A very old snap of the complete line up of the rock band PURPLE WAX (perhaps in the mid-eighties). NARENDRANATH PEDRO DEY: Bass (left), SUBHASHIS DAS:Guitar and vocals (centre), the late WISHAL NANDY: Guitar and Vocals(right) and SUKALYAN MOITRA:Keyboards ( far right). The Delhi- Sound wallah man of Ranchi peeps at a connexion at the back. Photo credit: Ranjan Banerjee.

Perhaps it was  somewhere in the  early eighties when pop singer and guitarist Subhashis Das, teamed up with the chameleon musician, Sukalyan Moitra to form the first Rock Band of Hazaribagh which was very ornamentally termed as PURPLE WAX.

Why such a name?

SUBHASHIS, the band leader answered “...well perhaps purple was a very favourite colour of mine and besides I was immensely influenced by ‘Purple Rain’ by Prince which was a very popular and a great number in those days, winning the Grammy. “Wax” perhaps lend a heaviness to the name for a rock band...”

Bands in those days were also known as ‘groups’ in India.

The band was also joined by a small fellow called VISHAL NANDY, who introduced himself to the band as a guitarist. Vishal was later found to be a dynamite on contrary to his height. He was gradually getting exposure to blues, rock, rock ’n roll and country music.

The legendary guitarist of Hazaribagh, the late WISHAL NANDY performs at a concert of  PURPLE WAX and Silent Echo  in the classy hotel of Timber Heights, Himachal Pradesh.

VISHAL picked up guitarists like Eric Clapton, Mark Knofler, Santana and John Mayal fast enough and soon began playing The Roling Stones, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Hendrix and led Zep with ease. Vishal, apart from a vocalist also became the lead guitarist  of the band. 


SUKALYAN MOITRA was the master musician. He could play the guitar, the drums and even the keyboards with an equal flair. He was appointed as the keyboard player of the band.

NAREN (PEDRO) DEY was the bassist. Where as Bula Bhattacharya and Gyan Sagar were the drummers. Sahadeo Ganguly and Sujit played the percussion as when required.

SUBHASHIS DAS, played the rhythm and became the main singer of the band. Being the senior most he was the band leader.

A rock band in Hazaribagh, but who would listen?

Another  old snap of PURPLE WAX  in action. SUBHASHIS DAS (middle), WISHAL (right), NAREN (left) Photo credit : Ranjan Banerjee

Hazaribagh was much different then, it was much smaller but pretty westernized .The youth, particularly of Hearnganj and Dipugarha still listened to rock’ n roll and the youth strummed guitars.

PURPLE WAX was soon to became their fave band. Melodious harmonies, powerful vocals and gnarling guitars was what the youth desired which the band provided . Their first rock show was also the first rock concert of Hazaribagh.

MARTIN GALLAGHER from Australia belts a cool 12 bar blues at a PURPLE WAX show in St.Xavier's School Auditorium. Phot credit: Ranjan Banerjee.

The show was staged somewhere in the month of September of mid-eighties in the auditorium of St.Xavier’s School, which was aptly named Autumn Live.

Tickets were tastefully designed. Posters of the rock concert came up on shops like the “3 Aces”, the coffee shop in the Main Road (near Subhashi Medical store), “Uncle Tom’s Jeans Cabin” in Bada Bazaar (near Nagendra Store, it was run by Ajit Singh and Harbans Singh. These shops are all closed down today. Harbans and Ajit have migrated to the United States of A).

PURPLE WAX played to a packed house for about two hours. The show was a hit with the crowd. The youth hungry for rock’n roll lapped up the show, as such a show was never expected from musicians of Hazaribagh. The band performed songs like Devil Woman, Sultans of Swing, Satisfaction, Dear John, Run to You, Smoke on the Water and Money for Nothing etc.

Numbers of Deep Purple, led Zepplin, Bryan Adams, Dire Straits, Pet Shop Boys, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder and Pink Floyd etc were performed by them. The night ended with the legendary song We are the World. Alok Singh who was a master in guitar plucking was the guest singer.

Times of India, Patna reported the gala event the next day.

SILENT ECHO: The rock band from Chandigarh performs in Hazaribagh. Photo credit: Ranjan Banerjee

The following year there was another rock show. This time Silent Echo of Chandigarh also performed to a packed house along with the local favourite PURPLE WAX. 

PURPLE WAX later performed at many Hoxa dinners. They even played at many colleges and Universities fests outside the state. Together with Silent Echo they even performed in Chandigarh and Timber heights.

SUBHASHIS DAS and WISHAL NANDI, members of PURPLE WAX along with members of SILENT ECHO boards  a cable car to go up to the hotel at Timber Heights for a performance on a 31st Dec night in late eighties.

Subhashis’ powerful vocals used to sound more like Neil Diamond and Bruce Springsteen. He was also at ease singing Elton John, Bryan Adams and Dire Straits. He was a real showman jumping from one end of the stage to the other and never missing a beat in the process. 


Vishal who had changed his name to Wishal too became an accomplished singer and was a very fine blues guitarist. He could play Mel Mc Daniels and Guns ’n Roses with equal command. His rendering of Stevie Wonders and the Lionel Ritchies was a feat to watch. Subhashis and Vishal became an enviable pair on stage.


Sadly, the group disbanded after about two years. It is over two decades since Purple Wax  but Hazaribagh has never witnessed any rocking activities  ever since. 

The teen-aged Subhashis Das during his rocking days in mid seventies, just before a gig. Photo credit: Ranjan Banerjee.

Subhashis Das is a noted megalithic researcher and author today. He still plays the guitar and sings to himself and is often a judge in the western music categories in university youth fests. Sukalyan is a Professor of Political Science of VBU. Naren Day is in a school but teaches guitar at home. Bula is salesman in Kolkata and Gyan works in the Sales tax Dept but also runs a recording studio in Hazaribagh. Alok Singh is in the Income Tax Dept.

Wishal died a premature death. He had so much more to give to Hazaribagh in music. He had rocked not only Jharkhand but even Delhi, Himachal and Punjab.

Fans of PURPLE WAX pay their respect to the band's lead guitarist and singer who was  also  an amazing musician of Hazaribagh apart from being a very warm guy with a big grin.

Let us pray that PURPLE WAX teams up again, but with Wishal gone, we know that  it is not to be…




Fans of PURPLE WAX