Latest news with #Parikrama
Time of India
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
There isn't one rock'n'roller that Ozzy Osbourne didn't influence: Subir Malik of Parikrama
Collage of Ozzy Osbourne at his last concert and Subir Malik of Parikrama Subir Malik – founder and keyboardist of Parikrama, one of India's most prominent rock bands – says he woke up to the news of Ozzy Osbourns's passing before a red eye flight to Mumbai. "I just couldn't believe it — especially after all the hype of his farewell show at Birmingham. I wanted to be there so badly; I tried to get tickets to the show for days," he said. Malik has always said that the Prince of Darkness was a big musical influence in his life: 'Ozzy was the one of the rebellious bad boys of rock'n'roll that everyone emulated in the Seventies. Ozzy's impact was global, all-pervasive — I don't think there would be any person out there even remotely inclined towards rock'n'roll music, not just as performers, but just listeners, who Ozzy didn't influence. You realise that the creator had a perfect plan for Ozzy's exit. What a guy, and what a way to go!' "Talking about the Back to the Beginning concert, Black Sabbath and Ozzy's last gig on July 6 at Birmingham, Subir said: "It was a perfect example of dying with your boots on, while you're still a rock'n'roller. Not everyone stays that way — a lot of them mellow down with age, and of course, I am not one of them ( laughs ). But even for them, this gig would have rekindled an interest in rock'n'roll, the era from years back. Being an event of such a scale, it must have turned on the next few generations to music.' In a chat with us, Subir traces back his love for Black Sabbath while remembering Ozzy Osbourne . 'I was 13 when I heard Black Sabbath for the first time' The first time I heard Black Sabbath, the original line-up, I must have been in the seventh standard, so about 12-13; an old PRT tape, at the house of my dad's friend. The only introduction to 'guitar music' was from that song sequence in the Rishi Kapoor film, Karz (laughs), and then came Toni Iommi with these crushing riffs. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 4BHK Luxury Duplex starting ₹3.60 Cr* The Gardens II, Vadodara 4BHK,The Gardens II Learn More Undo I remember wondering 'How can this guy sing so high?'. It was the same feeling of wonder I had on hearing Eddie van Halen in the mid-80s, and then Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine) later. 'Parikrama was a meeting point between Black Sabbath & The Doors' For me, the first two bands that opened the doors to rock'n'roll were Ozzy , and a totally different-sounding band, The Doors. The round glasses that I have been wearing for the last 35 years, on and off-stage, I carry a little bit of Ozzy and a little bit of (Doors' keyboardist) Ray Manzarek in them. Parikrama was a meeting point between these two bands. We covered Sabbath extensively back in the day — from Paranoid to Crazy Train to Mama I'm Coming Home . The album that really stayed with me was No More Tears .
Indian Express
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
The rock and roll flame may be on simmer, but it can never die down
I was eight years old, maybe younger, when I heard 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' by Nirvana. It was my first taste of rock and roll, and it opened my soul to a sound I didn't know existed. I remember jumping up and down in the living room with my brother as Kurt Cobain screamed in the backdrop of wailing electric guitar on VH1. I think it's safe to say that I knew the kind of music I would be obsessed with for the rest of my life before I knew that mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. My deep fascination with this raw, uncut genre only grew in my teen years — not just because of my inclination, but because of how it influenced the culture around me. I remember my dad listening to Pink Floyd and Dire Straits at house parties with his friends. I remember teenagers around me taking guitar lessons, modelling their entire personalities after the legendary Axl Rose. I even remember begging my mom to buy me my first band t-shirt when I was just 11 years old — an oversized, grey top with the album art of The Beatles' 'Abbey Road' printed on it. In the early 2000s, independent music burst onto the Indian scene. As the obsession around rock and roll grew, so did the local bands, who may have started out with Led Zeppelin covers but soon found their own sound. It seemed that the thirst for rock could never be satiated — until today, when the craze seems to have died down. Nearly two decades later, the sound and soul of a genre, which once breathed second life into some of the biggest music movements of the time, seems lost. But for the veterans of the genre, rock and roll will survive as long as the spirit of rebellion is alive. In a candid conversation, legendary musician Subir Malik reminisced about how his band Parikrama, considered to be the biggest rock band of Asia at one point, used to play hundreds of college shows up until the 2010s. IITs and IIMs had a deep rock and roll society. Fast forward a decade, and almost no college hosts a rock night anymore. 'College kids in the early 2000s were listening to Floyd and Zeppelin, which is why they related to Parikrama's music. But after 2012, the sound shifted, and local rock and roll bands went into a deep decline,' Subir said. The 55-year-old musician, who founded Parikrama with his younger brother and college mates in the late 1980s, explained how the shift in the digital age is one of the major factors why the genre was subdued in the mid-2010s. 'One major reason behind this decline was the shift from a guitar base to a synth base. Another core reason is that earlier five or six musicians used to sit together with their instruments and compose a song. Now, with technological advancements, a kid with a laptop can sit and write and compose a whole song from his home,' Subir said. Raaghav, a budding music producer, helped me gain a deeper understanding of this technological shift. While the influence of rock and roll remains entrenched in the music we listen to now, he said, the shift is somehow justified. Young musicians would rather invest in a good laptop or a home setup than in bulky hardware like expensive electric guitars and massive amps. An amateur producer can now sample music off YouTube, rip any international music mixing software at zero cost, download beats from the infinite music platforms available now, or even make his own using a portable sound board attached to his personal computer. The reliance on software and soundboards, while more cost-effective, put an end to the raw sound of the typical 80s rock and roll. The shift to appliances from instruments produced clean, precise music, friendly for streaming and aesthetically pleasing, just as the demand for a 45-second drum solo in an eight-minute record came crashing down. The change became apparent to me during a nostalgic visit to my school in Noida, where students from different walks of life only united over one front, our annual music festival. It was the one event which was ours — loud, brash and steeped in personal rebellion. We used to cover the walls of the school with graffiti while blasting Megadeth songs in the corridors as teachers took a backseat. It is one of the few core memories I hold from my school days. To relive the past, I went back to my school fest a couple of years ago. I was ready to vibe once again, but what was once an ode to rock and roll was now a celebration of pop music. The shift from Megadeth to Maroon 5 caught me off guard. Not just the artists, but the tone of the event had changed. Teenagers now wore vintage band t-shirts off of Shein just for their aesthetic value, and the burn of rebellion behind rock and roll now simmered at a low flame. Don't get me wrong, people are still deeply passionate about the music they listen to, but somewhere along the way, the 'how' changed. Now, we don't wait for albums to drop; we just discover new music and artists through trending Instagram reels. We skip intros, loop the hook, and judge a track on the basis of the first 30 seconds. Rock and roll, with its messy solos, long buildups and unabashed energy, doesn't fit the format anymore. The time when each track demanded your attention, not your algorithm, is long gone. Now, long guitar solos are mostly limited to reels with a nostalgic filter on them. Rock and roll is more of a mood board than a movement, and honestly, I miss the noise. In a long conversation, Subir took me on a trip to the 90s and 2000s rock and roll scene, explaining with vivid passion how Parikrama, along with other big Indian rock bands, changed what the genre meant. How the youth of India saw rock and roll music as a wave of rebellion and a symbol of anti-establishment sentiment, which runs deep in the heart of every 20-something who chose to pick up a guitar once in their life. So, is rock and roll gonna survive the current paradigm shift in music? His response was simple, 'Of course it will.' He elaborated, 'After a pause of nearly a decade, Parkirama was invited to perform in seven top colleges across the country, a clear sign that the demand for the genre is still there. In fact, I attended a music festival a few years ago, dedicated solely to rock bands, and I was shocked to see the entire crowd filled with youngsters, most of them in their early 20s.' 'It is surely making a comeback, and the signs are there. In fact, you see a similar style of music in a lot of mainstream Bollywood tracks, a good example would be the Dil Dhadakne Do album. In fact, when it comes to the live scene, all the headliners in big music fests in India, be it Lollapalooza or Zomaland, are rock bands,' he said. Iconic guitarist Randolph Correia, who founded the iconic band Pentagram alongside Vishal Dadlani, is certain that rock and roll will never fade out. 'Music evolves, and almost everything we hear today i.e. modern music, comes from or has some relation to 50s, 60s, 70s rock and roll. Energy cannot be destroyed, it transforms and that's the world we live in today. Rock and roll ain't dead. It's on your phone and streaming services and it will keep haunting you for the rest of your life,' he said. My take? I believe that rock is something which is passed down from generations, taking up a new shape with every passing year. What Deep Purple was to my father, a band like Arctic Monkeys is to me. But will the generation after me embrace the genre with the same open heart that I did? The pattern of dissent that rock and roll follows — my dad's metal house parties as an escape from the suit-and-tie life; my siblings and I watching late-night televised concerts on V1H; and a bunch of kids reclaiming the school grounds at an annual music event — might never be replicated again, but the hope remains that its soul will survive for ages to come.
The Hindu
30-06-2025
- The Hindu
Watch: Kailash Manasarovar Yatra: Pilgrims share their journey
The Hindu's Suhasini Haidar was part of a journalistic delegation that traveled from Chengdu to Lhasa and then onward to the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra. In Tibet's Burang County, or the Pulan area, next to Mount Kailash and the sacred Manasarovar Lake, the delegation covered the restoration of an important bilateral people-to-people mechanism between India and China. This year marked the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra after a suspension since 2020. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked closely to restart the pilgrimage. About 5,000 people applied, and around 750 were selected through a lottery system. After medical tests, approximately 650 to 700 pilgrims were cleared to make the crossing. Pilgrims began their sacred circumambulation, known as the Parikrama or Kora, around Mount Kailash, completing the 52-kilometre trek over two to three days. The route has been a sacred space for centuries, drawing people of many faiths. In this video, several participants share their experiences and reflections on undertaking this spiritual journey after years of waiting. Script & Presentation: Suhasini Haidar Production: Shibu Narayan
India Gazette
29-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Prayed for Viksit Delhi along with Viksit Bharat," Delhi CM offers prayers at Uttar Pradesh's Banke Bihari Temple
Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 29 (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday offered prayers at Uttar Pradesh's Shri Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan, where she wished for a 'Viskit Delhi' along with a 'Viskit Bharat.' 'I prayed that we have a Viksit Delhi along with Viksit Bharat. The nation may progress... We may work for Delhi with all our capacity,' the Chief Minister told ANI. Chief Minister Gupta was in Mathura district for a Govardhan Parikrama, a 21-kilometre-long pilgrimage to and around the Govardhan mountain. Prior to Parikrama, the Delhi Chief Minister, speaking to ANI on Friday, said, 'Today we have come for Govardhan Parikrama with our team. We will also have darshan of Banke Bihari... Everyone is very excited. I have been coming here for years... I have come here for the first time after becoming the Chief Minister of Delhi...' While addressing a meeting in Mathura, CM Gupta highlighted initatives for the people in the dairy sector to ensure that cow dung does not pollute the Yamuna river, mentioning initiatives for the diary colonies and other developmental projects in Delhi. 'We will not only build new cow sheds, but we will also provide all the facilities to all the dairy colonies. We have already started setting up 4 CNG bio projects in Delhi... We have taken this initiative to utilise cow dung properly. We will establish as many CNG bio projects as needed for the city of Delhi within two years, so that even a small amount of cow dung will not be carried to the Yamuna River and harm it,' she said. The Govardhan mountain is situated at a distance of 25 km from Mathura on the Mathura-Deeg road. According to the legend, Lord Krishna kept this mountain (Giriraj Parvat) on his little finger (finger) for seven days and nights to save the Brajwasis from the fierce rains and storms caused by the anger of Indra, the king of the gods. Earlier on Saturday, the CM also participated in a mock Parliament programme organised by the BJP Mahila Morcha, where the Emergency was discussed. Gupta described it as a 'meaningful experience' and emphasised the importance of understanding this dark chapter in India's history. She said the country was turned into a jail on June 25, 1975, with lakhs of people imprisoned and democracy crushed. Gupta added that the women of Delhi learnt about this dark chapter and stressed the need for the nation to stay united to prevent such a crisis in the future. (ANI)
India Gazette
29-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta completes Govardhan Parikrama in UP's Mathura
Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 29 (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta completed Govardhan Parikrama in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura on Saturday. Prior to Parikrama, the Delhi Chief Minister, speaking to ANI on Friday, said, 'Today we have come for Govardhan Parikrama with our team. We will also have darshan of Banke Bihari... Everyone is very excited. I have been coming here for years... I have come here for the first time after becoming the Chief Minister of Delhi...' Govardhan mountain is situated at a distance of 25 km from Mathura on the Mathura-Deeg road. According to the legend, Lord Krishna kept this mountain (Giriraj Parvat) on his little finger (finger) for seven days and nights to save the Brajwasis from the fierce rains and storms caused by the anger of Indra, the king of the gods, as stated on the UP government's official website. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta participated in a mock Parliament programme organised by the BJP Mahila Morcha, where the Emergency was discussed. Gupta described it as a 'meaningful experience' and emphasised the importance of understanding this dark chapter in India's history. She said the country was turned into a jail on June 25, 1975, with lakhs of people imprisoned and democracy crushed. Gupta added that the women of Delhi learnt about this dark chapter and stressed the need for the nation to stay united to prevent such a crisis in the future. Speaking to the reporters, Rekha Gupta said, 'It felt great to participate in the mock parliament programme organised by the BJP Mahila Morcha, where the Emergency was discussed. Whatever happened in the country on 25 June 1975, the country was turned into a prison. Lakhs of people were sent to jail. By murdering democracy, a dark chapter was added to the country's history. Today, the women of Delhi gained knowledge about that chapter. To ensure such a crisis never befalls the country again, the entire nation will unite to fight this battle.' Earlier, on Friday, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated the 34th Mango Festival at the Tyagraj Stadium in Delhi. The festival saw active participation from farmers, agricultural experts, and mango producers, providing a platform for sharing challenges, innovations, and opportunities. According to an official release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), CM Rekha Gupta interacted with farmers, agricultural experts, and mango producers at the event venue, gathering information about their challenges, opportunities, and innovations. (ANI)
