Indian Ocean in performance. A Telegraph picture

They have won over hearts with Bandeh and Jhini and have reached sant Kabir?s wise words to campuses across the country. Sushmit, Asheem, Amit and Rahul are Indian Ocean. Inam Hussain Mullick talks to them about their music, their influences, on the film Black Friday and even Mohiner Ghoraguli!

Tell us about the sound and setup of your band. Interestingly, you don?t have a keyboardist.

Ten years ago, we did have a keyboardist, but the synth sounds didn?t work out for us. We have a good acoustic and percussion set-up and even want to use the clarinet and saxophone.

We often see Indian Ocean using unusual instruments...

Well, they are very inexpensive. And they gel well with the folk element in our music.

What initiates your songs ? the chord progression or the lyrics?

Generally, it?s the former. Sanju (Sanjeev Sharma) comes down to listen to the tune we make and then pens down the lyrics. Bhor, Khajuraho, Des mera were all written by him.

Do you believe in conveying protest through your songs?

It varies from band to band. Some of our songs are obviously charged with protest. Even Bandeh has a message.

Who are the Indian musicians who have influenced you?

Kumar Gandharva, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Ajoy Chakraborty and Manna De are much admired. But then there also are elements beyond music that influence us like the place we live in, the ambience and experiences.

And on the Western front?

John Coltrane (the jazz exponent) is an all-time favourite.

Don?t you think jazz elements are relatively underused in the Indian band music?

Yes. But the Hindustani classical approach is amazingly similar to jazz. It?s all about improvising upon a given raga within the particular frame of notes. Same as with the jazz chord patterns.

How important is the music video to an album?

Though unfortunate, there is no denying that the video helps tremendously in marketing the music. The television channels reach us to a large audience, which in turn pushes up the income per show. The video has nothing to do with the music though. Kandisa had no video.

How was experience of working on the music for Black Friday?

Amazing. It was the first full-length film soundtrack we worked on. The director, Anurag Kashyap, gave us a lot of space. He was going through some of our tracks and liked the second part of Bandeh. Lyricist Piyush Mishra got the feel of the song and penned down the words. The film never released but the music became popular.

How?s the music scene in Calcutta?

The emergence of so many Bangla bands is in itself a revolution. After Gautam Chattopadhyay and Mohiner Ghoraguli there was a vacuum for about 10 to 15 years. The revival of bands seems to have been influenced by the scene in Bangladesh, where there has been a tradition of bands who even send out political messages. But there is a downside to the trend, too. There are about 350 registered Bangla bands in Calcutta. Perhaps, only 10 per cent can be called good.

Any message to the upcoming musicians?

We have been playing for about 16 years. In the beginning, there was no money at all. In fact, we spent more on travelling to and from the practice sessions than we earned. But you have to be patient and stick on.

What?s on your mind this week

Shout out loud

Team matters

The abysmal defeat of Team India at the Wankhede Test against England has led to varied speculations. Most people are pointing fingers at the selection committee and as always, it seems the cries are falling on deaf ears. The plea of bringing back Sourav Ganguly into the Indian cricket team has gained new impetus and quite inevitably so. But the fact that these appeals came from the Mumbai stadium gallery is being given special attention by everybody. Can?t we rise above this regionalism and think about our country as a whole? What is the big issue about which stadium backs which player? Whether from Calcutta or Mumbai, our first concern must be the team. The selection board should select only the most deserving players for the team, solely on the basis of merit and not on which place he belongs to.

Poulomi Ghosh,
2nd yr English (hons), Loreto College

Book bound

According to reports, The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown has been accused of plagiarism for copying works from the book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, written jointly by historians Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. The book shares the same theme as Brown?s novel. This trial has further opened up a torrent of questions whether fiction writers should be allowed to refer to others? ideas and works. Many authors are concerned that should Brown lose the case, their referring to other works might be considered illegal. To make fiction more appealing, writers often need to incorporate different ideas and information. In fact, without using factual details, a work of fiction will be unable to convey the story cogently to the readers. So, whatever be the result of the trial, authors must retain the liberty to referring to works they feel relevant.

Godhuli Goswami,
2nd yr English (hons), Lady Brabourne College

Tough training

Children are increasingly being pushed into Montessories and play houses at a very tender age. The aim is to train them to face the interviews during admission to reputed schools. There was a time when parents loved to see their children take their time to learn things, but not anymore. They are, in fact, relieved to send their children to creches and baby-sitters. The adverse effect on the children?s health is visible.

Tanushri Akuli,
Business Management, CU

Chit Chat

Women power

March 19 was Woman?s Day in Paikhala, the adopted village of St Xavier?s College. The National Service Scheme (NSS) of the college organised a programme at the South 24-Parganas village to inspire the local women to realise their self-worth and raise their voices against gender-bias and atrocities against them.

After a short introductory speech and a song by NSS members, it was time for the otherwise timid and shy village women to take centre-stage. They put up some hearty performances, including poetry recitations and songs.

Three short skits based on the lives of these women were then performed by the NSS members. They focused on the inconveniences the women faced because of illiteracy. Most of the women in the audience later pledged to become literate.

The NSS members then posed as men drinking and beating up their wives or economically depending on them. The women were asked to suggest what could be done to change the scenario.

Inspired by the items presented, two of the women came forward to perform a short play on their personal experiences. By the end of the programme, women?s empowerment had truly taken root in the small hamlet.