“Oh my God,” exclaims Raveena Sakiri, trying to catch a breath. She wouldn’t believe anyone until she checked Ed Sheeran’s official website for his India concert dates.
“Last time, he had just announced it a month before his concert. This time, it is six months before,” notes an excited Sakiri.
Many wouldn’t remember Ed Sheeran’s 2015 concert in Mumbai, because he wasn’t as popular as he is right now. Back in 2014 around October, rumours and fake news did the rounds about Ed’s arrival in India and the hoax disappointed his loyal fans, who had to really wait it out a full year.
“I remember getting VVIP tickets in 2015, since I owed it to my journey as a fan of his ever since one of his first songs ‘You need me, I don’t need you’,” narrates Sakiri. A 21-year-old, she has been into Ed Sheeran’s music for almost seven years now. She shelled out her savings of up to Rs 4,000 to get VVIP access and stood as close to Ed as she could, during the concert.
“From what I know about Ed’s concerts, tickets will always be priced decently. This time the production is super high, due to the increase in his fan base in India. There are rumours doing the rounds that his tickets may be as high as Rs 76,000. I really want to tell those people to stop freaking and stop freaking out others as well. Just calm down! It’s going to be affordable,” reassures Sakiri in her Zen tone.
She may seem as someone who is an absolutely crazy person, high on capslock statuses and tweets for Ed on social media, but her journey as a fan gets one to understand how being a fan in itself shapes a person.
“As a guitarist and someone into writing and singing myself, I connect a lot with Ed’s songs on a different level. They say, imitation is the best form of flattery, and by learning to play his songs or attempt to sing like him, I have come out of the dark corner and become a better guitarist over the years,” reveals an emotional Sakiri.
She continues in the same tone, “If Ed comes and stands in front of me tomorrow, the first words I’d utter would be ‘Thank You.’ Because his music has helped me rediscover a side to me that I never believed existed.”
Last concert Sakiri, along with her friends had made a big scrapbook and a dream catcher for Ed as a present. This concert too, she has a major fan project that she plans to undertake.
Her genuine motive of solely connecting with Ed, just to live his music may have paid of Sakiri in form of an accidental relation she has recently developed with his mother, Mrs. Sheeran.
Yes, Raveena Sakiri and Mrs. Sheeran are email buddies and their story is one that is simply touching.
“Ed’s parents are both into art. Mrs. Sheeran runs a website where she sells handmade jewellery and several are inspired by Ed’s music. So last birthday, I decided to gift myself one of the necklaces which had elements from my favourite Ed composition ‘Wake Me Up’,” narrates Sakiri.
The website mentioned ‘India’ as an option to ship. But for months later, Sakiri never got the neck piece. A little worried, she wrote to the customer care email ID inquiring about its status. To her utter amazement, within half an hour of her writing the email, she got a response from Ed’s mother’s email ID.
“Mrs. Sheeran apologized over and over again and said that she hadn’t been handling her business for a while due to some family emergency. She also explained how she loved India and visited several times. But due to uncertainty of delivery, they had stopped shipping to India completely.”
Mrs. Sheeran asked Sakiri if her order could be shipped to any other address. As Sakiri’s aunt lived in Lester, that seemed viable for her.
“I had ordered just one necklace. Ed’s mother replied to me again, in an email saying she was throwing an extra present in there to compensate. She even asked if my ears were pierced.”
Once the package arrived, Sakiri cried for one whole day. It wasn’t just a necklace with matching earrings. There were several other gifts like bracelets, bands, gift cards, and products which weren’t even available on the website and were custom made for her.
“We still have some of the most candid conversation and we are pen pals. She is a caring person. I see where Ed gets his humility and other qualities from. And what I share with his mother is completely independent of my crazy fangirl side of what I have for him,” says Sakiri with a smile.