Nandu Bhende, In Memoriam: An Indian Rock Music Pioneer

The recent passing away””due to a sudden, massive heart attack””of the well-known Bombay born-and-raised singer Nandu (”˜Sadanand’) Atmaram Bhende. Nandu’s death leaves a palpable void in the local music scene. Almost exactly a month ago, there was an event held at the Hard Rock Café Mumbai at Worli to launch the book on India’s rock history by journalist Sidharth Bhatia, Psychedelic India: The Story of a Rocking Generation (Harper-Collins India, 2014) at which Nandu performed a brief but immaculate set of crowd favourites backed by veteran classic-rock guitarist Keith Viegas and two young, talented musicians on bass and drums. That was the last time I met him, backstage before and after the show, where I presented him a copy of Sid Bhatia’s book. We couldn’t discuss much that day although we were in the process of planning mastering album from archived material at his studio (that was to be entitled world-VU: The Early Years).

Nandu Bhende at the Jack Daniel’s Annual Rock Awards 2014 in Mumbai

I miss Nandu for many reasons and readers will understand by the end of this brief piece why I will never be able to forget him. First and foremost because he was one of the finest singers of his generation but also because, in a distinct manner, he was my mentor. He introduced me to the fascinating world of professional show business. We played together briefly in a band named Rhapsody (this was in the early 1980s) that also featured Hirji Nagarwalla (keyboards), Neville Moos (drums, and Rajiv ”˜Bunty’ Duggal (guitar, vocals). Initially, Rhapsody backed the now-famous dancer/singer/choreographer Shiamak Davar for a few shows at Sophia Bhabha College Auditorium but soon Nandu asked us to be his backing-band, which was quite an honour since N.B. was rather famous among fans of rock bands and live music in Bombay. I was barely a teenager then, fresh out of high-school, struggling to keep up with the musical standardexpected of me by my senior band-members. Those were great days””I learnt a lot, we practised hard and played as tight as a pop-rock band could as a unit on stage. I will never forget the glamour and adulation we received at those first professional gigs, most of which were major functions at large venues with excellent sound systems and fringe benefits for the band (such as transportation, good food, accommodation, and so forth.)

Actually, my association with Nandu goes back several years before the musical association with Rhapsody, which lasted, as I recall, less than a year. I was replaced by Xerxes Gobhai (who left for America soon after) whilst I had just replaced Stuart Julian (brother of Waterfront guitarist Derek Julian)””incidentally, both are excellent bass-players! Thespian Atmaram Bhende, the well-known Marathi stage and Hindi film actor (Lage Raho Munnabhai) happens to be a friend of my father, Kishor Desai. My dad had dabbled in Marathi theatre and film and had become friendly with Nandu’s father Although he was more than a decade older than me, Nandu treated me like a friend not like a kid brother. He invited my father and me to see his then highly rated band Savage Encounter practise as they were scheduled to perform at a show called Electric Haze along with vocalist Sharon Prabhakar backed by The Hell’s Angels, with Atomic Forest as the headliners.

Nandu was not merely a run-of-the-mill rock singer. Mr. Bhende was a ”˜Rennaissance man’ and a role-model for hundreds of aspiring musicians (yours truly included!). Besides possessing a powerful and flexible vocal capacity, he also played guitar, composed songs and lyrics, produced recording artists and advertising jingles, started a successful recording studio (IN-SYNC Studios) and a voice-training institute as well! As a pioneering rock front-man, NB played (or was involved with, among many other musical projects and recordings) with the following bands: Velvette Fogge (Simla Beat Contest Winners), Savage Encounter, Rhapsody, Atomic Forest, etc. The Andrew Lyold Webber-Tim Rice composed, Alyque Padamsee produced, rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, where Bhende initially played the role of Judas (until Madhukar Chandradhas migrated to the U.S.A., and Nandu took over the Jesus part).  Another project that Marathi film-theatre producer/director Jabbar Patel commissioned Nandu was to compose music for his adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s Three Penny Opera (which translates in Marathi as Teen Paisyacha Tamasha).

The musical legacy that Nandu Bhende has left behind for subsequent generations of musicians to some is that persistence, practice, hard-work, honesty surely pay-off in the long run in the music industry. My fervent hope is for a tribute concert in memory of Sadanand Bhende and wider recognition for what Nandu has done for the popularity of rock music in this nation. My heartfelt condolences, regards and warm wishes to his immediate family his sister Purnima, wife Usha (nee Kulkarni), daughter Amrita and son Akshay (both of whom are musically talented) in this difficult period of grief, and also of joyful remembrances of a uniquely talented musician, a family-man, a mentor for young musicians, and a thoroughly decent human.

Tribute To Nandu Bhende featuirng Zedde, Lesle Lewis, Mihir Joshi, The Hoodwink Circle and more. Proceeds from the gate will benefit Aastha Parivaar
May 8th,  2014 – 10:00 pm
Blue Frog, Mumbai

 Hemant Desai is a 48-year old musician, composer and producer who has performed with bands such as Rock Machine, Les Boys and  Bombay Blues Band.