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The Doyen of Indian Rock: Parikrama

Standing on the threshold of its eighteenth year, Parikrama is one of the most celebrated Rock bands in the annals of Indian Rock music.

17 June 1991: Six guys come together and christen their band Parikrama – circle of life. Standing on the threshold of its eighteenth year, Parikrama is one of the most celebrated Rock bands in the annals of Indian Rock music and is doing precisely what it’s being loved for – making music the way it conceptualises and never compromising on its creative aspects. Parikrama comprises Nitin Malik as the lead vocalist, Subir Malik on synthesizers and keyboards, Sonam Sherpa the lead guitarist, Chintan Kalra on bass, Saurabh Choudhary on the guitar, Srijan Mahajan on drums and often accompanied by violinist Imran Khan, percussionists Rajat Kakkar, Shambhu Nath, Dilip Ramchandran or Surojit Dev.
Knowing the fact that Indian masses are fed on the staple diet of Bollywood and are oblivious to Rock scene, Parikrama is one such band that has dared to defy the ubiquitous norm of Bollywood by making alternative music in a ‘phoren’ language! As Delhi’s one of the oldest and most esteemed Rock bands, over the years, Parikrama has spawned its unrivalled fan base both in India and West. With hits like ‘Vapourize’, ‘Open Skies’, ‘But it Rained’ and ‘Till I’m No One Again’ and many more under its belt, Parikrama is one such Indian Rock act that is worth every single penny! In an exclusive interview with Spicezee’s Aman Kanth, Subir Malik – the manager and keyboardist of Parikrama talks about the band, its journey, its musical influences, its eighteenth year and, of course, its upcoming new singles! Aman : Today, Parikrama is one of the most celebrated Rock bands in India. Walking down the memory lane, how did it all began? Subir : Basically, I was playing with a lot of bands during the 80s and none of the bands played classic Rock - the kind of music which I wanted to do. Well, I had the option of joining my family business, but it was once at IIT Kanpur when I saw a band whose guys I knew from school and were playing my kind of music. Initially, Parikrama started as a four month project and the rest is history! Aman : Why the name Parikrama? Subir : Parikrama means circle of life – whatever begins ends. The name is inspired from one of Osho’s book ‘Vishwa Parikrama’ and hence, Parikrama. Also, during those days, none of the bands had a Hindi name. Aman : What have been the defining moments in history of Parikrama? Subir : Well, till date, one of the biggest moments in the history of Parikrama was ‘Iron Maiden’ taking us to the Download Festival where we got a chance to play besides distinguished Rock bands such as Dream Theatre, Velvet Revolver, Megadeath, Evanescence, Marilyn Manson and Linkin Park. Aman : What are Parikrama’s musical influences? Subir : Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC are some of the musical influences of Parikrama. Aman : Despite enjoying a colossal fan base, Parikrama never cut an album? Why so? Subir : In 1997, we were the first band to buy our own domain name and gave our music for free. This helped us tremendously in increasing our fan base and making our music popular. Today, the whole world is going this way. Bands are coming up with their websites and offering music for free. Aman : What’s your take on music piracy, especially illegal downloads? Subir : Look, there is no way to stop illegal downloads. You just can’t stop it! It’s a reality which has almost finished the record industry! Today, you cut an album and within hours, it’s freely available on the internet. Aman : Is making music in English a conscious decision at the part of Parikrama? Subir : Yes, that’s what we at Parikrama want to do and we are happy doing our stuff. It’s just like if we cut an album, we consider it the way we perceive it. Aman : With majority of Indian audience sold out to Bollywood numbers, are there many takers of Indian Rock? Subir : Well, in that case look at Bollywood flick ‘Rock On!!’ whose songs were inspired by the very genre of Rock. Essentially, it’s not a matter of ‘medium of music’ but ‘medium of language’. In India, probably you have 4 to 5 percent people listening to music in English. You see, down south if you compare Motherjane with Avival, the latter’s popularity lies in the fact that it is making Rock music in the regional language. In our case, it’s our hobby to make music and we are happily doing it. Aman : With Parikrama, one gets to hear traditional Indian instruments like tabla and flute along with guitars, drums and keyboard. Can we say that Parikrama is a fusion of East and West? Subir : We are basically a ‘Blues based Rock band’. Talking of traditional instruments in accordance with Western ones, even a violin is played like a guitar solo in our songs. Aman : What makes Parikrama different from other Indian Rock bands? Subir : (Smiles) Well, we don’t sit and analyze other’s songs. Today, there are many bands and each has its own unique identity. In our case, it’s the way we use a variety of musical instruments such as adding violins, tabla, flute et al. Aman : Can a band survive on shows alone? Is it essential to have a parallel career in order to pursue music? Subir : See, it all depends on contentment. It depends precisely on what your needs are. We never survive on music. For us at Parikrama, money-wise, none of us depends on music alone. Aman : On a typical day when not making music, how do Parikrama guys unwind? Subir : Well, we do not meet often; every person is busy with his life, some like going out and I like to spend time with my kids. Aman : Any message to the budding Rock stars of India? Subir : Well, keep Rocking and do keep your egos outside the practice room. Aman : When is Parikrama coming out with its new number? Subir : We are working on two new singles and for Parikrama fans, maybe will come out with an album too. (Parikrama celebrated its eighteenth year on 17 June 2009)