DJ Bhaduri, nicknamed Sona, is musician by night and philosopher by day. He answers The Fuschia Tree signature question on infinity with an existential echo and advises the young to make verbs of their dreams. He gives us clues to his inspirations and claws with which to grasp one's own most frightening, and indeed euphoric moments.

TFT: It’s an open secret that you’re a huge fan of The Beatles. Lennon or McCartney?
DJ: Sir Paul McCartney.


TFT:  Triangle or Xylophone?
DJ: Triangle.


TFT: Four albums to carry with you around the world.
DJ: Dhoom. Phir Dhoom, Gully. Mehfuz, Redhoom and Item! And our latest spiritual album called Sharnaagat [smiles]. But apart from that, I can listen to Sting, Billy Joel, Spyrogyra endlessly…
 

TFT: Recurring dreams?
DJ: Anti-gravity! I have this dream that I'm driving down a mountain and at some point the road becomes inverted but I'm still driving…

TFT: Wow. Wonder where in your subconscious that comes from! An important memory from childhood?
DJ: I think that would be when my dad was teaching me to ride a bicycle. He kept telling me to get your balance first by riding on one pedal whereas I would automatically go the whole hog and end up looping in figures of 8.


TFT: Figures of 8. Infinity. What do you have to say about the infinite?
DJ: The Moebius Ring. There's one surface and one side. And you can traverse it forever…


TFT: And what about the short-lived? Quirky jobs, crazy bosses?
DJ: I'll revert to this one saying, "What is quirky?” And bosses are often crazy, crazier than you will ever be. I've been through the mills and I'm very well grounded! [Self-aware laughter].
 

TFT: Your weaknesses.
DJ: I believe that your weakness is where your strength lies.


TFT:  If you could play any other instrument, really well, what would it be?
DJ: Keyboards and programming!!
 

TFT: If you could play anywhere, where would it be?
DJ: THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL, but we came close enough to that when we performed at the U.N. General Assembly Hall!


TFT:  How do you find titles for songs? Is there a title latent in you somewhere that you haven't yet made a song for? What is it?
DJ: Actually, we don't find them, they find us! I think a latent talent is to make the composition and the lyrics gel with each other.


TFT: Any particular anecdote behind the creation of a particular song?
DJ: A call at 3AM, 14 years ago, when I was dating a lovely lady and our song writer said "Aage jaane Raam kya hoga"!


TFT: Euphoric moments, frightening moments.
DJ: Both are actually the same. Every time we get on stage and play to a new audience I feel both feelings simultaneously.


TFT: If a young musician today was starved for material, where would you lead him towards to find it?
DJ: I feel that the young musician of today has access to much more music on TV and youtube and all kinds of digital media than we ever did. However, I would like to say that if you listen to your heart and soul, that's where it is at and that is where the difference lies. The search for individualism can be as soulless as The Matrix or as soulful as The Bridge Across Forever [smiles].


TFT: Surprise us with a story we can’t fathom asking you about.
DJ: I do have a story to tell. It’s a brief history of myself. I didn't have an inclination towards music until I was in the 10th grade, but I guess I had an innate talent. A friend of mine used to play the guitar and I was fascinated with it. Our ‘annual day’ was 3 months away, and I made up my mind to play in that. So I taught myself to play and performed on that day.
Just prior to joining college for Hotel Management [!], a group of my friends wanted to form a band, but they didn't have a bass guitarist! I told them I'll play bass, so I learned the bass and performed my 1st professional gig in '84 without ever having touched a bass guitar!! The rest, of course, is history.
So at the end of the day, the only moral of my life story is that "where there's a will, there's a way"!


TFT: So what does the ‘way’ look like ahead?
DJ: Trying to get off the infinity ring and resurfacing in another dimension would be great!

DJ Bhaduri is considered the "backbone" of the Indian band Euphoria, and lives and listens in Delhi.