When one walked into the Kresge Auditorium on Oct 5 2008, the energy was palpable! 700 odd people waiting for their favorite band to take center stage and play their favorite songs. When the band members of Indian Ocean begin the performance their fans go crazy.

The band ofcourse is Indian Ocean whose music defies classification but is billed as  rock-fusion. What it does have is talent whether it be the skill of the guitar player, the rhythmic genius of the drummer or the vocals which moves from Indian classical to Sufi to Rock in an almost seamless fashion. The poetry is powerful.

The band members Susmit Sen , Asheem Chakravarty, Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam are path breakers. They can take pride in being one of the few indigeneous Indian bands that have been successful in gathering a huge fan club.  and their somewhat focused jamming sessions resulted in a few concerts. Watching Asheem play nearly half a dozen tablas during the concert along with tapping rhythms on Ram's bass guitar was a treat indeed.

“We have been playing together for nearly 18 years, but have only made about 30 songs,” Rahul Ram, the group’s bass guitarist, told the crowd in between songs. “That really is not a lot. We must be lazy.”  The music sounded anything but lazy. Their music covered a range of subjects from Hindu-Muslim riots, bribery and corruption, tribal rights to the Independence movement. 

Their songs like Melancholic Ecstasy and  Bhor were powerful. But the interludes by Rahul Ram where very light hearted. He drew loud laughter from the crowd when he claimed they were all "lufis" which he described as  Sufis who could not give up their lust.

The concert was a fundraiser to fund the projects sponsored for Association for India Development.Among the projects supported by AID include the building of a training center in Karnataka that assists handicapped women, a healthcare center in Arunachal Pradesh, and educating farmers in West Bengal about organic farming technology.

The volunteer-based group has also raised funds to assist the victims of the recent floods in Orissa, which reportedly affected about 2.4 million people. Other projects include medical and educational supports, relief efforts and mobile clinics.

By organizing fundraisers similar to this concert, AID aims to continuously raise funds and earn support to promote grassroots-based development projects in India.

A great concert to support a good cause.

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