Bengaluru has an energetic live music culture which is one of the reasons a lot of youngsters are creating their own music bands. Abhijit Bose, Abin Chandra and Atul Balu followed suit to create their own electro-acoustic band, Mehram.
“The three of us were strangers when we met at a venue in Koramangala. We would come with our instruments and it was just fate that the three of us found peace in replacing the silence with music and formed the band together. We named it Mehram which means truly yours,” says 23-year-old Atul, who has been trained in Carnatic music since he was only three-years-old. “I also know how to play the Carnatic violin and did a course in the electronic keyboard from the Trinity College of London,” he adds.
It was their love for music that led them to create their own band. “We’d jam and the crowd would go crazy each time. It was only when Amar Singh, the owner of this venue in Koramangala approached us and asked us to go on stage, that we got serious about this,” says Abhijit Bose, a singer and a guitarist who is trained in Hindustani music. “I am more into instruments and I learnt Hindustani music from my mother and I am the lead vocalist of the band. Even though we’re mostly known for our impromptu on-stage mashups, we jam regularly every weekend and a day or two before our gigs, to form a proper set list,” he explains.
Music came naturally to Abin Chandra who is fond of drums and plays the Cajon instrument in the band. “I never had instruments of my own. I would borrow them. It’s been six months since I started using this instrument. Music is something that gives me joy and I am inspired by Lucky Ali’s songs. He is one of my favourite singers,” he says, adding, “We cover loads of songs at our gigs. Our set lists have a mashup covering everything from Rafi to Arijith to Armaan,” they say.
According to them, Bengaluru’s music scene is transforming as a lot of people are moving towards live music instead of DJ night parties. But, there are also challenges that come in at each step. “All of us being working professionals take out time to jam together and to improvise on our songs. It gets harder by day, but yet, we prioritise it over anything else,” says Atul.
