In the wee hours of September 8 Sankalp Khare, who had attended TAAQ’s gig at 10 Downing Street, Hyderabad, found himself trying on a tad-too-tiny TAAQ tee (note the alliteration). Aghast at the bikini-like fit, he vowed to have it exchanged. Or have his funny money back. Braving the terrors of the night he set out on an expedition to the hotel where the band was put up. Expecting hostility and badass band attitude at these odd hours, he made sure he came armed to the gills with some of his own. But quod erat demonstrandum, he mused as he rode home unscathed, “Luck comes hidden in the most unexpected things”.
Here’s Sankalp’s story in his own words…
The band and some friends were chilling at their hotel room when I arrived. It was great to meet them all and I’m quite sure I was acting mighty strange, trying to keep the excitement bottled up. Now I don’t know what you may have read about bands having attitude or ego issues or blah, but this was a group of fellers who made me feel at home almost instantly. Heck, the way Rajeev expressed his concerns about me riding all the way & back “all alone in the big bad city” would’ve reminded anyone of home! So after a teeny sip of what Rajeev was having and some chatter, someone (bless his soul!) said I should have a pic with my new TAAQ T-shirt. The way I’m looking like a 16-year-old kid on cloud 9 in the pic brings back some memories of Stillwater & the kid from Almost Famous. Bruce gave me a copy of “This is It” as a keepsake for my nightly visit.