Parikrama echoes the spirit of the Indian rock music scene from the 1990s. The Delhi-based rock band, which was formed in 1991, took the stage and belted out their originals and covers of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, Hush by Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven. Recently the band dropped their latest number Translucent Night, on World Organ Donation Day (August 13). “We want to raise awareness about a really important cause in our country. A lot of people are in dire need of organs but there are very few organ donors. Translucent Night is just a way to send the message across,” said their lead vocalist Nitin Malik before belting out the number on stage that night.
The concert at Someplace Else was memorable for evoking a sense of nostalgia and delivering energetic numbers that kept the audience hooked! From old-school to new-age rock, Parikrama touched upon various genres. Members Srijan Mahajan (on drums), Gaurav Balani (on bass), Abhishek Mittal (on guitar), Nitin Malik (on vocals), Shashank Singhania (on flute), Saurabh Chaudhury (on guitar), Suhail Ali Khan (on violin) and Subir Malik (on keys) brought rock ‘n’ roll with a twist to Calcutta. A t2 chat with keyboardist Subir Malik...
How do you feel has the rock scene in India evolved since 1991?
I would say the rock music scene was much bigger in 1991, no matter how many sponsors, money and festivals have come into the scenario. The truth is, rock music had taken a backseat with more of the other trending genres coming up. However, lately, rock is making a comeback. Rock ‘n’ roll is a genre that’s survived the passing of time across decades. When it comes to opportunities for rock artistes now — the prospects are much better and bigger. Even though a lot of festivals are mostly focusing on solo artistes and other genres, I’m sure they’ll soon realise the undying spirit of the rock form and sign up more rock bands into it. Initially, Parikrama wasn’t into recording the originals. Out of 100 originals, we have studio versions of only three. But we’re transforming all that — and our main aim is our fans obviously, but also to ensure that kids in India realise what rock music is and carry on the spirit.
What’s it about live shows that Parikrama loves?
We never hit the studio and recorded our songs because we considered Parikrama to be a live band. People would tell us about how we don’t have albums but a repertoire of originals. The special part of doing live music is interacting with the audience who are out there, and appreciating our music. The energy we get from a live crowd is simply remarkable and quite awesome! We’ve dedicated the last 32 years of our time to playing live shows and have gathered a lot of special experiences from each of them.
How was your experience playing at Someplace Else?
Someplace Else is like home to us. It’s one of the venues that’s really close to our hearts. Even before coming here, we posted, “Mama I'm coming home,” because that’s what the place means to us. The kind of relationship we share with Someplace Else and The Park is special. It’s probably the 12th time we’re coming here. It’s one of the best venues to perform at and brings back a host of memories that each of the band members holds close to their hearts.
Tell us a little about Translucent Night.
I was reading an article about organ donation a couple of months back. While reading it I discovered some shocking facts. We’ve got a massive population but very few organ donors or people who’ve pledged to donate organs. A lot of those pledges are not lived up to. It struck a chord and I was deeply affected by it. I did more research about this, went and saw the places which handle all of these and messaged my bandmates about the idea. I also told them if we don’t pledge to donate our organs then it’ll be really hypocritical of us. Within three minutes all the members readily agreed to pledge and even the crew of Translucent Night became organ donors. Our wealth will pass onto our family members, but our bodies and organs are of no use to them. Whether out of grief or tradition, it becomes difficult to donate organs after someone passes, but our song is a campaign we’re running, hoping to inspire people and make a change. Right before the video ends, there’s a declaration on how no actors were used in the film — it might be confusing, but what we meant was each and every crew member has pledged their organs for donation.
What are your upcoming projects?
We’ve announced two of our upcoming singles, one is called Life is Certain and the other is Demons of Time. We’re also working on recording studio versions of our old songs like Open Skies. We also have some big shows lined up and we’re also taking care of our YouTube channel, which we’ve ignored for decades (laughs). A lot of originals, concerts, and festivals are what we’re looking at.
Tell us more about curating the Calcutta setlist.
The Calcutta crowd has always been a classic rock-driven crowd so we made the setlist according to that. We added some classic rock numbers by Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, apart from our originals for them at Someplace Else.
Th
Subir on keys
Violinist Suhail stole the show on August 25
WHAT THEY LOVED
“I’ve been a huge Parikrama fan for a long time. I’ve seen them perform at SPE for over a decade now and hearing a new lineup felt nice. The guitarist and violinist are a wonderful addition,” said the drummer of Calcutta-based band, Thr Gooverz and Samantak & Mates, Dipayan Ganguly, while posing with his friends.
(L-R) “I was there with my cousins and reunited with them after 13 years. It was great listening to Parikrama on this joyous occasion. I enjoyed it to the fullest,” said Mimssi.
“Listening to a couple of Parikrama’s songs was one thing, but catching them live was a game-changer. Was lucky to be visiting Calcutta that night, grooving on my own during the gig. It became a memorable night that firmly planted them as one of my top rock bands. Hoping to see them play in Delhi soon,” said Rutuja Chhajed from New Delhi.