Although traditional jazz has had a sizeable following for a long time in India, with the yearly Jazz Yatra festivals and the frequent collaboration between Indian classical and Western jazz musicians, the interest in the blues has more or less been incidental due to the shared ancestry with jazz. Nonetheless, there have been a few musicians who stay true to the genre. They have not only helped define, promote and keep the blues alive in India, but have also developed a very Indian flavor of this music form. Contraband Sagar Sarkar is considered the father of the Pune Blues style, and Contraband are credited as the earliest practitioners of it in Pune during the late 1980s to 1990s. In a late 1990s interview about their hedonistic lifestyle, Sagar Sarkar is quoted as saying: "The jams we've had were centered around three guys: Nirmal Chandra Kumar, Samuel Wilson and Zubin Balsara. The other prominent guys were Devendra Gautam Singh, Naveen Shastri and Rohit Nagarkatti. We ran a circuit using little known Pune venues like Nadikinara, Madhur Milan, Jaws, our respective homes and the houses of anybody who'd cooperate. Anyone who knew about our venues were free to just carry their booze, instruments and tune in! Many a time we were joined by guests at our sessions, namely guitarists Sanjay Joseph, Milind Mulick, Jayant Sankrityayana, Ashdin Bharucha, and bassist Jacob Panicker." Classic Class Classic Class is a blues band to emerge from the New Delhi area. The band's musical style is a concoction of old school blues with a mix of contemporary rock and funky vibes. Their last two years have been a self study in the blues genre; playing with it, fusing it, concocting it and attempting to find our own sound in the midst of multiple internal musical contradictions and in all honesty, we are loving the journey more than any of us could care for the destination. Soulmate Soulmate is a North-east India based blues band, which according to their Myspace page "... came together in Shillong, in February 2003 playing their first concert at the ‘Roots Festival at the Water Sports Complex in Umiam. Soulmate is primarily made up of artists Rudy Wallang (guitar/vocals/songwriter) and Tipriti 'Tips' Kharbangar (vocals/guitar), although they frequently team up with local artists (on drums, bass and possibly other backup instruments) when on tour. Soulmate gained nationwide recognition and popularity within the Jazz and