We Didn’t Start the Fire

The city’s original rockers showed us how it is done at the launch of the book India Psychedelic: The Story of a Rocking Generation

The band played a short set which included Pinball wizard and Nights in white satin by The Moody Blues.

On Tuesday night, after belting out a superb rendition of Pinball wizard by The Who, vocalist Nandu Bhende said, “You can’t take rock out of these old bones. Rock music will never die.” The proclamation was more cute than rousing. Even so, the launch of Siddharth Bhatia’s book India Psychedelic: The Story of a Rocking Generation at Blue Frog was a landmark in the city’s live music calender.

Bhatia writes about five beat groups from the ’60s and ’70s that started the rock scene in the city in the hardback book that has anecdotes and pictures from the music scene at the time. The book takes “a trip down memory lane”, a phrase often used during the evening, particularly by a 50-something inebriated fan who couldn’t get enough of the music.

After an informal chat between author-journalist Naresh Fernandes and Bhatia, music took centre stage. Deveika and Suresh Bhojwani played mellow covers from the era, but it was the next band, a gathering of two heavyweights, that set the mood for the night. Bhende, known for his roles on the stage with Jesus Christ Superstar and Jaya, India’s first original rock opera, and Keith Veigas, from the only psychedelic band of the time, Atomic Forest, showed talent was ageless. The band played a short set which included Pinball wizard and Nights in white satin by The Moody Blues.

Ending the night were The Savages, the first Indian rockers to get a recording contract. Its members Bashir Shaikh, Ralph Pais, Prabhakar Mundkur, Barry Murray and Joe Alvares paid tribute to two bandmates they have lost over the years. Alvares’s powerful voice got every one to the dance floor and no one could fault them for their energy.

With indie music poised to take a giant leap, Tuesday’s gig was a chance to breathe in and look back to where it all started.

KEVIN LOBO

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