SHREYA BOSE
Tears of the Wizard
(Parikrama):
The striking
difference
between a
veteran and a
has-been is made
stupidly apparent
with Parikrama's
sonorous
comeback. Nothing is more clear than
the fact that they haven't lost a smidgeon
of music relevance. One would be foolish
to imagine that the band that supported
Iron Maiden's Indian chapter could
ever fade, but Tears of the Wizard is a
good reminder that the grand-daddies
of Indian rock will still happily wallop
your pretensions to classic rock back
into shape.
Drawn from the rich, resonant high
fantasy of The Lord of the Rings, Tears
of the Wizard pays tribute to Gandalf the
Grey, the wizard who mentored Frodo
Baggins and guided the Fellowship to
victory over the dark machinations
of Sauron. This vaulting rock ballad
breeds powerful harmonies that rise to
paint images of valour and nature-borne
nobility (this was mostly conveyed by
the video).
The video is shot in the magnificent
Mechuka valley in Arunachal Pradesh,
which gave the camera endless
measures of magnificence. Snow-capped
peaks stand tall in the backdrop, as
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leather-clad rockers straddle bridges
over roaring rivers and send their grit-
and-glory chorus to the crystal-blue
sky. Considering the LOTR obsession,
the scene could not have been more
appropriate. The troops of Gondor would
not have been out of place in the grassy
slopes of Mechuka. They don't show up,
but you will receive an equal measure
of delight when you witness Sharat
Chandra Srivastava's winnowing violin
solo in the winter-kissed hills as the
eternal mountains glower in approval.
Parikrama has made a glorious
comeback, and nothing less was
expected of them. For those who grew
up with But It Rained and Gonna Get
It, this is a call to return to their early
musical community. For those who
remember the roots of rock in this
country, it is a validation of the fact that
our heroes have not yet died. Not even
close.
Nukhta (Midival
Punditz): Have
you ever
imagined that
Sufi verse sang
in adoration
and exaltation
of God could
take an ominous
turn? Neither did
most, until Gaurav Raina and Tapan
Raj decided to take a crack at the Baba
Bulleh Shah's esoteric exuberance.
Rajasthani firebrand Kutle Khan fits
right into the aesthetic with his sky-
summoning refrain of "Alfat in bin un
bin an bin nukta yaar banaya" - the joy
of the hermit when they finally float out
of the shackles of ignorance. Human
attachment becomes illusion, and joy
becomes the new normal.
The electro-fusion duo use sounds from
this decade to give renewed urgency to
words that have rejuvenated spiritual
seekers across time. Far from being
facile, the musical framing can, in fact,
serve as an entrance to the trance of
heightened connection. Staying true to
their superior collaborative strategies,
Midival Punditz have managed,
once again, to find an exact footing
between the ever-valuable old and the
ever-transforming new. The track is
expansive, feeding into a larger world-
building instinct. Yet, a bass-tickled
pit-of-the-stomach rumbling underpins
the whole thing. It is almost a low growl
that reminds the listener to ground
themselves in the midst of ecstasy, a
murky reminder to return to the sound
and peel another layer of discovery.
Over Seas
(AAKASH):
When Aakash
Ravikrishnan
watched Gully
Boy, he was
instantly taken
by the grit and