Parikrama completes the group's 23-year revolution

Delhi-based band Parikrama completed 23 years of its existence recently. Belief in themselves, says the band's keyboard player Subir Malik, is what has kept them together all these years.

Very few rock bands in India can boast of ­having stayed together for more than 20 years, baring a few, such as Indus Creed, Indian Ocean, Pentagram. These bands are still belting out timeless rock ‘n’ roll music. One band that does not stay in the news as its contemporaries is the Delhi-based

Rock-band-Parikrama-has-been-in-existence-for-over-two--decades-now-HT-Photo-Waseem-Gashroo

Parikrama

, that recently completed 23 years of inception.

The band’s keyboard player, Subir Malik says that Parikrama was formed purely for playing classic rock. "People talk about you on their own, if you have ­substance in you. That’s why you will never hear us even defending our band if we are blamed in anyway. People talk and criticise — that’s their job. Our job is to create and play music," he says.



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Asked if this belief is one of the reasons for the band’s success, Subir says, "Partly, yes. But the most important reason why we are still together is the fact that we just want to have fun. That was the idea behind Parikrama and it remains the same," says the 43-year-old, ­adding, "If we stop having fun, I am afraid we will have to look at things ­differently. Because there will be no fun in it."



Despite facing constant ­criticism over not playing enough original content, Malik says the band is least bothered about it. "When we opened for Iron Maiden in 2007 at the Download Festival in England, do you think they chose us because we played only covers? Also, should I take into ­consideration our praise by music veterans like Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) and Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) or some wannabe critic who heard from somewhere that we play only covers?" he says.