From Muscat to Mumbai: SANAM’s 13-year journey in the Indian music scene

From Muscat to Mumbai: SANAM’s 13-year journey in the Indian music scene

A bustling corner of the Phoenix Marketcity mall in Whitefield recently came alive with heartwarming music. The audience — including fans and a few non-fans — witnessed the versatile music of SANAM, a band that has been on the Indian music scene for the last 13 years. “The concert at the mall was more than a performance; it is a testament to the band’s impact and longevity on the indie music scene in India,” said a fan.

SANAM traces its inception back to the early 2000s when Venky S, the band’s bass guitarist, and Samar Puri, the lead guitarist, and his brother Sanam, the leading vocalist, were classmates in Muscat. The trio formed a band in 2003. A year later, Sanam and Samar had to move to Delhi and Venky to Bengaluru. The latter met Keshav Dhanraj, the band’s drummer — the missing piece to their musical puzzle — in Chennai.

The four met in Mumbai in 2009. It was also the year they participated in their first-ever major event in a music competition as a band (albeit under the name SQS Project). 

Thirteen years later, what has changed about SANAM and what hasn’t? 

“As human beings, we are fundamentally the same people we used to be. We still enjoy similar things and have fun in the same way as we did in the past,” says Sanam. “However, over time, we’ve matured and our perspective on life has evolved. The four of us have experienced numerous ups and downs, facing various challenges, and these experiences have taught us a lot about each other and how to navigate life.”

In terms of music, Sanam says, they focused on composing songs. “At some point, we began doing renditions of old songs. This exposed us to the maturity and sophistication of older song compositions. By working on these renditions, we learned valuable lessons about chord progressions, arrangements, and how to incorporate these elements into our music. Our current approach to composing is quite different from how we used to compose in the past.”

Diverse strengths