Imagine playing Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine” on a harmonium, and playing it well. It all began from there for Parikrama’s star keyboard player and manager, Subir Malik. As a child, it was then that he discovered his passion for the piano keys.
Parikrama is one of the oldest and possibly the most popular rock band that India has produced. They came together in the summer of 1991 and since then there has been no looking back. With its motto, “Never compromise, never surrender”, this band has stuck to its roots, without getting lured into the big bad world of Bollywood and Indi pop. Having denied 35 album deals, they’ve played classic rock with shades of metal over the years. And they intend to keep it that way.
Nitin Malik (vocalist), Sonam Sherpa (guitarist), Saurabh Choudhary (guitarist), Chintan Kalra (bass guitarist), Srijan Mahajan (drummer) and Subir Malik (keyboard player) make up Parikrama. They’re sometimes accompanied by Shambhu Nath on the tabla and Imran Khan on the violin. I was surprised to know that none of the members of the band are trained musicians. “We’re all self taught; we simply followed our desires and our music continues to be influenced by what we’ve grown up with” says Subir.
So how did it all begin? “I saw the band play at Kanpur for the first time”, says Subir, a reminiscent smile playing on his lips. He had been dabbling in music for some time and though he was creatively satisfied, he couldn’t conceive playing the keyboard as a profession. He gave himself four months to play with a band before he could take over his family business. And he approached Parikrama.
The band came together for its first show at Father Agnel School in New Delhi in September 1991. “We discovered Sonam, our guitarist in that show”, says Subir. They had decided to play for Rs 500, but the authorities were so impressed with their performance and with the audience going beserk, they decided to pay them Rs 500 each. “I knew then that Parikrama had arrived”, says he.
They played at 40 concerts in the first year itself, including several outstation shows. Their music was such a huge hit that at the end of the first year, they were charging Rs 18,000 per show. Says Subir, “we decided to invest the money to further the interests of the band. In fact, until 1996, none of the members got paid for any of the performances!”
As manager of the band, Subir invested the money wisely. So, Parikrama got an office cum studio where they could practice, international equipment and office stationery such as a computer, a telephone, a fax machine and so on. “Why do people have to be eccentric to be creative?” he asks. He understood that to run a band successfully it was necessary to understand the importance of speed in the business. “I was inspired by Lakshmi Mittal. In his earlier days he invested in a fax machine even though it was much more expensive than sending messages by post. But that way, he also got work done faster and more efficiently” he tells me.
With money pouring in, Subir began to order equipment from Singapore. He would coordinate all transactions over the phone day in and day out to ensure that the best equipment came in. He points out, “we didn’t really have stores that stocked up on quality equipment those days; it’s much different now”.
Their first original was Xerox, which Subir penned himself. But the song that really got them going was But it rained in 1995. It was based on an incident in Kashmir that occurred on August 15, 1995. A terrorist organisation had kidnapped five foreigners, a couple of who went missing and were never found. “One figures ways to deal with loss; but how do you deal with the idea that your loved one has gone missing? Do you dare to hope for their return, or do you just let go? But it rained is for those who are left behind”, states Subir.
What about album sales? “We’ve never recorded an album” he quips. Subir realised the power of the Internet very early on. “Who buys albums now-a-days? People prefer downloading music”, he says. Parikrama launched its own website www.parikrama.com in 1995 and put up all its soundtracks on it within an hour of a song being recorded. With their music being so accessible, it isn’t the biggest surprise that their popularity grew tremendously over the years. Of course, you download the songs for free.
The band made history last year with its performances with Saif Ali Khan and Iron Maiden. “DNA called us and asked us to perform with Iron Maiden”, he says excitedly. The two bands performed together for the first time in Bangalore in June 2008. Iron Maiden was so impressed with Parikrama’s performance that they asked the latter to accompany them to London for a concert at Princeton Academy. Since then, not only have the two bands performed together a number of times, but Parikrama has also become a regular on the international circuit of bands. A high point was their performance at the Festivities of the Coronation of the King in Bhutan last November.
Subir juggles Parikrama, a fireworks company, a CD duplication plant, 26 other artists and bands and a music school with elan. “I’m also raising two beautiful daughters, Ria and Ira”, he says proudly. Are they into music as well? “Ria is learning to play the piano. Though she can make her own choices, I want her to learn what I couldn’t learn. I also want to cultivate a love of music in her”, he says.
So what can we expect from the band this year? “Lots of new music, of course and many more concerts”, he tells me. Between playing with Iron Maiden and other concerts lined up everyday for the next few months, Subir Malik and Parikrama promise an action packed year, yet again.
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