Asheem Chakravarty! This Man shook me up completely. Was unaware of him as an individual. I knew him as a band member of Indian Ocean, knowing least about his contribution. thanks to Jaideep Varma for the film-Leaving Home..
The Life and music of Indian Ocean,
Asheem had a Unique Vocal texture. He had this unique style - playing Tabla and sing simultaneously, which actually inspired me to follow and enjoy Music more than just playing an instrument. Probably it was life learning lesson for me.
Notably, he was working for an advertisement agency as a copy writer.
He joined it at the Age of 40. Quoting his words -“I started as a copy writer at the age of 40, jahan par baaki log laakhon copiya Likh ke phenk chuke hote hai.”
But somehow he knew, that Music is what all he wanted to do. So after working for a while he quit his job and dedicated completely to Indian Ocean. He said- “Ab na... Main iss majhdhar mein apne aap ko phekunga aur kuch kar jaunga. Aise Araam Araam se nahi honewala.”
He plunged into Indian Ocean and gave some of the Best songs along with Guitarist Sushmit Sen.
His Contribution to the Band is Impeccable. He was a true artist, where he used to improvise vocal lines while on stage, sign of a True Artist, not following anything written or scripted but following his heart's voice and putting it into the performance.
He lived Music thoroughly. He gave some memorable song ideas and tunes to the meaningful poetry. My favourite of them all is-Bhor. As per Asheem he sang first few lines of the poetry,
which everybody liked and they worked together to complete the song.
Another one of my favourite is Desert Rain. Thumri Based in Raga Pilu - Nath Besar Balam Mangwa de... but with a touch of Indian Ocean and Asheems' vocal. He is fondly knows as
The Man with the Golden Voice.
The Actual Indian Ocean Sound is Missed by Fans these days.
~One of those fans
Nadeem Parmar
True fan's emotions
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