Time and Travel – Suraj Dutt

Today is a sad day for the Indie artists of Bangalore. We lost one of the big ones.

I had the pleasure of meeting Suraj Dutt a few days ago at my studio and we clicked right away. Our stupid sense of humour for the stupidest of things seemed to bring us together. We found similar things and similar people to pick on.. after which, we picked on each other and it seemed like the both of us were absolutely OK with it. He also had this interesting laugh. It was a loud HA HA with a sarcastic smile and then silence followed. He jammed with two other musicians for a few hours after which we ordered some Chinese food. He had good things to say about the quantity of the noodles and the quality of the rice. He also mentioned that he had to go back home because there was Sambar and Rice waiting for him. He said his mother had made it for him but that didn’t stop him form taking the remaining noodles back too. As he walked away with the parcelled food in one hand and his car keys in the other, I had a weird smile on my face. It was like I had found someone who was as cracked as I was.

I had heard of him before we met. Suraj was well known in the local – live music circuit here in Bangalore. He had played with bands like Verses, Lucidreams, Neolithic Silence and Bajaow to name a few. I’ve always heard of his amazing stage presence and guitar skills. The last time I heard of him was for his gig with Brodha V at The Great Indian October Fest. I was told that they blew the stage wide open and that the band sounded HUGE!

His Fender Squier Stratocaster and Line 6 POD now sits on the floor of the Musical Cubicle. It is sometimes difficult to comprehend how someone is here one day and the next day, they are not. He was supposed to come in today for a final jam before we left for our gig tomorrow at Angasana Resort with White Massif Event Management. His absence has brought chaos in today’s practice and everyone seems to be running around like headless chickens. Thankfully the awesome Naveen Thomas has agreed to step in and bring calm to this storm. The set is finally starting to sound nice and take shape.

My phone has been ringing off the hook since the morning with the sad news. A couple of the boys cried over the phone and the most of them held back their tears. It was evident in all their voices that the news was shattering to them too. Neil called to tell me that his good friend had told him that he was jamming at my studio a few days ago and that now, that friend was no more. Neil was at the hospital when he called me. I haven’t spoken to Neil in over a year now. We should catch up buddy. Suraj told me you were his work buddy and that I was as crazy as you were. He said the both of you were a terror.

CHOPPER – Boss Man – Bangalore bids you a Musician farewell tonight. We have bands across the city who will dedicate their gigs and their tunes to you. Right from Skrat (Madras) going live at Hard Rock Cafe (Bangalore) to All The Fat Children going live at Free Wheel Rolling in Counter Culture. This is our way of thanking you for your contribution to the scene. Sylvester has a special tune for you too. When our time is up, we shall join you up there for some sambar and rice. Until then, feel free to look down on all of us and poke as much fun as you want.

RIP – Suraj Dutt