posted by: Sherwin Coelho Feb 8 2010 @ 1:35 am

From being an ‘experimental group’ to enthralling audiences across the globe, Penn Masala has come a long way within a decade.

Kunal Bajaj, one of the founding members of the group, is now a Managing Director at a Delhi-based company but he still makes time to attend Penn Masala gigs.

How did the idea of Penn Masala come about?

University of Pennsylvania (Penn) has a long tradition of a cappella music groups on campus. As freshmen, we had a chance to listen to all of them perform, but realized that none of them focused on South Asian music, or much international music at all. Given our backgrounds and love for Hindi songs, a group of us got together and decided to experiment with adopting our favorite Bollywood tracks to the a cappella style.

When the group was first formed, did you foresee it becoming as big as it is now?

I don’t think that any of the original members could have, in their wildest dreams, imagined the heights this group would scale. I think it’s because we’re so passionate about what we do that the success and growth of the group has come naturally.

What are your future benchmarks for Penn Masala?

I believe that the popularity that we have developed in the US, can easily be matched and surpassed in India in the not-too-distant future.

Dhruv Batura, one of the current members of the group, is a Mumbaikar studying at University of Pennsylvania.

A career in music or a career in your chosen education streams. What would you choose and why?

While there have been members of Penn Masala who have pursued careers in music, the vast majority of us go on to become doctors, engineers, investment bankers, and other professionals. We are at the University of Pennsylvania to pursue our career paths. I think a lot of us would enjoy keeping music a part of our lives, but we all have other career aspirations.

What does it take to get into Penn Masala?

There are a number of factors to consider when people audition for Penn Masala. We not only look for capable and talented singers, but also passionate musicians. Typically around a hundred students try out for the group annually, but the number of people accepted really varies from year to year. Auditions are actually a pretty collaborative process, but the majority of the audition is conducted by the Musical Director.

What was it like performing in front of the President of the United States?

Singing for President Barack Obama was amazing! It was an honor to be invited to the White House during the Diwali celebration (2009) and sing in front of such respected dignitaries. President Obama was extremely kind to us and thanked us for coming to the event. We got to meet him, shake his hand and also took a photo with him. It was an amazing experience that we are very proud of and will cherish for the rest of our lives.

Why don’t you’ll allow females to sing with you’ll?

Penn Masala was founded as an all-male group. Hence, we’ve always wanted to keep that tradition going.

Any funny incident that happened on a tour?

During our most recent tour to India, things got hectic at the airport and amidst the confusion, we got onto the airplane only to realize we had left one member behind! His hand-baggage was above his seat, but he was nowhere to be found. After some frantic phone calls and a desperate search, he emerged from the business class restrooms, claiming the service was much better on that side of the aircraft!

Fast Five:

Most Requested Song: Aicha

Guys with the largest female fan-following: Nikhil, Ankit and Sagar!

Song you’ll had the most fun composing: Distant Places, the original, from our latest album

Your Best Gig: Just finished an incredible tour in Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad

Penn Masala in five words: Fun, Passionate, Driven, Grateful, Friends

The current line-up of Penn Masala comprises of: Akshat Vaidya, Ankit Dhir, Bharat Moudgil, Bhuwan Vashisht, Dhruv Batura, Harshil Shukla, Mahesh Murali, Manoj Racherla, Nikhil Marathe, Sachin Amrute, Sagar Bhatt, Sam Levenson, Vinay Rao

Website: Penn Masala

Facebook: Penn Masala

Twitter: Penn Masala