Click to play videoNew Delhi: At their house in Allahabad's Tashkent Road, Ashok and Madhu Saigal, Amit's parents, can't stop talking about their maverick son.
"We are just so proud. Today we are known as Amit's parents, not the other way around," says Ashok Saigal.
Rock Street Journal or RSJ is the Bible every music lover in India swears by. Today it runs out of a cramped office in South Delhi, but its roots lie in the heart of Uttar Pradesh - in Allahabad - in Amit's small house where the first few copies of RSJ were printed in 1993.
That time, no one was was interested in buying the magazine because Allahabad and rock music didn't quite go hand in hand.
Amit was forced to leave a city that didn't recognise his dreams and re-locate to Delhi where he got an identity.
RSJ didn't only thrive, but became the biggest thing ever on the Indian rock music scene. It became a magazine that gave a voice to the dozens of bands that kept sprouting across the country.
But Amit Saigal remained an Allahabadi deep inside, very much in touch with what was happening in his state. Now, with the elections coming up, he's a bit nostalgic about the place that used to be home.
"Being an UP-ite you can't stay away from elections when it happens in the state. Like every one else I am also fed up with all that is happening in the state," says he.
But ask him if he will ever return to his roots and it's the matter of fact businessman who replies.
"No I don't think I ever want to go back there. A lot of what's happening in that state is rubbish and I don't want to go back. I don't trust the political parties there I didn't think I had a future there ever. It will be home always but I don't want to go back."
The messiah of the rock movement in Allahabad left the city disillusioned, but the religion has now grown.
Rock street journal may have moved on but Allahabad's love for rock still remains.
Says 21-year-old Sameer who is an engineering student, "I think rock is happening here now. It's picking up and is becoming quite a serious scene."
Sameer thinks he's the next big thing in music and what's refreshing is that he's proud of his roots and his city.
Seven prime ministers till date have been associated with Allahabad. The Samajwadi Party, the BJP and the the BSP have all crossed swords in this historic town. But Allahabad is not only the home of politicians, it's also the home of Indian rock music.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
TOP NEWS
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
