The music genre, once taken as a hobby by the youngsters striving to look different, has come a long way.

"In our times people used to laugh when someone said I want to be a Rockstar. But now, we have seen that families have finally started accepting the fact that Rock music can be pursued in the long run and can be taken as a career," says Sonam Sherpa, lead guitarist of rock band 'Parikrama'.

"Atleast half of my students want to pursue it in the long run," says Sherpa, who also runs the Parikrama school of music with his wife in Delhi to train budding rockers.

Similarly, Anup Kutty, who is the lead guitarist of 'Menwhopause' says, "Times have changed as major record labels are ready to roll out albums of Indian rock bands. We don't have to release albums through our independent labels, our latest album is being released by EMI.

"It's just a matter of say three years when you'll see people pursuing rock music full time," says Kutty, who is also working as the editor of Maxim (India).

'Menwhopause' was the first Indian rock band to be invited to perform at the prestigious SxSW festival in Austin, Texas.

"There has been a rock culture in Bangalore even before Hard Rock Cafe came to India which has benefitted the bands in a big way. It was a distant dream to own a good guitar once, I think the change has come much earlier then expected, says Sujay Harthai, vocalist of Bangalore based band 'Second Hand' and 'Bhumi'.

Music enthusiasts also believe that the rise of live performances, corporate events like 'Pix August Rush', coming up of music banners and the shift towards originals rather than playing covers of existing Rock legends has helped bands deal with the 'money factor' that earlier hampered their growth.

"Today, there are lot of websites and magazines dedicated to Rock music in India. The scene has completely changed, five years ago you were judged by the covers you were playing, now the audience want originals," says Shiv Ahuja, keyboard player of Delhi based band 'Five 8'.

Established in 1865 with over 350 dealer outlets, music store 'Furtados' infused a fresh breath in the Rock industry when it launched a new record label 'Furtados Records' dedicated exclusively to Indian Rock music and released a compilation album that featured 10 rock and heavy metal bands.

"The attitude has changed a lot, now we don't have to worry about drumkits and sound which definitely helps the bands. But a lot needs to be done," says Harthai.

However, despite the changing perception of people about the rock music, many bands still feel that becoming a 'Rockstar' full time is still a hard bet to make.

"It's a very small amount of people like us who want to pursue it in the long run. Although the scenario has improved but still its not a very well paying profession," says Nikhil Rufus, bassist of the band 'Indigo Children' (formerly The Superfuzz) which won Campus Rock Idols in 2005, The Great Indian Rock festival in 2006 and Launchpad in 2007.

"All my band members have day jobs. The scene has improved over the years but money is not great for a band to pursue its dream. I know bands who have the thing to make it big but they don't have a support mechanism," says Zarir Warden, Vocalist of Mumbai-based band 'The Other Side' who works at a tour operating company when he's not helping his mates tune up the six-string.

The rock music enthusiasts believe that the genre still lacks a support mechanism to be taken as a career as the government is reluctant to offer support and corporates still prefer a Bollywood concert any day over a rock gig.

"Talent has always been there, but in the end it all comes down to numbers. There is a big rock community but when you compare it to the audience of a Bollywood show or a Pop concert it stands nowhere," says Sam Lal, Editor-in-Chief of music magazine 'Blender' (India) said.

"There is to be a ROI which is needs to be determined. Rock lovers want Indian rock band Cd's for free. Fans should be ready to shell out some money for good music," Lal says.

"Art form relies heavily on sponsors and everything is free for the audience, which is a bad model. The sponsors pay for everything, the power should be with the audience who should pay for good music," Kutty agrees.

'Parikrama' recently received an ICCR accreditation which has been seen as a welcome step to promote rock culture in the country.