Project rock ‘n’ roll begins at IIM-A

Six students of IIM-A’s post-graduate programme for executives (PGPX) have come together to form a band to which they have given the name, ‘Nukkad’. Members of ‘Nukkad’ say their ambition is limited to performing at social gatherings and events at the institute, besides winning some competitions.

As most people know, the PGPX course is only for executives who have several years of work experience behind them. Despite their different backgrounds, however, their love of music brought the six students together to form a band.

The band members — Parag Prasad, Bhaswar Goswami, Pavan Rangachar, Rachana Salgia, Naveen Krishna, and Esmail Samiwala — have been taking time off their hectic study schedules to practice daily. They say music is a great stress-buster.

Prasad plays the keyboard but he is also a vocalist. He said he had two keyboards at home; yet he had bought a new keyboard after enrolling into the PGPX. “I now want to play to keep the band going,” he said.

The band’s man with the drumsticks is Bhaswar Goswami. He said that, in the past, he used to give stage performances and play numbers from Western bands such as ‘Metallica’ and ‘Nirvana’. “The first thing I bought the day I got a credit card was a set of drums,” Goswami said. He doesn’t have his drums with him at IIM-A but his band is trying to find a drum set for him. Pavan Rangachar, another band member, is a trained classical singer. He is one of the band’s key vocalists.

It would not have been possible to get the band going without the support and participation of dancers and other music enthusiasts. Rachana Salgia, another band member, is a dancer and music lover who is looking forward to choreographing shows for the band.

 Then there are Naveen Krishna, a devotee of Sufi music who would be singing for ‘Nukkad’, and Esmail Samiwala, a molecular biologist, who wants to do something new now.