MUMBAI: Sounds of the Nasik Dhol, trumpets, and people screaming and shouting as they cheered their respective teams filled the air.

The audience comprised not suits but people dressed casually yet tastefully, wearing mostly colourful tee-shirts bearing the name of the media agency they represented.
And no, it wasn’t the wine-and-cheese affair you’d normally associate with those oh-so-snooty ad agency-types...

Rather, this year’s Emvies, organised at the Taj Lands End on Friday, 6 September, 7:00 pm onward, was more like a festival you’d suddenly found yourself in the midst of.

The decibels kept rising and so did the energy levels of the swelling crowd.

While there were some 500 attendees, it was easy to spot the different teams; be it Mindshare, MediaComet, Madison, Ogilvy that had huddled into groups across the hall.

Not only did the extravaganza open to the beats of the dhol, till the very end, and especially, each time a winner was announced, the professional dhol players went into overdrive, accompanied by the team’s loud cheering.

The volume never dropped from the beginning till the end, what with dhols, trumpets, whistles, hooting... the works. Towards the end, it reached a crescendo when the Mindshare team took to the stage in purple tee-shirts and bandanas to receive their ‘Agency of the Year’ award.

The atmosphere was enthralling and even the well-suited Ajay Devgn, who put in a special appearance, was completely bowled over by the high spirits. “This is how an award ceremony should actually be like,” he said, adding, “In fact, looking at everyone here, I feel I am over dressed.” Shouts of Satyagraha and Singham promptly followed suit.

The celebrations, punctuated by band/guitar performances by various media companies, continued well past midnight. There was a sumptuous spread and drinks flowed. Everyone was at their jovial best and ‘high’ in spirits.