Diwali with Indian Ocean in New York

Indian Ocean is one of the few Indian bands who have been touring the US this year. Currently on tour in the US, they have been performing since October 15, starting in LA. They are slated to perform on Diwali Day in New York City. Previously I had no plans to do anything on that day, Monday being a work day. But now with them in town, there is no way I am going to miss that event.

“…Kandisa alaha, kandisa ehsaana kandisa la ma yosa israha malem…” I came across the album Kandisa, when my roommate (of that time) brought this CD from his trip back home to India. The sounds and the passion that they bring about in the album is very refreshing and unique. Over time as I listened to it, I got addicted to it. It also became my favourite driving music on long drives out of the city, be it in the car or the motorcycle. There was a very interesting anecdote, that I would like to share. Once I was driving back from Rochester to NYC, alone. The traffic on I-87 was medium, and I had my windows down and Kandisa blasting away !!

Nature called, and I stopped at a rest stop and another car pulls up behind me and the driver gestures to me. I was hoping that he wasn’t coming to bash me up for cutting him off the road or something similar. To my pleasant surprise he introduced himself as an Egyptian man and asked me about the music I had been playing. He apparently had been driving next to me for close to 25 miles and was listening to the music. He pulled into the rest stop just to find out who the artist was.

I told him about Kandisa, and about the little known group called Indian Ocean. He noted it down and asked if he could buy it in NYC or over the internet. I told him that I doubted it. Remember this was 2000. I offered to burn a CD and send it to him, if he could not get his hands on it. After exchanging email addresses, we went our way, and I forgot all about it. 4 months later, I got an email from him, taking me up on the offer. I sent a copy over and got a thank you card.

This incident has always been etched in my mind for the various polarities.

Since then I have followed their music, and heard later albums. Somehow they havent lived up to the same standards as Kandisa.

I also haven’t ever seen them live in concert, so I can’t wait.

If you are in any of these cities in the next couple of weeks do catch them.

Oct 27 Somerville, MA Boston Area

Oct 29 River Grove, IL Chicago Area

Nov 01 NYC…catch me there

Nov 02 Fords NJ

Nov 03 Univ of New Mexico

Stop by their website to get your fill of Indian Ocean and download their music, if you havent heard it before. My favourite is Kandisa, from the album by the same name.