Did you know there was a Burn in India? Neither did I, but when my friend invited me to Portal 91 I couldn’t say no. So for my first time in India, I ended up building a Burn in the middle of the countryside.
I was in Cambodia when I got the message from my friend. He sent me a message asking me if I wanted to got to a Burn in India. I would often surprise people when I told them there was a Burn in China. Now it was my turn to be surprised. There was a Burn in India. It took less than a second for me to decide I was going.
After travelling Cambodia, and after my birthday the start day was getting nearer. I had my visa and my flight. All I needed to do was to get to Bangalore and meet the local Burners. Two of my friends from Dragon Burn would be joining me: one American and one Indian.
After exploring the city for a day, enjoying some biryani, and having a few drinks with other Burners, it was time for us to make our way to the site. We stocked up on alcohol, not realising that we weren’t allowed to take it across state borders in India. When we were stopped by the police we got lucky after they found a laptop in my bag. For some reason, that was enough for them to send us on our way.
Eventually after a long drive and getting very lost in the countryside, we found the site where we would have our Burn. The owner welcomed us with open arms as his dogs barked their hellos. This would be the place we would be camping in for the next week. It was time to start another Burn.
The Portal 91 Site
The site was a small area of land surrounded by farmland, hills, and mountains. It was a very isolated part of the country, far from any nearby city. It was the perfect place for a Burn.
We got to know the site owners and the other organisers of the Burn. The owners were an older couple who had been to Burning Man many times. During Covid they realised they couldn’t make it to the Gerlach Regional, so decided to start their own instead. Thus, Portal 91 was born, and India had a Regional Burn.
They had several pet dogs, many of them pedigrees. We were given strict instructions to keep all the gates closed and to not let the pedigrees out of the garden. “I will kill you if you do,” they said. I’m pretty sure they were joking, but they definitely cared about their dogs a lot.
We were given warnings about the site we were in. The place is riddled with snakes and scorpions. I pointed out that only around 10% of snakes are venomous. “Yes, and they’re all here!” came the response. Aside from venomous creatures, the site was in the middle of an elephant herd’s territory. We shouldn’t leave the site since, if we came across the herd, there’s a good chance we would get trampled.
I’m no stranger to risk, but this is definitely the most dangerous Burn I’ve ever been to.
Painting Signs
Construction started and I started to help out anywhere that I could. At first I had no real direction, helping people move wood, bamboo, and other materials. We had to be careful in the wood piles, since snakes like to sleep under them.
Eventually the event lead gave me a concrete task. I was to ensure that all the signs we needed got painted. As more people filtered in I would get more volunteers to help. I loved this mission, as I now had a chance to get a little creative.
These include the general infrastructure signs, telling people where things are as they wandered around the site. We also got to paint the theme camp signs, giving character to the Burn itself. Once we started running out of signs, we took requests. We also came up with our own concepts and ideas.
One concept was the Portal 2 Portal. It would be a welcoming ceremony, where those who came to the Burn would have to walk through a Portal to get to Portal 91. The idea was inspired by the original Zone trips, in which the Cacophonists would draw a line in the sand. Stepping over that line would mean that they are now in a different world.
Theme Camps
Despite being a small Burn, Portal 91 still had its theme camps. There was a Center Camp, of course, beside which was the Open Source Bazaar. One volunteer ran this open kitchen all weekend, ensuring everyone had enough to eat. Though he was American, he cooked us no end of amazing Indian food.
Another theme camp was Behaving Knotty, one dedicated to shibari and discussions about kinks and polyamory. The main stage was named by yours truly as the Stained Mage, and would be the focal point for many nights. The Wake and Bake would be the place to start the day with a coffee after a good night of partying.
On our way to the site my friends came up with a concept for our theme camp on the fly. After buying hard hats and hi-vis vests we created Camp Under Construction, a theme camp that we would never finish. It also tied in to the reason we were there in the first place: we were there to help build.
Little did I know this would be the spark that would inspire me to expand my travels to other Burns.
Portal 91’s Art
Portal 91 was no stranger to art. It was a small Burn with less than 50 people, but that didn’t stop people. Metallurgy was the theme here with two amazing constructs placed on the site. One was a huge metal door with an intricate figure carved into it. I had spent time creating a door for my Portal 2 Portal, but this was on a completely different level.
The other was a sculpture of a hen, made from basket weaves and carefully carved pieces of wood. The artist had used a combination of light and dark wood to make it appear as it was glowing like a clean bronze or copper statue. When I saw it I thought of the Phoenix, something I would expect to see at a Burn.
Temple and Ritual
At Portal 91 they have a Temple, just like other Burns. The Temple of Life was a structure made mostly from bamboo and white canvas. Two paths were constructed leading into one of two central chambers. These paths would spiral around each other, but would never meet.
Inside the Temple people would leave things behind. Messages to lost loved ones. Advice for others. Small pieces of artwork. Inside the chambers was quiet, calm, a place for contemplation. As an atheist these spaces are always important to me. I can’t find this kind of energy in a place of religion, but at Temple in a Burn I can feel at peace.
It’s here I left a memorial for a friend who had recently died. He had just left his last Burning Man before he moved on to the next life. He kept doing what he loved right up until the end.
They have an interesting concept for the Temple at Portal 91. To them, the Temple represents yoni, or the feminine, while the Man represents linga, the masculine. On the penultimate day there was a ritual. First the women would enter on one side and make their way to the central chamber. The men would then enter by the other path. We would chant to show our support for the women, for the yoni.
We moved slowly, unseen, but our presence was felt. I could almost feel their presence as well. We slowly moved until we ourselves entered the second chamber. We were encouraged to meditate and think of the feminine energy in our lives. I thought of my mother, my estranged sister, and my absence from their lives.
Then the women started to chant as they left the temple. It was their turn to support us. I kept my eyes closed, focused on my breathing. Then I began to cry. I wasn’t the only one. After it was over we weren’t rushed. We took our time to gather our thoughts and our feelings. We didn’t leave until we felt ready.
This is one of the most intense Temple rituals I have ever experienced.
The Man Burns
The Man had stood over the event for the whole weekend. It was proudly declared as the largest Man that had ever been built. Though it was not bigger than the giant structures you will find at Burning Man, the Man itself was technically bigger than the Man they place at the top of the structure.
On the last day the Man was packed full of fuel, fireworks, and other explosives. They wanted this Burn to be a spectacle. As the flames licked up the effigy, colourful explosions, whistles, and pops erupted from the flames. I watched in wonder, thinking about how linga represents Shiva. Shiva is the god of destruction, and now we were granting them that destruction.
The Man was aflame, but something wasn’t quite working. It turned out that the wood used for the frame was flame retardant. The Man was not to burn in its entirety. We had made this mistake with our Temple a few years before after using wood that was donated to us.
Despite this, it was an emotional Burn, and a great finale for the weekend. I realised I had taken no pictures of the Man, so on the final day I took a few pictures of the charred skeleton that remained. Despite my love for Immediacy, I still wanted to have some memories to take home with me.
