MUSIC BAND, Indian Ocean
Asheem Chakravarty (2010-11)
Asheem was a man with golden voice. He was the co-founder of Indian Ocean band. He played traditional Indian percussion instruments in completely innovative ways, and even played rhythm structures on a bass guitar. Brought up in an atmosphere of Indian classical, folk and other Indian forms, Asheem showed his rhythmic spark at an extremely early age. Asheem was into osho, numerology, astrology, naturotherapy, yoga, mediation. Asheem was known to make people whose job required them to be intimidating, like a US visa officer or security guards, smile. The band is known for the Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution. Kandisa- an album released in March 2000 was one of the best-loved albums produced in India. Kandisa acquired cult status and propelled Indian Ocean into the status of one of India’s most original and creative bands. The band has played at several of the country's most prestigious venues including the Red Fort, the Gateway of India, Vasanthabba (Bangalore) and the Temples of Khajuraho.
Susmit Sen (2010-11)
Susmit is convinced that destiny is created on earth, not written in heaven or hell. Self-motivation and direction make lives, according to him, and he has certainly lived as per this dictum so far. Classical music interests him more than jazz or rock. The band is known for the Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution. Kandisa- an album released in March 2000 was one of the best-loved albums produced in India. Kandisa acquired cult status and propelled Indian Ocean into the status of one of India’s most original and creative bands. They are known to bring a new aspect to sound. Today, they are India’s leading global band. The international scene opened up dramatically for the band and they have played abroad across four continents: New Zealand, USA, UK, Japan, Australia and Indonesia. The band has played at several of the country's most prestigious venues including the Red Fort, the Gateway of India, Vasanthabba (Bangalore) and the Temples of Khajuraho..
Amit Kilam (2010-11)
Amit is the only business-oriented person in the Indian Ocean band. He is fond of Indian culture and attends every single religious festival invented, or to be invented. Amit loves listening to various kinds of music – Hindi filmi, rock, pop etc. The band is known for the Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution. Kandisa- an album released in March 2000 was one of the best-loved albums produced in India. Kandisa acquired cult status and propelled Indian Ocean into the status of one of India’s most original and creative bands. They are known to bring a new aspect to sound. Today, they are India’s leading global band. The international scene opened up dramatically for the band and they have played abroad across four continents: New Zealand, USA, UK, Japan, Australia and Indonesia. The band has played at several of the country's most prestigious venues including the Red Fort, the Gateway of India, Vasanthabba (Bangalore) and the Temples of Khajuraho.
Rahul Ram (2010-11)
Rahul is the most active amongst the Indian Ocean band members at live shows. He has been an activist and a supporter with the Narmada Bachao Andolan. By training, he is an environmentalist and he is also into ornithology. The band is known for the Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution. Kandisa- an album released in March 2000 was one of the best-loved albums produced in India. Kandisa acquired cult status and propelled Indian Ocean into the status of one of India’s most original and creative bands. They are known to bring a new aspect to sound. Today, they are India’s leading global band. The international scene opened up dramatically for the band and they have played abroad across four continents: New Zealand, USA, UK, Japan, Australia and Indonesia. The band has played at several of the country's most prestigious venues including the Red Fort, the Gateway of India, Vasanthabba (Bangalore) and the Temples of Khajuraho.
Susmit Bose (2010-11)
Susmit Bose, as he describes himself in one of his songs is, "poet, singer and a common man". He is also one of the few singers who have held on to his own genre of balladeering despite pressures to meet the superficial demands of commercialization. Described as a "man of causes" by the national media, Susmit is a poet and social activist who voices his dissent freely, frankly and fearlessly. His song lyrics portray the hard realities of political machinations and raise awareness about and advocate social issues at various platforms. In a forty year long career, he has participated in Cuba at the International Folk Song Festival, was invited to the Berlin Festival of folk and political song by the Oktober Club, performed with renowned flautist Paul Horn for an international project on World Music, released “Man of Conscience” an album to coincide with the 1990 visit of Dr. Nelson Mandela, performed for the India50 concert, featured on British Television as one of the most innovative artistes, and has produced several well-known music albums, TV serials, reportage, documentaries and corporate films. He is also founder of the Centre for International Arts and Culture.
Singer (2010-11)
Deepika T(2010-11)
Deepika, a software engineer and a Playback singer by profession, believes that because of her multi-tasking ability she has been given a unique strength, wherein she can spend a certain amount of time working for the society. She has been involved not only in National but International causes also, such as singing for an Album "Haiti we are there for you", which was done in order to raise funds for Haiti children. She is also a general secretary for United Youth of India where she has been involved in helping the youth to come together and work for a cause. Apart from this she has been actively involved in upliftment of the weaker members of the society. She has nominated many underprivileged girls for Rai University for Free education and has performed at many charity shows so as to raise funds for various causes. She has also been actively involved in getting youth together in planting tree all over Bangalore, thus becoming a strong and active youth environmentalist for the society.
D J Narain (2009-10)
"Presently the front person and lead singer cum composer of one of India’s biggest Pop & Rock Band ‘The Aryans’, Dhamendra Jai Narain, popularly known as DJ Narain, has 5 successful albums , more than 800 concerts and numerous awards to his credit. Through his meaningful music, Narain has reached out to millions of Indians, especially the youth over the last decade. A youth & rock icon, he has also been a notable Civil Services officer and a professor of Mass Communication at the elite Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. He is perhaps the only person in India who can be dubbed as rockstar and civil servant simultaneously. A brilliant scholar throughout, Narain has been recipient of perhaps every single academic scholarship which Goveremnment had to offer. A keen student of economics as well, Mr Narain has also been a lecturer of Monetery Economics in Lucknow University, prior to joining the civil services and making it big as Aryans. A multifaceted personality , DJ Narain is one of the founders of Kshitij, an NGO in the field of non-formal education and universal health campaigns for over 7 years . He has always been very supportive of any initiatives taken in the field of literacy and shown active involvement in launching Universal Literacy campaigns in Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. In Delhi, he is actively supporting the cause of several NGO's to help raise awareness about their key domain issues . His book ‘Soldiering On’ is an anthology of the saga of Indian Armed forces during the last 100 years and has been widely reviewed and appreciated by the media".
Gautam Ghosh (2008-09)
Gautam Ghosh worked with Bangladesh’s leading Bengali-Rock vocalist Mac (Maqsood –al-Haq) from the most famous band in Dhaka called Feedback, on the country’s 25th independence anniversary and the album went on to become a mega hit. In 1997, his songs “fifty-fifty” and “ley sunn ley” from his human rights private album called “OPEN YOUR EYES” were labelled ‘anti-establishment’. In 2001 he was appointed an honorary Human Rights Ambassador by the British Council and brand ambassador by ACTION AID INDIA. He is the first Indian musician to be thus honoured. Under the British Council’s program on Human Rights, he toured UK and Europe with his songs and participated in the most prestigious Edinburgh Festival 2001, Notting Hill fest 2001 and the Bastille Day fest 2001 in Paris. The Gautam Ghosh collective has been promoting 9/11 every year as the Global ONEness Day, which began as the Sadbhavna (ONEness) movement with MTV and other partners in 2002Ritika Sahni(2008-09)
Ritika has an exciting dual career - as a playback & pop singer and as a social activist. She not only sings as a professional, but also converges her talents towards the cause of disability. Being an active social worker as well as a disability activist, she is on the board of trustees of the NGO 'SAHAY' and is associated with similar organizations and people working in this field within the country and abroad. She is the secretary-trustee of her own welfare trust called TRINAYANI. She holds regular workshops for teachers, parents and students on disability related issues. Ritika was also a Consulting Communication Therapist in the Unicef project (2001-2003), undertaken by The Spastics Society Of India, and presently is a faculty member of their university affiliated Teacher Training Course on Special Education, which is also recognized by the Rehabilitation Council of India. She is presently working on a series of books, which tries to take a small step towards erasing the lines between “us” and “them” through stories, character sketches of people with disabilities, and information handbooks that sensitize people to disability issues.
Bobby Cash(2008-09)
In these days of culture blending, Asian Indian Bobby Cash is a unique musician who has proved to the world that music knows no boundaries and that indeed it is a language that brings together people from different lands and different cultures. Bobby Cash is India's only Country Music Artist, he bears the honor of being the first Indian ever to release albums of Country Music. It was in Tamworth in 2003, that Bobby came to the World Stage. Starting with busking in the street, Bobby became the smash hit of the festival, drawing huge crowds to him. His documentary film has appeared on ABC Television Network, Discovery and other channels and has won Bobby many admirers. In 2005, Nashville called, after Bobby Cash was nominated in the Global Artist category by the CMA, where Bobby got a standing ovation from the President of the CMA, Ed Benson. Bobby has played at some of the top venues in Nashville, appeared on WSM Midnite Jamboree at E.T. Troubadour Theatre, and other places including Billy Bobs in Dallas, Fort Worth. This outstanding best selling Independent, continues to spread his music, proving to the world that music indeed is a common language.
Remo Fernandes (2007-08)
Remo is India’s leading and highest selling rock musician. Writing songs on socio-political protest from an early age onwards, Remo has risen far from where he started- hitch-hiking across Europe armed with nothing but his talent and his guitar, passing a hat around to earn for basic necessities. His songs have campaigned for responsible action against drug abuse, promiscuity leading to HIV- AIDS, awareness about SARS, bird flu and much more. Now an internationally renowned star, he has not only been awarded the Padmashree by the President of India, he has even played and sung with rock giants Jethro Tull and George Harrison.