Former Indian Ocean lead guitarist Susmit Sen speaks about his memoir 'Ocean to Ocean'

In your book, you wrote that your mother was not too happy about your choice of career when you started out. Is she happy with what you've achieved?
I am proud of what I am doing. I'm not too sure if she knows that I have some contribution to Indian music. (laughs) You should definitely ask her.

When you started playing the guitar in the early 1980s, there seemed to have been a temptation to 'impress the girls'. You seem to have fallen to that yourself in the early days. How important was serious playing to you as opposed to impressing the girls?
I did that for a few days initially. But that lasted only for a little while. Soon, I developed a keen interest in Indian classical music. Before that there were the usuals -- Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Cliff Richard, Neil Diamond. By the time I reached the 12th standard, my style had changed, because my approach to the guitar had changed, too. Originality became very important, and when Indian Ocean came about, we decided to have our own way. We were not too keen on cover, and I guess that's why we were taken seriously.

If you were to pen the Indian Ocean experience in a few lines what would those be?
To say the least, it was a fantastic time. It was a continuous process of growth; It was not a band to promote our popularities. Slowly and steadily, we were taken seriously, and then came the respect. We did some good work.

How has the Indian musical climate changed over the years?
Tremendously. Production is easier and cheaper today; every musician has a home studio today. Earlier, bands had to hire a studio. With developments in electronic technologies, the computer adds to a better finish. That also means that a lot of music is being made today; and not all of it is necessarily good. Our third album was partly digitised, and our fourth album was fully digital.

You've spoken about the troubles musicians face in not finding a good space to jam.
A place to practice is always a problem. Some bands need to pay by the hour to play. We were lucky to have the heritage residence in Khajoor Road, that our friends Orijit and Gurpreet gave us.

Asheem Chakravarty's demise in a way changed the way Indian Ocean shaped up thereafter, and you, in particular, were very close to him.
Asheem and I met long before the band came up. We knew each other for close to a decade. We jammed, talked and deliberated before the band was formed. Over the years, especially the latter years, our relationship became stagnant -- I mean, how much of each other can you see. We would be out for tours for two months at a stretch. And when we'd come back, Asheem would always be with me in my social outings. That's how we were. He was quite a fatherly person.
I will always have utmost respect for him and his work. There will never be another Asheem.