EGYPT 2025

Life of a Dhol Player were booked for a 3-day wedding in Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh. A destination where dramatic desert landscapes fade into the crystal-clear waters of the Red Sea, with late-20s temperatures that contrasted sharply with London’s cold, wintery November.

This was our first show in Egypt and one of our largest international bookings in terms of drummers: a whole half-a-dozen of us, including Pav, Sunny, Kam and Vik, along with help from our friends at Elite Drummers, we had Manraj, as well as one of our favourite international drummers, Ranvir — aka The Real Ranvir Juttler (don’t mistake him for the Fake Ranvir Juttla).

So, here’s how it all went down.

Friday 28th November

At 6am, we set off from East London to catch a 1pm Wizz Air (not our first choice) flight from London Gatwick. Why leave so early, I hear you ask? Well… shit happens. Shit like this:

Pav was driving Sunny and Ranvir, while Vik was driving Kam and Manraj. I’ve always respected Pav’s immaculate sense of direction - in this case, it was diabolical. Wrong turn after wrong turn, followed by an Uber driver reversing into Pav and hitting his car.

(Insert video from accident)

After a traumatic journey, we arrived at the airport to meet the rest of the team at Gatwick at 10:40am, with time to spare.

We’d heard that the clients who booked us were significant players in the Dubai retail industry and were therefore planning to throw the wedding celebration of the year. As we worked closely with the wedding planners, they asked if we could pick up alcohol from Duty Free - why not?! We’re here to facilitate a good time.

As Pav and Vik went to collect their pre-ordered alcohol - Blue Label and Don Julio, imported personally by Life of a Dhol Player - the rest of us took the opportunity to grab an obligatory pint at the airport ahead of our 5-hour flight.

(Insert any pics from the airport)

Take-off!

A long 5 hours, but we had plenty to keep us busy:

• Kam was locked into his laptop, working on the new 2026 Life of a Dhol Player set (which, according to the air stewards who got an exclusive listen, they were big fans of).

• Vik and Sunny worked on the social and content plan for the coming days.

• Ranvir filmed some vlogs for his own page.

• Manraj and Pav indulged in mid-flight beverages and snacks.

Once we had landed it was straight to the hotel to get some well needed sleep. 

Saturday 29th November

Our first night in the hotel was over, we arrived at breakfast, and Vik used this as an opportunity to document the moment.

(Insert Vik’s breakfast video)

Sunny later used this as an opportunity to sit by the pool, which was short-lived as we were scheduled to play at 12:30pm at the venue, just a 5-minute drive away. The client, who had over 170 guests from Delhi, had chartered a jet to fly everyone to Egypt on a single plane, and they were all poised to arrive at the venue at the same time.

Our job: to play as they arrived.

Our first segment was a 35-minute set, followed by another six 7-minute sets as more guests arrived. It was probably the most I’ve ever played in one day in my entire dhol career. Dhol players reading this will know: playing for long periods, solo, with no music is tough. But we did it. Surprisingly, the more we played, the better we sounded.

(Insert video of us playing)

After finishing at almost 6pm that evening, we still had more to do. That night was the Mendhi party - not just any Mendhi party, but one bigger than most wedding receptions.

The Mendhi featured a stage setup that rivalled most festivals, 10 different chefs cooking cuisines from around the world (which we made sure to try every single one), along with four different acts, including us.

(Insert images of the venue)

One of the biggest challenges of a major event like this is ensuring all departments are in sync, and this event was no different. The AV team had no idea dhol players were performing, and given the scale of production, a sound check was vital. Unfortunately, the AV team didn’t have the time or the full crew available at that moment. After much negotiation, we managed to get Manraj a quick 10-minute sound check.

All they needed was a copy of our performance set. Who had it? Vik. Where was it? On Vik’s hard drive. Where was Vik’s hard drive? At the hotel.

After a last-minute scramble to get the performance set to the AV team, we made it happen and it sounded insane.

(Insert sound test video)

We were scheduled to play at 11:30pm. When did we actually play? 3:30am. The acts before us unfortunately overran their slots, throwing the entire evening off track. It was tough waiting around, but we pushed through. From stage, straight into our transfer back to the hotel.

Day 2 complete.

Sunday 30th November

Today was the Bharat day. We were performing at 2pm, which meant we had time to kill. After a slow Sunday morning, we checked out and made our way to the venue, where we regrouped, fuelled up with a delicious Indian breakfast, and explored.

The venue was stunning the and it absolutely oozed luxury.

(Insert pictures of the hotel)

At 1pm, we began getting ready:

• Vik and Pav — white sherwanis

• Kam and Ranvir — green sherwanis

• Sunny and Manraj — pink sherwanis

(Insert team Pic)

After a quick team talk, we made our way to the far end of the hotel. The best way to get there? Buggy rides. Naturally, we turned this into a mini mehfil.

(Insert video of us playing on the buggies)

Once we arrived at the Bharat starting point, it was unlike anything we’d ever seen. It rivalled a New York Thanksgiving parade.

At the front of the Bharat were two pick-up trucks chained together with cables. The lead truck carried two petrol generators; the second had a built-in DJ booth and speakers - music to our ears, literally. We’ve always wanted to play along to music during a Bharat. We’ve done it before, but the music is usually a bit meh. This, however, was a proper outdoor setup.

(Insert video and pictures of the Bharat truck)

For the Bharat, we had the privilege of performing alongside drummers from around the world, including (Pav — please insert details of the other drummers).

The plan was for each drumming team to perform in 7-minute rotating slots, before we led the grand finale as we approached the wedding venue — a stunning outdoor pergola set right on the beach.

With the show over we settled down for some food, with 4 hours to kill and realising we were surrounded by an aesthetic which rivals most royal palaces, we used this opportunity for a photoshoot in our new team kit. 

Once done, it was a trip to the airport and a very quiet and weary flight home before we landed at London Gatwick at 2am.