Psychedelic Baul

How I wish,how I wish you were here, sang the singer into the mike.

Written by Shantanu David
July 20, 2012 02:55 AM IST

2 min read

How I wish,how I wish you were here, sang the singer into the mike. The crowd screamed and hooted in approval as Faruk Mahfuj Anam,better known as James,belted out a slew of psychedelic rock tracks,one after the other. The lead guitarist and vocalist of Bangladeshi band Nagar Baul,James repertoire is as exhaustive as it is varied. Comfortable in multiple languages and in a host of genres,James has carved a distinctive niche for himself.

The occasion was the launch of Club Rhino in Gurgaon. And James,known as the man who pioneered psychedelic rock music in Bangladesh,was the evenings star attraction. When he stepped on to the stage,it was to the sound of deafening applause. Though the singer-songwriter-musician is based in Dhaka,his tracks in various Bollywood movies have won him a significant Indian audience. His compositions include Bheegi Bheegi from Gangster and Chal chalein from Woh Lamhe. At the gig,there was a huge crowd of Bengalis who had come to see their audio hero in the flesh and were his most vocal supporters. James took the stage and sang 12 songs: three in Bengali,three in Hindi and six in English. The crowd lapped it all up.