Guitars in a Carnatic city: The rock ‘n’ roll story of 1960s Madras
This feature explores the emergence of rock music in 1960s Madras, highlighting how Western protest music influenced the city's youth culture. It features personal anecdotes from musicians who played in local bands during that era.
Why it matters
It documents a unique cultural intersection between traditional Indian city life and the global influence of 1960s Western rock music.
In the 1960s, Chennai was a quiet city with tree-lined boulevards, bungalow-studded neighbourhoods, and the beginning of an art movement that would become synonymous with Madras. The city was steeped in tradition but one willing to allow through the cracks the influence of English protest music. Much of that came from the West — mostly the UK and the US — from musicians who sang about everything from Civil Rights and the war in Vietnam to just wanting ‘to hold your hand’.
Rock music, with its barbed guitar riffs and growling voices, came to wooded college campuses with a gentle lilt — students sang of American themes in Indian hostel rooms on quiet evenings.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan | Photo Credit: R RAVINDRAN
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