Uprising

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Despite Freddie Mercury being a rock star of Indian origin and recognised worldwide, it is not commonly known for the outside world to associate India with rock music. However, times have been changing and have chartered a different course for Indian rock. A revolution maybe?

The Indian music scene which has been mostly about film scores took a back seat in Jakarta on sixth December when Parikrama, an Indian rock band formed since 1991 blew the crowd away with music so hot and wild, it created a vortex of energy throughout the auditorium.

As fitting as their name is, Parikrama which means 'orbital revolutions' in Sanskrit or 'circle of life' as some would put it, consisted that night of Nitin Malik as the lead vocalist, Subir Malik on synthesizers and keyboards, Sonam Sherpa as lead guitarist, Chintan Kalra on bass, Saurabh Choudhary on guitar, Srijan Mahajan on drums, Imran Khan on violin and Shambhu Nath on tabla.

The current Indian rock scene has a larger following than ever in the last few years and is increasingly becoming comparable in their production quality to western bands. Parikrama, I would daringly say has the ability to break the glass ceiling of the incessant film music by making rock an alternative choice for feet tapping, head banging, hand swaying, alternate genre seeking fans not only in India but worldwide.

With aspirations to perform with world renowned maestro Ravi Shankar, Nitin Malik expressed ‘being on top of the world’ when asked by MC Arletta Danisworo on how he felt on performing in Jakarta for the ongoing Festival of India organised by the Indian Embassy.

The band performed for the first time in a school in Delhi eighteen years ago and has evolved so rapidly to having performed alongside Iron Maiden in Mumbai as well as in Donington at the 2007 Download Festival. Parikrama, as I would define it, is a euphonious fusion of traditional and western instruments with creative notes, visionary lyrics and mind blowing orchestration. Rock is about grabbing people’s attentions and so they have with their unique repertoire!

With soulful vocals and ambient waves woven into every song, Parikrama have a base sound that is delivered without sounding monotonous. Nitin’s voice is reminiscent of Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler while Kalra’s bass line is deep and distinct during the verses. Complimenting them is Sherpa with amazing guitar riffs that give off an airy, juiced up ambience in unison with Subir’s smooth cords and trancelike head banging, Choudhary’s twists on the guitar, Mahajan’s ferocious drumming, Khan’s dexterous bowing and Nath’s effortless play.

As Gene Simmons simply put it, “James Bond has a license to kill; rockstars have a license to be outrageous”. With that being said, cheery audience sing-along’s, calls for hand clapping and impromptu choreography and addresses to the audience made it a magical killer night of crazed teenagers and adults alike. I even witnessed children as young as six or seven jiving and krumping to the rhythm of their pulsating beats, not to mention a few chutzpah filled grandma’s and grandpa’s who boogied the night away!

Influenced by the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors, Parikrama has been referred by British media as one of India’s finest rock band. The band’s first song is entitled Xerox followed by their hit single ‘Till I’m No One Again’ which made it to the Great Indian Rock album. ‘Vapourize’, a seven and half minute song includes guitar and violin solos, known to be a crowd puller. However, their masterpiece entitled ‘But It Rained’ is what brought them into the spotlight; a song dedicated to the Kashmir valley kidnappings of 1996.

The band’s recent releases include the Lord of the Rings inspired ‘Am I Dreaming’ and ‘Tears of the Wizard’. The latter which the band played that evening is based on the character of Gandalf the White from the second instalment of the movie ‘The Two Towers’. This is their ode to the great JRR Tolkien’s classic saga. With Nitin’s introduction to the song, it had me reminiscing on the scene where he appears after a blinding light stating, “I am Gandalf the White. And I come back to you now - at the turn of the tide”. That got me to savour their song and lyrics even more as I bet it did any LOTR buff that was present.

The evening came to an end with an encore of the band’s rendition of Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke on the Water’ which drove the crowd into an effervescent frenzy with everyone off their seats and write up in front spouting moves so tight that I can’t even term them. It’s too early to post information on their future shows next year , but Parikrama should stay on your radar for bands you should check out live!

Their tour of Indonesia that started in Bandung on fourth December continued in Medan on the fifth, in Jakarta on the sixth, in Yogyakarta on the seventh, in Surabaya on the eighth and finally in Bali on tenth December. For those who could possibly be in India for the Christmas come New Year holidays, you can catch them performing on the twenty-first of December during ‘Mood Indigo', an annual cultural festival held at the Indian Institute of Technology Powai Campus, Mumbai.

Rock on!

The writer is an aerospace and defence journalist. She is currently based in Jakarta and can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

By
Rosemarie John