Parikrama is a Rock and Roll band from India. They have several live performances and original numbers to their name.The band was officially formed on June 17, 1991 in New Delhi. The word Parikrama means 'orbital revolutions' in Sanskrit.The band consists of:
- Nitin Malik lead vocals
- Sonam Sherpa lead guitars
- Saurabh Choudhary guitar
- Subir Malik keyboard, synthesizers
- Chintan Kalra bass guitar, backing vocals
- Srijan Mahajan drums
And also:
- Shambu Nath tabla, mridangam, percussion
- Imran Khan violins
- Rajat Kakkar percussion
Parikrama has more than 1000 concerts to their name, which have been held all over India in more than forty cities and participated in various international competitions held in India and abroad. They are yet to release a full-length album, though they did release a free multimedia CD of their singles and videos in 2001. The band does not have any policies against their music being copied and distributed . They have made their music available for download on their official website.The band often fuses Indian classical music instruments like mridangam, tabla and flute with conventional instruments like guitar, drums and keyboards. They have been inspired and influenced by the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix, Allman Brothers and The Doors.
Recordings
The first song "Xerox" was named 'the face of Indian rock'.Their first hit single "Till I?m No One Again" was released in 1995 along with "Open Skies". It was among thirteen other songs chosen from the demos sent by a hundred and fifty other bands in the country. This release, titled ? 'The Great Indian Rock-series' volume 1,produced by Mr. Amit Sehgal, owner & publisher of the India's first rockzine-
Rock Street Journal. carried the first momentous side of Indian rock to the world.Their biggest hit, "But it rained", was released next year 1996. This song was dedicated to the kidnappings that had occurred in the Kashmir Valley, during that period. Another song - "Gonna Get It" was released in the same year.Their sixth number in succession was released in 1997 by the name of "Load Up".This band composed the song "The Superhero" for the geeks of Bangalore only recently. This was in due course of the visit of Microsoft?s chairman Bill Gates to the IT capital of India, Bangalore.A Parikrama original "Rhythm and Blues" was created in course of their jam session with Usha Uthup.Parikrama has recently released a few more originals like the Lord of the Rings-inspired "Am I Dreaming", "Tears of the Wizard" and "In the Middle".Apart from "But it rained" another Parikrama original called "Vapourize" is a crowd favorite. "Vapourize" is a 7:30 minutes long song and features harmonized Guitar Solos with a Violin Solo.Currently a number of recordings are available as free MP3 downloads on the bands official site.
Major Concerts
Their first concert was at New Delhi?s first ever concert on AIDS awareness.On December 18 2005, Parikrama performed with Saif Ali Khan at the Royal Stag Corporate Carnival, New Delhi.On Feb 20 2007, Parikrama performed in Goa for the "Band of the sand" which was held at Calangute beach, as part of the Goa Carnival festival 2007. They were also the judges for "Band of the sand"Parikrama, with FtN and Lauren Harris, opened for Iron Maiden at Bangalore, in March 2007.Parikrama performed at Download Festival in Donington in 2007 on the same day as a warm up to Iron Maiden. At this concert Nitin Malik stated that they were there because Iron Maiden had requested the event organisers for them to be on the billing and it was an honour for them to return the favour of Iron Maiden who travelled to Bangalore, India in March 2007.The band also supported Iron Maiden at the special Clive Burr MS Trust fund concert at Brixton Academy on 24th June 2007, after coming to Maiden's attention at the Bangalore show.
[1]Parikrama is touring all the metros, with Saif Ali Khan.Parikrama is slated to open for Iron Maiden on Feb. 1st in Mumbai.Parikrama would be touring USA in the month of March.Parirkama is expected to play at SXSW
Recent Shows
Parikrama headlined the Independance rock Mumbai finals on 8-Sep-2007, and performed in The Doon School, Dehradun on 8-Oct-2007.Parikrama also performed at Backwaters, the annual management fest of IIM Kozhikode, 13-Jan-2008.
Trivia
- Subir and Nitin are brothers.
- Subir is the eldest at 37 and Srijan is the youngest at 20.
- Subir, Nitin and Chintan are from the same school, St. Xavier's, Delhi. Subir is the eldest, Chintan and Nitin, two year younger, were classmates.
- Chintan was a student at NIFT before becoming fulltime member of the band.
- The logo of Parikrama,with the illusion art is created by Chintan.
- The band is highly eco-friendly and uses recycled papers instead.
- The band is credited for improvising Pink Floyd songs highest among all.
- Saurabh Chaudhry has a degree in Business Administration.
References
External links
Indian musical groups
