Lessons from an awesome Saturday Night gig!

This may just help some of my oldest friends here beat the #Monday blues. Because this is not a regular business-related post at all.

The weekend that just went by turned out to be an epic weekend and I have my 11-year-old son, and a rock band I first saw as a 17-year-old first-year #student of #architecture , to thank for it.

The reason for this not-so-usual post here on LinkedIn is that there were such amazing #corporate lessons to gather from what I witnessed on #Saturday night.

As I got done with my Monday morning meetings and got to my desk, my mind was still somewhere on the second level of Delhi’s new Hard Rock Cafe , and I started writing this. I call it new but apparently, it is not. For me, Delhi’s Hard Rock Cafe was still at Saket till Parikrama’s latest gig was announced. And that shows how out of touch I have been with the music scene.

So. That was a giveaway. The band I saw over the weekend was #Parikrama indeed and what a show they put up.?

I saw Parikrama for the first time in 1991, at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani . I was a first-year student of Architecture. The college shut down early due to Mandal Commission issues and I went back to #Delhi earlier than anticipated and for a longer-than-planned break.

A few of us drove from Delhi to Pilani and soon as we got there, all one heard was that ‘Man, watch out for a band called Parikrama’. After hearing them, I truly understood what those guys meant.

I went to at least 20 (maybe 30) more Parikrama gigs through the 90s before the change of country happened and then my professional life started. Since 2001, in fact, I actually went to very few shows. There were Deep Purple and Santana shows in #Singapore and not too many more.

So, on Saturday, I would have seen Parikrama after almost two and a half decades. The lessons? There are so many of them but here are a few:

• The band still rocking it after over three decades is a sheer testimony of the vision Subir Malik and Nitin would have created for the band and they have stuck to it to date.
• Passion eats every obstacle in its way for lunch, breakfast and dinner. See both of these guys on stage and you will understand what I mean.
• Continuous improvement and innovation are key to longevity. I remember them being an outright classic rock cover band in the 90s. That was their USP. That is what their followers wanted from them. But Saturday’s 90-minute set was all original numbers. And if you would have seen the way the crowd got into the originals, you’d know this was one of the best examples of reinventing on display.
• New blood brings in fresh ideas and is key to creating relevant content. Again, from being an outright Classic Rock outfit in the 90s, I was amazed to see a violinist, a flautist, and tabla and sitar players on stage. Parikrama hasn't lost the early edge at all but added a more mature flair to their persona. And it is brilliant. Totally.
• Fall down 7, get up 8. The band lost a key member in 2020. Given his importance in the band and stature in the rock circles in the country, the loss must have been tough to take. How does someone that crucial get replaced? John Bonham was never replaced, Freddie Mercury wasn't, and few were tried for Jim Morrison but The Doors knew there was no magic left. Parikrama braved along. And their love for a colleague, a brother, is visible in ways they continue to celebrate his contributions.
• Remember where you started and give back to create a better future. This is where this gets a bit personal. The power of Social Media is such that my son connected with the band on Instagram as his journey with the guitar commenced. And the way all of them met him after the show was an emotional moment for a not-so-emotional person like me. I was relegated to being a photographer. And I didn't mind.

I have said it already, and I will say it again, it was an amazing weekend, indeed.

Seeing them going strong after over thirty years was truly inspiring. There were so many bands that came up in the 90s. Some might have been equally or, dare I say, even more, talented. There was one from the School of Architecture Ahmedabad, they were the best I saw back then. Then there was one in Delhi whose USP were AC/DC covers. But few survived a few years. Even lesser saw the turn of the new millennium.?

Parikrama did. And it was amazing to see them on stage, again.

This post will bring back some amazing memories for some friends. I hope all of you have the same big smile that I have right now.

Bring on the rest of the week.