The lowdown on rocker Palash Sen

Euphoria’s Hindi rock superstar holds forth on the healing powers of music, home made fish and his sixty pairs of jeans

Byline: Tanya Ashreena

Does your medical degree compliment your music?
Yes, my degree helps me understand people and keeps me grounded and sensible. I'm also a firm believer in the fact that stardom comes by fluke, so it’s very important to know about knowledge. Moreover, I believe both professions, music and medicine, have healing powers, so they are interconnected.

You're Bengali. Do you like eating fish?
I like everything cooked by my mom, and if that includes fish, then I like it too!

What kind of magazines do you read the most?
Over the years, I've read so many medical books, that I am no longer comfortable reading magazines. If I pick up a magazine, then it would probably be on sports. I would like to read a music magazine though. But the problem is that in our country, people only think Bollywood when they talk about music, which doesn’t give space to so many other musical forms that exist and hold solid ground in our country.

You travel frequently. What was the most recent place you trotted off to?
I don’t travel frequently. I only travel. And sadly I end up spending more time at airports than actual destinations. I’ve traveled all over the country and to almost every continent extensively, except for Europe. I’ve been to exotic places like Lakshadweep, and performed at the Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal and India Gate, and will be performing at the Purana Qila soon. I’ve even sung at the General Assembly of the UN Security Council! Now, that was cool.

What kind of movies do you like?
Comedies, hands down. I think in today’s times people really need to laugh, and it's good for your health. I don’t think people should make thought-provoking movies. Strange, but true!

Coming from a family of doctors, would you like your son, Kinshuk, to be a singer or a doctor, both or anything?
That’s up to him. He can choose whatever profession he wants, but only after he becomes a doctor!

What’s up with your sister, Dahlia? She used to write the lyrics of your songs earlier?
She still does. She’s my best friend, and it’s her that I’ve learnt to write from. We recently did a jingle for Maruti and she wrote for the Bengali version of it.

Were you a typically naughty teenager?
I didn’t do any bad things. I was very studious. From the age of 14 or 15, all I remember doing is studying. I had no time for anything else. No alcohol, ciggies or drugs at all. I was always a complete gentleman (laughs). But I think it’s time for me now to do all that I missed out doing as a teenager.

Are you superstitious?
I’m very superstitious. If a person sings on my right, he always has to be on the right, and same with a person on my left. I have lucky clothes that everyone in my band has to wear. I pray before a performance and touch my mother’s feet before a concert. Also, the microphones have to be placed in a special way on stage.

Do you read celebrity gossip?
Not at all. I never go to any Page 3 parties and never wish to be featured on that page. I’m very happy staying completely away from it. Whenever I do get featured, I hate it!

What do you do for fun?
I sing. Very few people get to do what they love, and I’m very lucky to be one of them. I also love sleeping, but I'm constantly sleep deprived since I’m always traveling and just don’t get enough time to curl up and get my forty winks.

Do you have any pets?
Yes, my kids. (Laughs)

Who is your all-time favorite classical music composer?
Sadly, I'm not that into classical music. I also don't know too much about classical music, but I do like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Kishori Amonkar. As far as Western classical music goes, I like Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach, but I don’t know enough about it to distinguish between them, or for that matter even talk about them.

Do you have any fetishes?
Yeah, I have shoes and jeans fetishes. I am obsessive about my footwear. At the last count, I can safely say that I had 40 to 45 pairs of shoes and 50 to 60 pairs of jeans!