Photograph: Kind courtesy Sunburn/Instagram

There are two kinds of people -- the ones who plan everything months in advance and the ones who just go with the flow, with their last-minute impulse.

I am usually the former, but, for the first time in my life, I was the latter.

I had been eyeing Keinemusik (a German DJ trio) concert tickets ever since they dropped almost six months ago. The ticket prices started at Rs 3,000 and had reached Rs 6,000 on the week of the concert.

That cost isn't exactly an impulse buy, especially when you've just moved in with your partner and are deep in that 'let's save every penny' phase.

My fiance and I had both been working hard and the responsible thing to do was... not spend.

But then I thought, years from now, are we really going to remember how much we worked or the nights we danced our hearts out?

So I went with my impulse, spent Rs 12,000 on those concert tickets and surprised him. And just like that, we were going.

The panic before the event

Of course, the excitement didn't last long; anxious thoughts started creeping in -- it's March in Mumbai, it'll be unbearably hot at an open ground like the Mahalakshmi racecourse (in south Mumbai), it's going to be insanely crowded and claustrophobic, there will be long queues...

As someone who tends to imagine worst-case scenarios, I was convinced I had made a very expensive mistake.

Thankfully, BookMyShow and Sunburn Festival had one smart move in place -- early band collection.

My fiance and I reached around 12.30 pm to collect the bands, hoping to beat the rush, only to be told the box office would open at 1 pm. People were already standing in a queue under the blazing sun.

But then, the fact that I was born and had been brought up in south Bombay helped me. I knew that the entry to Gallops, the restaurant at the race course, was also from the same gate. I casually told security we were headed to lunch. We walked in and found the box office already open and quietly being set up.

We had accidentally hacked the system :)

We got our bands and walked out feeling like we had just unlocked a life cheat code.

Pro tip for next time: Just pay the extra Rs 100-Rs 200 and opt for home delivery of your bands. It really makes a lot of difference and saves you the stress entirely.

IMAGE: The crowd of reportedly 25,000 people who gathered at the Mahalakshmi racecourse for the concert. Photograph: Kind courtesy Sunburn/Instagram

Lost network, found friends

We headed back home (thankfully, we live close by) and returned to the venue around 5 pm.

That's when the biggest stress hit: Signal jammers.

I was supposed to meet my childhood friends at the venue but there was simply no way to call, message or coordinate with them. This was also our first concert together.

But sometimes, things just work out.

Within 15 minutes, in a crowd of nearly 25,000 people, my friends found me. No coordination, no phones, just pure luck or maybe telepathy.

My friend had texted me before the concert, 'Don't worry, we will find each other.' And we did.

IMAGE: After four hours of dancing! Photograph: Rishika Shah/Rediff

Four hours of dancing

From that moment on, nothing else mattered. Not the heat. Not the crowd. Not even the fact that we weren't standing right in front of the DJs.

We entered from Gate H10 near the NSCI Dome and that turned out to be a game changer as it had the least amount of walking to the venue. Most people enter from the racecourse main gate, but that's a lot more walking.

We found a slightly less crowded spot where the breeze hit us from time to time. The washrooms were right next to us as were the free water stations. I also had my biggest MVP with me -- my hand fan, a total lifesaver!

While everyone else pushed forward for a better view, we stayed exactly where we were because our priority wasn't proximity; it was comfort (and the company).

We even spotted Ibrahim Ali Khan in a mischievous mood as his friends caught a phone someone had thrown up for a pix; He sportingly clicked a selfie with the crowd. Watch the video here:

End of the evening

When we got home, we realised we had clocked 14,000 steps. Did we feel it? Not at all. Adrenaline does magical things.

The next day, people on social media complained about the heat, the crowd, the long walk to the venue and even the music. (Quick side note: if you don't know house music, maybe don't attend a full-blown house set and then complain it's 'one tempo' ;).

Well, I won't say that the organisation and the venue were perfect; some complaints were valid. We were also lucky that we stayed close by and didn't have to travel in the traffic.

At the end of the day, it was about being surrounded by people who matter, dancing like nobody's watching, finding your friends in a sea of strangers and creating the kind of memories you'll talk about years later.

With the right company, even the Mumbai heat and a packed crowd don't stand a chance.

And more than the DJ trio, it was my fiance and childhood friends who made it one of the best evenings of my life.