Washington – The computer programmers arrived in the United States unknown to one another but united in their quest to rock.
On the surface, they were not unlike many others who have left India over the past decade on the H-1B visa, a guest- worker program for highly skilled professionals. They wore glasses and mustaches and collared shirts. They could exterminate Y2K bugs and code Java and link Unix.
But as they toiled in cubicles, they dreamed of banging on keyboards of a different sort, of a world where C-sharp is a musical note, not computer code.
And then their worlds became one.
“H1Bees,” an album recorded in a Gaithersburg, Md., basement turned studio and released Sept. 10, is a mix of Indian and Western beats with lyrics exploring the high-tech immigrant experience in the United States. The troupe remains unnamed, giving composer Srikanth Devarajan top billing and referring to the remaining artists as “playback singers,” which is customary on many Indian albums.
Yet the computer programmers say their self-produced album would have been impossible in India, where the music industry is exclusive.
“I was nothing in India,” Devarajan said. “Thanks to the H-1, even a small man like me can say I have a studio.”
“That’s a big deal,” nodded Kartik Venkataramanan, a database manager at Verizon who studied Indian classical music as a child and developed an affinity for Jethro Tull somewhere along the way.
Until last year, Devarajan could be described as a most persistent one-man band, using his computing and composing skills to synthesize original scores, dubbing the sound “curry rock.”
The overlapping social circles of Indians in the Washington region came to his rescue last year. He received a random call from friend-of-a-friend Venkataramanan. Venkataramanan’s early days on U.S. shores, first Atlanta, then Washington, were spent browsing longingly at a guitar shop until he had saved enough to buy a Fender with a Made in the U.S.A. label he fingered as much as its strings.
At last, another computer programmer who wanted to be a rock star.
Could there be more out there? In their first conversation, Venkataramanan invited Devarajan to his housewarming party in Manassas, Va., where he promised a gathering of musically inclined folks. There, Devarajan also met Devesh Satyavolu, a multilingual poet, and Srivatsa Srinivasan, who claimed little musical talent but said he always wanted to produce an album and possibly form a production company.
Days later, the new acquaintances gathered in Devarajan’s studio to see if they had synergy. As they brainstormed a theme for an album, Devarajan took in the group assembled before him.
The languages differed: Tamil, Hindi, COBAL, BASIC. The journeys seemed parallel: Young man leaves India to earn U.S. dollars, works hard, buys car, returns home to marry, gets green card, buys townhouse, has kid, decides to stay.
The group’s album, which will be sold via South Asian websites and stores for $6, boasts songs in English, Hindi and Tamil.
Most of the artists hold green cards now, but that’s no matter.
They describe the job offers that led to migration and their nervous interviews at the U.S. Embassy.
At times, the artists fretted over whether they were getting too preachy or political in their music, Srinivasan said.
“The idea we’re putting out there is that we’re worker bees. Is this going to be a controversy?” he asked. “We’re saying things have happened and we’re putting this conflict out there in a humorous way.”
Last month, the U.S. government said it had already exhausted its allotted number of H-1B visas for next year. Lobbyists are expected to ask for more.
Despite the band members’ now-permanent status, they say they’re watching the debate closely.
In the meantime, none plans to give up his day job yet.
“We’ll stay in IT,” Venkataramanan says. “What else do we know?”
