Not many among the youth in Meghalaya have heard about Indian Ocean, but Susmit Sen, the band’s co-founder, does not blame them.
Susmit says the North East has been ignored by the government since independence, setting limitation for the people here from the rest of the country. “People in this region are mostly influenced by Western culture and that is why Indian bands are not very popular here. A lesser known American or English band is more famous here then a popular Indian band,” he adds.
Formed in 1984 by Susmit and Asheem Chakravarty, Indian Ocean is still a shining star in the competitive world of music.
But Susmit bid adieu to the band in 2013 to form his own group, Susmit Sen Chronicles.
Susmit, a guitarist, started playing at 14. He says he was influenced by almost every genre of music, from folk, rock to jazz but it was Indian classical music that inspired him the most.
“Music is a form of expression. I like to express myself through music,” says Susmit who comes from a non-musical family.
The idea of forming a band struck him when he started listening to classical music. “I wanted to simulate classical music. I also used to listen to rock and that is how the idea of fusion came to me,” he says.
Susmit says he avoids singing but at times he does for backup vocal. “Indian Ocean was completely an instrumental band but I forced Asheem to sing and our first album had just 40 seconds of vocal,” Susmit smiles.
When Indian Ocean was formed, they set a rule that they would not play cover songs. “We can credit ourselves for not playing cover, which inspired several other bands. After us, there were bands who started composing their own music and that way, yes, we can call ourselves pioneers,” he says.
Susmit was in the city to conduct music lessons for the students of Centre for Excellence in Indian and Western music. He also visited the Centre’s Tura branch.
The musician says he is not in Meghalaya for teaching music.
“I am here for taking up workshops and interacting with the students.”
Praising the work of the founders of Centre for Excellence in Indian and Western Music, Subho Shekhar Bhattacharjee and his wife, Susmit saiys it is a brilliant endeavour by them. “There is no other school like this in the country.”
The students are given freedom to display their talents here and “I have had a great time interacting with the kids and have been able to develop and push them to compose their own music”, he says.
The former member of Indian Ocean points out that students here are fond of Indian classical music and shows interest in learning it. “More than 90 percent of the students (Khasi, Mizo, Garo) want to learn classical music.”
When asked why Indian Ocean never performed in Meghalaya, he says they were never invited by organisers. “Musicians don’t organise shows. There should be sponsors and people to manage the events. A band is willing to perform anywhere but managing shows is not in our hands.”
About the six-member Susmit Sen Chronicles, the founder says, “The members are very nice and extremely talented young people.”
Susmit Sen (guitars), Sudheer Rikhari (vocal), Gayatri Natarajan (vocal), Gursimran Singh (Percussions), Nandit Desai (drums) and Mark Aranha (Bass guitar) form the Chronicles. The band is planning to release their next album soon.
The musician also has an unknown side, that of a wildlife lover. “Had I not been a musician, I’d probably be pursuing that, study about wildlife,” he quips.
