Last night, the airport saw young Beliebers, some runaways, some hopefuls, pitch camp for just a glimpse of their idol
Superfans Mohammad Zayd, Aishwarya Rai and Shristi Pareek wait at the Mumbai airport last night. Pics/Satej Shinde
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Twenty-two-year-old Shristi Pareek from Jaipur will do anything to meet Justin Bieber, even lie to her parents and slip away from home. Last night, she sat on the pavement outside the Mumbai airport waiting to catch one glimpse of the pop icon. "There is no way I can miss this chance to see Bieber; I don't know when he will come here again," she told mid-day.
Aishwarya Rai holds up a welcome sign while a group of fans wait for the star at the airport last night
Pareek, who has been preparing for an MBA entrance test in her hometown Jaipur, would not have been given permission to make it to Mumbai for the Wednesday concert. "I've just appeared for the CET. So, I told my parents I was coming to Mumbai for interviews that would last over a week. I will be here till May 14. Even my friends and cousins don't know of my plan lest they leak the information," said Srishti, who has in her kitty a R10,000 gold pass to Bieber's May 10 concert at DY Patil Stadium.
Aishwarya Rai
Until then, she will wait at the airport for the superstar to arrive. Pareek is in good company. There were at least 30 young fans huddled together outside the airport last night, some of whom have been waiting there as long as three days for the international star to turn up. They hold placards with 'Welcome 2 India, JB' and 'You give us purpose' messages painted on them.
Like most in the group, this will be Pareek's first live Bieber show. For years, she has listened to her favourite JB song, Nothing like us, and dreamt of meeting him. Right next to her is another superfan - 19-year-old Aishwarya Rai, who has travelled from Nepal alone to make it to Bieber's concert. Sporting a 'Justin forever' T-shirt, and carrying a water bottle with the singer's photo, Rai has been waiting at the airport with Shristi since 11 pm Monday.
"I boarded a flight to Mumbai on May 8, and found out online that Justin is yet to arrive, so Shristi and I decided we'd shack up at airport. After waiting for more than three hours, we were told he is going to arrive at the corporate terminal, so now we plan to wait there. We just want one selfie with him," said Rai, whose favourite song by the artiste is I'll show you.
While the teenager did ask her parents for permission to attend the concert, she had a hard time persuading them to let her travel from Nepal alone. "My parents have supported my interests, but they were not sure about letting me come here alone. Many of my friends wanted to join me, but either their parents didn't allow them, or they had financial restraints. Thankfully, for me, the path was clear. I have been waiting for this moment for many years," said Rai, who is staying with Pareek at a hotel in the Western suburbs.
Their friendship spans across the border by a shared love for Bieber. They met through an online fan club. That's also how Rai met Mohammed Zayd (24), who scored two platinum tickets (costing R16,000 each) to the concert. He's assured an up close view of the artiste performing on stage.
Zayed, who is pursuing an MBA in Ahmedabad, said, "I heard about the event through my friends and the fan club, Justin Beiber Street Team, on Facebook. We know that we will see him live at the event, but there will be a huge crowd out there. We have been waiting here in case we get lucky and he agrees to a selfie with us."
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