Bangla band, once the voice of a generation, to reunite after 20 years for one evening

It’s likely to be an emotional moment on Thursday (December 18, 2025) evening for many Kolkatans who were in college in the 1990s when they watch the Bengali band Parash Pathar — a rage at the time — reunite for a performance after 20 years.

This former band will be performing at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity along with another group, Prithibi, which was instrumental in the old bandmates coming together again for a show. The event is a part of the month-long arts festival being held in the city by the centre.

“When we started our journey, in the early 1990s, I was in my teens, most of us were in our teens. I had limited knowledge about music at the time but we had a lot of emotions and dreams to fulfil. Our first album came out in 1996 — we were the first Bangla band to release an album — so there are a lot of emotions, lot of achievements, lot of memories. Lot of great things related to Parash Pathar will remain with us for the rest of our lives. It is a great feeling to come together again,” music director Samidh Mukherjee, a founding member of the band, said.

“We artistes have a fire inside us, and one byproduct of that fire is ego. So naturally, after a point of time, things happen. It is about a balance between the ego and the artiste, sometimes the ego gets priority. This has happened with a lot of bands. Coming back together is like coming back to your own family after a long vacation. It is beautiful to see the simplicity in the guys still intact. All of them are very good souls, who have matured as great musicians. We have shaped up a great arrangement and repertoire for the show, and I am sure people are going to get the old taste in a new bottle,” Mr. Mukherjee added.

As far as Bangla bands go, Moheener Ghoraguli is considered the oldest, set up in 1975, thus considered even the oldest in India; but Parash Pathar was immensely popular in the 1990s, becoming the voice of a generation. “Their songs not only embodied the romantic spirit of youth, but also the insecurities and uncertainties that accompanied one when entering into adulthood. Now, in my 40s, whenever I listen to songs from their albums like Money Achhe (1996), I am flooded with memories of a time that changed so very fast. By the early 2000s, the world was a different place with the mobile phone and the spread of the Internet. To me, Parash Pathar is a part of my youth, when one of the coolest places to go was the Archies Gallery, as their song Bhalobasha says. I am looking forward to hearing some of the old hits just for a taste of nostalgia,” Anindya Sekhar Majumdar, an ad filmmaker, said.

Suparna Mukherjee, a banker, is another fan eagerly waiting for the show on Thursday. “Parash Pathar’s songs were like love anthems when I was in college. Their song Bhalo Lage Swapner Maya Jaal Bunte helped me weave my dreams in those growing up years. A must-listen in college fests, the band’s songs captured the emotions and aspirations of an entire generation. Several of my college friends will be there too,” she said.