Parash Pathar, of Priyo Bondhu fame, return to sing

Reaching the top of the heap is tough, but staying there is even tougher. While several popular Bangla bands have endured, the history of contemporary music in Bengal is replete with many failures — Parash Pathar, the popular band of end-’90s, is perhaps the most (in)famous case in point. But the band that broke up within a couple of years of its formation is back in the wings, courtesy one last attempt by its lead vocalist Ayan Banerjee.
The name is spelt differently now — it’s Paraspathar — and there’s no one common with the earlier lineup, barring frontman Ayan himself. The popular singer, instrumental in teaching lovestruck Kolkatans what ‘Bhalobasha’ was, has roped in some new musicians and is busy rearranging the older hits. His namesake, Ayan Banerjee, guitarist of the band, says, “Parash Pathar has several hits to its credit. But the sound needs to change. We are currently working on it. Talks are on for a couple of shows.” Ayan got a call from the vocalist a month back and made up his mind to join the band. “I used to play with Marudyan once. But that didn’t work out. When Ayan called, I — a Parash Pathar fan — decided to come on board,” he says.
The attempt to reform the band has surprised many former members. Raja Narayan Deb, who tasted success with the band, says, “Many musicians had played with the band at different points in time. Anindya Bose too was part of it once. But the most popular of all lineups was the one conceived in 1999. Though I have some great memories with Parash Pathar, it became important to move on after a point. Not only was I collaborating with Usha Uthup, I had also started assisting Debajyoti Mishra around that time. That was never an issue with the band, but the one thing plaguing it was the ‘sab chalta hai’ attitude. While most bands doing a show in Burdwan would return by midnight, we would never come back before dawn. I felt we weren’t doing anything constructive and decided to quit in 2002.” The band tried to reform in 2006 and even made a music video that got them good feedback. “Riingo had directed it. But even then, we couldn’t last beyond a couple of months. Having said that, I am very happy for Ayan,” says Raja.
Rishi Chanda, who later got into music direction with bandmate Samidh Mukerji, is no less astonished by the turn of events. Though the Samidh-Rishi jodi too didn’t last for long, he was more heartbroken when Parash Pathar disbanded. “When the band of peaking, I saw a severe lack of discipline. So, I decided to move on in 2002. But Parash Pathar’s songs still have a market. I am hoping they will do well,” he says.
Sources close to the band say it was Ayan’s tryst with the wild side of life that took a toll on Parash Pathar. But the vocalist is back with a bang. Is Kolkata listening?
CURRENT LINEUP nAyan Banerjee (vocals/lyrics) nAyan Banerjee (guitars) nSiddhartha Banik (drums/percussions/sound management) nPratick Dey Sarkar (keyboards/backing vocals) nSoumen Dutta (bass guitar/backing vocals) nArunim Purkayastha (violin/vocal & harmony)
FORMER LINEUP nAyan Banerjee (vocals) nRaja Narayan Deb (keys) nRishi Chanda (guitar) nSamidh (bass) nSanjay Das (drums) nHumptu (flute) nPiklu (percussions)