I, Drummer - A One Shot Nandit Pathak Story

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is how I aimed to be part of the rock culture at my college, and what a lousy beginning I had, and how my the first group of people I played with were too pre-occupied with their pretensions, and that sort of stuff, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

However, that is not the way I would like to start this story. This is how Holden C. would, and I would rather be the Howard R. of Hard R.

Still, there is no getting away from the fact that when I came to college with stars in my eyes and rhythm in my fingers, the first time I got together with people to play music, my potential wasn't fully utilized. I mean, sure they played music, but there wasn't enough rock in it.

Or rather, let's be frank, there was nothing that connected those people to rock music. And I tore away from them as soon as I could, looking for kindred souls.

I remembered two people whom I met the day we had our Official Fresher's auditions. There was this long haired dark guy who kept on asking each fresher he met 'Do you listen to rock? Do you listen to western music?' And was getting mostly answers in negative. And there was this other guy wearing specs who was playing a guitar, and the two of them were generally ignoring the auditions, only to pick and point at a few and asking the above question.

I said, 'Yes' or words to that effect and sidled up to them. I introduced myself in the manner that freshers are supposed to, and then waited for him to ask 'So, do you listen to rock?'

I smiled and said "Yes sir, and it was because I heard you were asking everyone around here if they were interested in rock..."

"Yeah yeah," the long haired guy said, "Well I am going to test your knowledge. Identify this song." And then he turned to the guitarist.

The guitarist drew a blank face and whispered "Which song?"

The long haired guy whispered back and said, "Any! Dammit."

And then he played the opening riff of 'Wish you were here.' I quickly told them the song and started to sing the first few bars, they were visible impressed, giving me an idea of the freshers who usually turned up for these auditions.

"Cool, so you listen to Pink Floyd?"

"Yes sir!" I said, and went into the list of my favourite bands, "I also listen to Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Pearl Jam, Nir..."

The two of them almost simultaneously raised their hands and asked me to stop, "Fine. It seems you know a thing or two, listen, I will give you a general advice, do not hang with the people conducting these Fachcha auditions. If you want to learn rock music, contact us later."

And then without giving me their names they asked me to leave, as if I was supposed to magically acquire that knowledge. And what was that last remark about me learning from them? I didn't boast about it to them then, but I have learned the Tabla for six years and singing for nine, not to mention that I can play almost any percussion instrument and the flute quite easily.

Of course, one learns to be modest.

I later got to know that the long haired guy was Pablo, vocalist for the third year band, and that the guitarist was Amrit, of the second year.

Then for about a couple of months I was part of the Music Club, and mentally, aesthetically whateveri-cally, I couldn't relate to them. I left them and went in search of people of my year who had similar interests. In the mean time I discovered that I had a flair for drums, and was the happier when I had a couple of drumsticks in my hand than not.

However when it came to forming a band of my own, I became the vocalist, the drummer being a guy who had his own drumkit. I could play better than him even then...still.

I learned that the third year band had a stable line up (guitarist, vocalist, rhythm guitarist, bass player) but had no stable drummer. I eyed the position, but there was no direct interaction, and no common circle between them and me, so I couldn't put forward my proposal to them.

The first half of my first year in college was filled with many events which do not fit into the scope of this story, viz. How Nandit Pathak Joined Broken Tooth. But a turning point came when I bagged the lead role in a play directed by one 'Nani Sachan.' He was a batchmate of the guys from Broken Tooth, and I put forward my case to him.

He asked me, "Do you know they play really heavy rock music?"

I said, "I love hard rock! And I would love to play it!"

"Do you know that they are really hard working?"

"I AM hard working. Though I say it myself."

"Do you know that they practice up to the wee hours of morning?"

"Arrey sir I wake up till the wee hours in the morning. Tell them that I would love to play for them."

Of course I didn't know that Nani was exaggerating in the Hard working department, and when he told me that the band 'thought about it, and would be happy if I joined them as soon as I was free from my theatrical duties' I was very happy.

There was no formal induction ceremony, no welcome with a bottle of beer, one fine day I got a call from Pablo who said, "So I believe you are going to play drums for us?"

I replied in the affirmative, he said he was very pleased with this fact and told me to gear up because there was this rock-fest at Allahabad that required gearing up. I said, "Great, so when do we start practicing? And er...what's the set list?"

"We will start practicing...soon, you see I am actually on my way home, feeling a little home sick and all that. I shall be back in three days time and we would still have more than a week for practicing, why don't you go and meet Alex? He will tell you the set list, and maybe you can start practicing for the music, and I shall...hello? hello?..."

His voice got cut off, because he was on a train. Still, I thought that I could jam with Alex, Adi and PC, and with the music ready it would be easy for the vocalist to fit in.

So that very day I went to Alex's room, and asked him the set list and told him to come for practice. He said that practice was presently out of the question because of two of the band members being A.W.O.L.

"Two? I thought only Pablo bhaiyya has gone home."

"No yaar, Adi too is gone."

Cursing my luck, I started on the way back to the hostel, and was startled to see the apparition of Adi sitting at the tea shop, sipping tea with Nani Sachan. I swerved my back in a 180 degree motion and sped back to Alex's room.

"You said Adi bhaiyya has gone home! I saw him just now sitting at LC!"

"What? Funny, I hadn't seen him for a few days, so I assumed that...never mind. So do we have to practice? I mean today? I am not really in the mood."

"Arre bhaiyya I am greatly in the mood, please come on! Let's practice today."

Alex hummed and hawed for a while, and then said, "Okay, this is the set list. May be we can start by practicing Satisfaction. And then there is One Last Breath, How you remind me, She will be loved...and we are thinking of doing 'Californication.' Would you be able to pull that off?"

I raised myself up to my full height, and then wished that I hadn't, because I was standing in the door frame, and was hit on the north side by wood. And then realizing why I had raised myself to my full height, I said, "Given practice. I can pull off anything, sir I have learnt the Tabla for six years..." and then I proceeded to give him the break-down of drum beats by comparing them with drums.

"Okay, Okay. Go fetch Adi from LC, and I shall meet you at KP."

Adi seemed even more reluctant to practice, and finally when the three of us landed at KP, he kept talking to someone (presumably his girlfriend) on the phone, and sool left us promising to be back in fifteen minutes.

He didn't return.

After a little while Alex said, "Dude, I don't think he is coming back. I guess we should leave it for another day. May be when Pablo comes back, now could you drop me back to my hostel? There was this movie that I have left paused..."

I can safely say that first day 'I' didn't get any Satisfaction!