Photo of Pakirama courtesy of aloshbennett

The Indian rock scene is on the rise. The enthusiasm that surrounds rock gigs in the Indian cities and the new magazines and the pubs (including the Hard Rock Café) coming up have more and more sponsors sitting up and taking notice.

What may surprise you even more is the sheer variety of cultures that just come together and explode, opening myriad avenues for experimentation and hybridization in the music scene. This is bound to happen, after all, with the country’s tradition of classical and folk music and their great exposure to the rock music legends of the West, Indian musicians have a diverse heritage to call their own.

Silk Route’s Dooba Dooba

This is a phenomenon that’s urban-centric. Most of the audiences are city people who visit concerts and live music venues to access these bands.

Even as the talent overwhelms local music fans, the original bands face many roadblocks on their way to recognition. The audience demand for familiar, played out, classic rock covers could easily crush a band’s original spirit. Couple this with a low market demand and you have a recipe for weekends of unenthusiastic renditions of warmed over Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden.

Thankfully, the World Wide Web has been a great resource in the dissemination of Indian Rock, and bands are able to reach wider audiences through websites and MySpace.

There are many amazing, original bands that have had to struggle and keep a balance between playing covers and originals for years before becoming as big as they are now: bands such as Them Clones, MotherJane, The Superfuzz, Thermal and a Quarter, Pentagram, Orange Street, Zero and especially Parikrama.

Then there are those that fuse Indian languages and rock music so well: Euphoria, Indian Ocean and Silk Route, replete with an audience that truly appreciates these original artists.

Photo of Cassini’s Division courtesy of sayamindu

It’s becoming clear that many fans are getting sick of the incessant recycling of cover songs and waking up to the amazing work being done by a handful of original bands. Some of the best original upcoming and established bands include Cassini’s Division, Pin Drop Violence andDemonic Resurrection

Pin Drop Violence at the Independence Rock Festival

Another personal favorite is the Khadki Junction Blues, who unfortunately aren’t together anymore, but have some brilliant work.

Khadki Junction Blues show their sense of humor through the blues

With the support of magazines such as the Rock Street Journal and more recently, Rolling Stone India, more and more of these bands are coming into the limelight.

Although underground is nowhere near being mainstream, it is heartening to see the kind of support the Indian audience is capable of providing. This support is more than evident at rock fests happening in the major cities. Great Indian Rock , Independence Rock, Campus Rock Idols and the June Rock Out are a few of the best known. These festivals see a lot of talented bands doing their stuff live for ever increasing crowds of enthusiastic young Indian rockers and metal-heads.

There is much to be said about the contemporary Indian rock and metal scene; providing a comprehensive overview in one place is difficult, and I can only call this an introduction.

This is a jumping off point for you to discover a whole new world of alternative, crazy, supremely enjoyable rock and metal music where you might not have been looking for it until now.

It looks like all the years of perseverance might just pay off…take heart, all you original Indian artists and rock enthusiasts, there is hope yet.

Community Connection

Interested in more metal around the world? Check out the worldwide black metal scene.

Photo above by Matthias Rosenkranz

Feature photo by Bruno Girin

Visitors to Calcutta get a taste of a culture that has been affected deeply by British colonization as well as more modern trends of globalization, all within a distinctly Indian framework. Some of the city’s best bars, clubs, and live music venues are listed below; in each, you can expect to see and meet an eclectic mix of people.

Clubs

Tantra

Park Hotel, 17 Park Street

Tantra is popular with the city’s young clubbers as well as local and visiting celebrities; expect to be treated even better if you’re staying at the Park Hotel. With a dance floor, an additional lounge area and two bars, this would be a popular place even if it wasn’t in such a posh location.

Stag entries are sometimes restricted. DJ nights, theme nights and jams on Sundays are special features.

Photo above by Bruno Girin

Roxy

Park Hotel, 17 Park Street

Another one of the Park Hotel’s offerings, Roxy is also a popular haunt with city clubbers and tourists. Try the snacks here: the kebabs and starters are worth taking a bite or more. Also, the cocktails here are pretty great. The ambiance is a bit less wild than Tantra’s, so head here if you want a laid back night.

The Underground

235/1 A.J.C. Bose Road

The discotheque at Hotel Hindusthan International is good for a night of dancing and drinking. Nice décor, good music, and some great visiting DJs who drop in from time to time. This is a theme nightclub, with decor recalling the London Underground.

Venom

#6, Fort Knox 8th Floor, Camac Street

A word of warning – this place has “members only” nights, so if you turn up on one of these you won’t get in. Otherwise, it’s quite a decent place to party, offering the usual dance floor and bars, as well as pool tables.

Photo above by danielle_blue

Shisha

22 Camac Street

The biggest attraction of Shisha was once its hookah bar; but since the smoking ban was passed, smoking in public places is an offense. Come March 2009, though, Shisha patrons will see a whole new look, and a new smoker’s den will allow patrons to smoke hookah again.

Other clubs you can check out are Dublin (at ITC Sonar Bangla), Fusion (at the Golden Park), and Cloud 9 (at the Astor). If you don’t feel like going to a crowded pub, then drop in at the Fairlawn Hotel at 13/A, Sudder Street for a relaxing drink.

Photo above by johnnyalive

Live Music

La Dolce Vita

3A, Humayun Palace, Behind New Empire Cinema Hall, New Market

Apart from resident DJs, a lounge area and bar, LDV also has visiting bands of many genres, including classic and alternative rock, funk, and hip hop. Calcutta especially adores rock music, and has its own brand of “Bangla Rock” in the local Bengali language (although I don’t think you will come across these any time soon at places like LDV).

This is one of the newest hangouts for headbangers, as well as loungers and clubbers, and is conveniently located in the New Market area.

Some Place Else

Park Hotel, 17 Park Street

An English pub in the Park Hotel, SPE has different acts playing each night of the week, as well as DJs. This intimate pub is one of the older and most popular spots for live music, especially rock.

Photo above by gabyu

The Princeton

26, Prince Anwar Shah Road

Although not situated near the Park Street or Camac Street areas, The Princeton Cluboffers many genres of live music and cheap alcohol. Live bands usually start playing by 9.30 PM, and the featured bands range from the already established to the up and coming.

Apart from this, some restaurants such as Trincas and the Xrong Place also have live music (mostly rock and jazz) regularly.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

Matador’s collection of nightlife guides is always growing: check out the Best of Bangkok Nightlife, the Top 10 Nightlife Spots in Mexico City, or the Top Dive Bars in Las Vegas.