How long have you guys been together?
Vasu: The band has been around since 2002, though the current group has been on the beat for abut a year. We took off in Mysore city and are now based in Bangalore.

Introductions, please.
Vasu: I am into vocals and the rhythm - I play the guitar. Pavan looks after the percussion and plays the kanjira, dholak, ghatam and also a four-feet high Thai drum called the klongyaw that is held vertically up.
Montry plays the drums and Varun the guitars. Sanjeev plays the violins and Jishnu the Bass Guitar.

Do you call yourselves a Hindi band, fusion band or what?
Vasu: We are a unique band. Our music has a lot of Indian folk and fusion too. We use rhythms from Rajasthan and also Carnatic classical and other Indian music in our melodies.

Who were the original band members in 2002?
Pavan: There were Vasu, Abhinand and I originally. Abhinand is a guitarist and he does not play actively anymore, because he has his own radio station now.

So what is Swarathma’s USP?
Pavan: We write our own songs. On our shows we never play others’ numbers. Our themes are wide and they are honest self-expressions. We never make a song for the sake of making one more and honestly cannot understand people who do this!
Varun: Like our track Pyaasi¸ a story of the river Cauvery that has a lot of poignancy. It is the story of the river in her own words, as she does not understand the bloodshed that is taking place in her name.
Jishnu: Then there is also Patte saare, which is about how development has spread but is closing in on us by eating into the environment. Like a playground is now a mall and parks are making way for buildings.
Pavan: We also have this outrageously optimistic song called Ee bhoomi in Kannada in which we imagine the world becoming a paradise of peace and love. Though they could not really follow the lyrics, the audience went into a sing-along mode when we performed this song in Mumbai and Delhi.

How come you guys formed a Hindi band way down South in Karnataka?
Jishnu: In school we learnt this poem that had the line Hindi hain hum! (Everyone roars with laughter and thumps approval)
Vasu: Well, Mysore wasn’t really a big town so I went to Bangalore to study in a CBSC school. And do you know what? There were actually only 3 Kannadigas in my class! So I learnt to think and write in Hindi.

Sanjiv, you are a violinist. It is said that the best composers in Indian films are violinists.
Sanjiv: (After deafening thumps)Well, a violinist in bands is very rare. I play the electric violin, or use the acoustic one for a folk song. A violin is a very expressive instrument that can even become the singer in a band.

So are there any film ambitions?
Sanjiv: We would love to do films.

Montry, what is your role in the band?
Montry: All of us work at everything - the words, the melody, the sound and the vocals. I try to add the Western feel.

How was the competition on RC Live, which was held to search for the best Hindi band? And what do you think led to your winning the contest?
Vasu: Well, there were great bands in competition. But apart from our strength the other reason was that we were a band in a true sense. It is difficult to have an on-stage energy if there is no off-stage chemistry, but in our case we are friends who hang out together all the time even when we are not doing music. You cannot create vibes out of thin air. We were also very excited that we were judged by names like Dr Palash Sen, Subir Malik and Parikrama.

And now?
Vasu: We aim to be the best band in the world!

But what is the world scenario for a Hindi band?
Pavan: Seriously, we do not know yet. But remember how big the 1992 song Didi in Arabic was even no one understood the words? So why cannot that happen with a Hindi song?
Jishnu: We are already working with John Leckie, the UK-based award-winning producer, on a compilation album - it will be our music and his production.

Why do we get this feeling that you guys are all very serious guys at heart?
Vasu: There you go, discovering what we were all trying to hide!