No it’s not about some political revolution. This is the story of a part of my life I hold on to very dearly. This musical revolution touched the lives of all those who were a part of it. This is a story I say during all the shows of my rock Band called Brahma’z Mistake. I thought it is high time I put it down in writing. This is the Story of Brahma’z Mistake.
Brahma’z Mistake (BzM) was born in one of the most unlikely backdrops. The band was formed in the Institute of Management, Nirma University Ahmedabad. Ranked very highly in the rat race of Management Institutes, getting into the institute was a matter of determination and people had future, career, practical experience , industry exposure , high CTC campus placement etc on the top of their mind. The last thing that anyone of us thought was to be part of a Rock Bank in the 2 years we would be in the Campus. But this is where Brahma had different plans. Yes I know that this could be the story of any college based rock band. What makes it an unusual back drop with divine intervention to form a band? Well there is more to the back drop. Most other college based rock bands would have a musical history behind them. Trained on instruments/music, part of other bands in the past, done stage shows etc in the past etc. This is the added twist with BzM. Three self taught guitarists with negligible performance experience, one bathroom singer with negligible stage singing experience, and a drummer who had never sat in front of a drum kit and an experience of playing snare drums during March Past as the only relevant experience we were one odd bunch of music lovers. So that clears the unusual nature of the band formation in terms of the back drop.
Let me throw some light on the divine intervention, “The hand of Brahma”. In a hostel room allocation system based on draw of lots, the future vocalist and the future bassist ended up in the same room. The future rhythm guitarist landed up in the room right next to them. That was divine intervention number one. The vocalist’s name starts with S but the authorities somehow felt like using his middle name which starts with V while allocating class room seating arrangement in an alphabetical order. This being a usual confusion that could happen on any given day in the life of an Indian, our vocalist a mechanical engineer at heart decides to not go fight for it and just sit peacefully as long as he can legally sit on the last bench. What he did not realize was that Brahma had played his game. The future lead guitarist’s name starts with T while the Drummer’s name starts with U. So the configuration of the last bench in the class room looked like this; Lead Guitarist, Drummer, Lead Vocalist in alphabetical order. This deadly combination clubbed with the hostel room configuration, was the play that God had in stored for us.
Common love for music, similar tastes in music, general match of frequencies etc started developing a bond among the guys that formed the back bone of the band. As Amitabh Bachchan would say; “Yeah Band, doh type ka hoota … Doh type ka band hoota hai duniya mien”. There are two types of bands in the world. The first one and the more future oriented focused kind of band is where the band members are hunted for , selected and often poached based on their talents. It’s after the band is formed that the bonding between the band members is attempted, things work out, at times forced to work and at times things break down. Then there are bands that are friends first and band later. Here the music is just one of the reasons to bond but there are a lot of things that keeps the band together. Here the music is not a benchmark, no one is judged based on his talent to play an instrument, it’s just a mutually supporting, covering each other up kind of band. Not perfect as individuals but one heck of a force when combined. BzM falls into the latter category of bands.
It all started with music sessions in the room, with the guitarists on acoustic guitars, the drummer keeping beats on an inverted bucket, and the vocalist sitting in front of the computer for lyrics support. A slow and steady journey started from the hostel room to small get together parties to college shows to inter college competitions to independent shows. The progress was also on the performance front. The first show was a sight in itself. The bassist was playing bass on the top two strings of an acoustic guitar with the lows pumped up on the mixer, the lead guitarist was using a borrowed electric guitar, the rhythm guitarist was on an acoustic guitar and the drummer was keeping beats on cardboard boxes (with mic padded up and kept inside the box) and steel glasses (with coins in it, as make shift high hats/ crash). A humble start but one with immense amount of determination and a motto, that no matter what happens, one for all and all for one, the show must go on. With equipments rented for 2 to 3 days, we practiced through the night to get our acts
together. Timings, improvisations, stage antics to even audience participation we did not leave anything to chance. From managing all the logistics to public relations with the outside campus world to viral marketing and propagation of rock music to induce some interest in our campus audience, it was a mammoth effort. And when we look back now it all feels like madness in between the tight schedules of trimester based MBA education in India. I would go to the extent of saying that we have learned many management lessons from forming and running the band. Learned in a more practical and fun manner than the class room education.
The flow of events that we aptly named Brahma’z Mistake grew leaps and bounds. We just had two year to be together and perform with each other and we tried to make the most of it. But yet again God had better plans. When college was coming to an end and we thought it was the end of the road for our musical journey, He gave us all jobs in the south of India. With most of the members in the same city and others at an overnight distance, the band continued.
A journey that has panned seven years has seen many members joining the family. From Vocalists and instrumentalists who were part of the band in college to those who joined us in Chennai, and offstage members of the family, Brahma’z Mistake is not just about a few individuals, it’s about the collective. It’s about the story of “The Bundle of Sticks” we were taught when in school. It’s about how passion and bonding can give a serious competition to genuine talent. They say that you are sent to this world to do a specific job, there is a purpose for your existence. The last seven years, the smiles, the fun, the joy, the happy audience, words like “You guys made our evening”, it all makes me wonder if this is the purpose of my existence. This is to the golden part of my life, Brahma’z Mistake.
:) beautifully written...
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