-parties that will take place in all three cities in an effort to "acclimatise the dogs with the whole music thing". These pre-parties will have a live band for the pets. Mathur says that the screening process is important as this is when owners can ask questions and see if their pets are fine with loud music.

The main festival, which will take place in October in Delhi, will also have a pet zone for dogs to participate in various games and competitions. Meanwhile, the line-up for Delhi includes Indus Creed, Parikrama, Indian Ocean and Pentagram.

The Delhi pre-party will be held at The Garden Restaurant, Lodhi Road, on Saturday. Entry: Rs 500 (owners with dogs), Rs 250 (audience).

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