It's 9.30 pm on a Sunday evening, and I am driving down to Srinivaspuri to meet Delhi rock band, Menwhopause. I'll meet them at the practice pad that once used to be a small tailor shop owned by the guitarist's grandfather.

I park in the middle of the road, (ah, the wedding traffic jam), and I hear a distant drone of muffled guitars, drums and husky vocals. It has to be the band. I get closer to the small shop and I squeeze myself in. The music gets louder, and so does the adrenalin coursing through my vein. Inside, the guitarists are going berserk in unison, the drums crisp, Sarab leans onto the mike, singing ‘Floating’ from their upcoming second album. The band is already deep into practice. Sarab takes a swish of water from the bottle, two bananas lie near the keyboards.

You’re doing things a different way, but things just won’t change.
You’re thinking hard, you’re planning far, but the scheme will rearrange.
Been doing all, as you recall, now you’re questioning your soul.
There is no wrong, there is no right, there is no thought patrol.

Anup, the lead guitarist, started the band along with Sarab, singer/songwriter and IP, acoustic guitarist. Then came Randeep, their first fan, who joined them as a bassist, and the drummer Hemzi, who also runs a drumming institute. Like most bands in India, all the Menwhopause have 'real jobs’. Anup Kutty is a young editor for a leading international men lifestyle magazine. Randeep Singh, a teetotaler, is a photographer and interior designer. Inder Pal Singh, aka IP, is a puppeteer and TV producer. Sarabjit Chadha, aka Sarab, is a creative in an advertising agency.

Their first EP ‘The story begins…’ was released online in 2003 and was followed in 2006 by their first album, "Home", produced by their own record label, “The Middle Earth Company”. The Menwhopause were also the first Indian band to be invited to perform at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Their second album, "Easy" is scheduled to release this year.

The band sounds grounded and defined. I have enjoyed listening to them on many occasions, and I’m convinced that there is no Indian band like them. Their music defines a new breed of people in India: they play for the love of it, not to get a record deal or achieve a rock star status. They are real and unpretentious.

I manage to get some pictures balancing on a Laney monitor. The practice ends, my head is still racing. It’s way past midnight, everyone seems tired. The watchman has locked the colony gates. Anup goes to find him. Sarab lights a Navy Cut, and we sit watching the stars while waiting for the watchmen.