In 2012, Varun Rajput was a management consultant with an engineering degree from Delhi College of Engineering and a nagging feeling that he had shelved the one thing he loved. He gave himself a deadline of sorts. "I really just wanted to write an album," he told Hindustan Times in January 2026. "I told myself if it didn't work out, I'd come back. Thankfully, I've not had to go back." Fourteen years on, the Antariksh band he started with two college friends has become one of New Delhi's most stubborn and inventive rock projects: Hindi lyrics, odd-time riffs and Hindustani classical colour, a guest list that runs from Marty Friedman to Indian Ocean's Rahul Ram, and five songs on Spotify's Rock in India playlist this week.

Antariksh at a glance

  • Formed: mid-2012 in New Delhi by Varun Rajput, Mridul Ganesh and Gurtej Singh
  • Name: Hindi for "the cosmos"
  • Sound: Hindi progressive rock, with pop, funk and Hindustani classical elements
  • Leader: Varun Rajput, founder, singer, guitarist, composer and producer
  • Albums: Khoj (2013), Quest (2024); the 12-track concept album Rehguzar is being released single by single
  • Releases: largely self-released, plus two singles with Salim Merchant's Merchant Records
  • Rock in India (checked 14 October 2026): "Naaqis" No. 32, "Dastan-E-Dil (Shine Your Light)" No. 42, "Ye Jhootha Samaa" No. 53, "Kaisi Ye Jeet?" No. 58, "Udaan" No. 99

Antariksh band history

Khoj and the corporate leap (2012 to 2013)

Rajput, singer Mridul Ganesh and guitarist Gurtej Singh had all played in college-era bands such as Prestorika, Decibel and Under Siege, then lost about three years to office jobs. Around August 2012, Rajput told The Hindu in 2016, they got together, "wrote few songs, jammed a little and created four songs in a couple of months." The idea, he told National Herald in 2018, was simple and slightly defiant: India had cool Hindi pop and cool Hindi folk, "but no one was doing authentic, edgy Rock Music in Hindi."

The first song, "Dheere Dheere", a meditation on the identity crisis of the mid-twenties, drew enough response that the side project turned serious. Drummer Vipul Malhotra and bassist Raghav Verma came in, and the debut album Khoj arrived on 8 September 2013: eleven tracks about identity, greed, hope and chaos, with guests including former Motherjane guitarist Baiju Dharmajan, Advaita's Gaurav Chintamani and Indian classical singer Rini Rajput. Rolling Stone India took note that month in a story on Dharmajan's sessions, listing the record by "Hindi prog rockers Antariksh from Delhi" among the albums carrying Dharmajan's riffs, the same guitar that defined Motherjane.

Suits on stage, members on the move (2014 to 2017)

Khoj brought national touring, and then the problem every working band in India knows. Mridul Ganesh left for an MBA in the United States in 2014, and Vipul and Gurtej could not square full-time corporate jobs with the gig calendar. Between 2014 and 2017 the line-up changed repeatedly; by November 2015, when Antariksh recorded 11 songs live for Season 4 of Kappa TV's Music Mojo, the vocals were shared by Aditya Jassi and Kimberley Rodrigues.

Through it all the band kept one signature: they played in formal wear. "Initially, we all hailed from a corporate background and we thought it'd be cool to build an identity around that," Rajput explained to The Hindu.

Varun takes the microphone (2018 to 2020)

Tired of vocalist churn, Rajput took over lead vocals and frontman duties in early 2018, backed by session players Shrikant Biswakarma on guitar, Dan Thomas on drums and Joshua Peter on keys. The comeback single "Kaahe Re" followed in August 2018, five years after Khoj, and was one of seven songs picked from 170 entries to be played for Subhash Ghai, Mohit Suri, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Anurag Basu at the All About Music conference in Mumbai.

In October 2019 Antariksh toured Mauritius and Madagascar; ANI reported their show at an Indian Council for Cultural Relations event in Antananarivo, with Madagascar's tourism minister as chief guest. That autumn they also played Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Meghalaya, which set up the most improbable chapter of the story.

Quest, Marty Friedman and the long road to album two (2021 to 2024)

Rajput had learned guitar partly from an instructional DVD by Marty Friedman in 2006. After the Shillong weekender, he spotted the former Megadeth guitarist at Delhi airport, introduced himself and, "after thinking about it more than a hundred times", asked him to solo on a song, he told Indulge Express. Friedman heard the track and agreed. "Something about Varun gave me the idea that he was the real deal," Friedman said. "Quest" landed on 20 January 2021, a six-minute prog song with a sitar interlude by Dhruv Bedi of Parikrama. Rock Street Journal called it "expertly written, expertly played."

The pandemic thinned the band again; Dan Thomas and Joshua Peter returned to teaching, and by the band's own account Antariksh became Rajput's solo project for a while. He kept going anyway, making music videos and releasing "Kaisi Ye Jeet?" in October 2021, a prog epic asking what "victory" over Covid really meant. "Ye Jhootha Samaa", with singer Shruti Dhasmana and saxophonist Abhay Sharma, followed in June 2022, the year Antariksh turned ten and drummer Arko Ganguly joined full-time. With Salim Merchant's Merchant Records came "Dastan-E-Dil (Shine Your Light)" in August 2023, made for the SoundChk series, and "Tasveerein" in 2024.

Quest, the album, finally came out on 12 December 2024, nearly four years after Indulge Express had expected it. Its nine tracks gather the singles from "Kaahe Re" to "Quest (Reprise)". Rajput produced it himself, working with longtime collaborators Gaurav Chintamani, Keshav Dhar and Krishna Rao. "Production and songwriting are intertwined," he told ETV Bharat.

Rehguzar, chapter by chapter (2025 to 2026)

In September 2025 Antariksh played Seattle, Houston and Dallas; the Houston concert was hosted by the Consulate General of India and sponsored by the ICCR, PTI reported. Back home, Rajput began releasing Rehguzar, a 12-track concept album named after the Urdu word for "the path one walks". He traces the idea to a cup of coffee and around 50 unfinished songs, some "very John Mayer-ish", some "super prog metal, Dream Theater-esque". His conclusion: "all of this is me."

The story follows an artist who takes the leap: "Sabki Kahani" (October 2025), "Udaan" (December 2025), then "Naaqis" (February 2026), featuring Polish guitarist Jakub Zytecki and sarangi player Momin Khan. "Naaqis represents that uncomfortable phase where the excitement fades and reality hits hard," Rajput told FrontView Magazine. "Iltija", with English guitarist Jack Gardiner, came out on 13 May 2026, and "Dil Ki Aawaaz" in August brought in Indian Ocean's Rahul Ram and sarod player Rohan Prasanna. The full album was meant to arrive in May 2026, but as of mid-October it is still unfolding single by single.

Antariksh members: who is in the band now

Antariksh today is Varun Rajput's band in the most literal sense: founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, with a circle of regular collaborators around him. The credits for "Naaqis" list Shrikant Biswakarma on guitars, Arko Ganguly on drums, Danik Ghosh on bass, Ashwin Krishnan on keys and Vinayak Arora on backing vocals; the band's 2026 press materials describe the rest of the line-up simply as session musicians.

Founding members Mridul Ganesh (vocals) and Gurtej Singh (guitar), along with early members Vipul Malhotra (drums) and Raghav Verma (bass), are no longer in the band.

The Antariksh sound

The template is a Western prog engine with a Hindi heart. Riffs move through shifting time signatures; choruses are big enough to sing back; and the Indian colours come from real players rather than presets: Bedi's sitar on "Quest", Abhay Sharma's saxophone on "Ye Jhootha Samaa", Momin Khan's sarangi on "Naaqis". Rajput names Bryan Adams, Whitesnake, Rage Against the Machine and Hindustani classical music among his influences, and Pain of Salvation's Daniel Gildenlöw and Dream Theater's John Petrucci among his dream collaborators. "I don't consider myself a very natural lyricist," he told ETV Bharat, "but I've always been drawn to English, Hindi, and Urdu poetry." Jakub Zytecki put it more simply: "I enjoy the Indian music influence mixed with progressive rock elements."

Antariksh best songs: where to start

  • "Dheere Dheere" (Khoj, 2013): the song that turned a side project into a band.
  • "Tum" (Khoj, 2013): the Baiju Dharmajan collaboration.
  • "Kaahe Re" (2018): Rajput's debut as lead singer and the opener of Quest.
  • "Quest" (2021): the Marty Friedman song, with Dhruv Bedi's sitar.
  • "Kaisi Ye Jeet?" (2021): the pandemic-era prog epic, now No. 58 on Rock in India.
  • "Ye Jhootha Samaa" (2022): Shruti Dhasmana's vocals and Abhay Sharma's sax, at No. 53.
  • "Dastan-E-Dil (Shine Your Light)" (2023): the lush Merchant Records single, at No. 42.
  • "Naaqis" (2026): Zytecki's shred against Momin Khan's sarangi, the band's highest Rock in India placing at No. 32.
  • "Dil Ki Aawaaz" (2026): a mentor's duet with Rahul Ram of Indian Ocean, written back in 2016.

Why Antariksh matter

Antariksh's career is a case study in persistence over hype. They have survived the departure of every founding partner, a pandemic and an eleven-year wait between albums, largely by releasing on their own terms, a path we map in how to release music without a record label. The band's press materials claim more than 1,200 shows across India and abroad, from IIT campus festivals to diaspora halls.

More importantly, they proved that Hindi rock can be technically ambitious without losing its melodies. Rajput found his duet partner for "Dil Ki Aawaaz" when he and Rahul Ram were both performing with Parikrama at that band's 35th-anniversary show: a small sign of how Delhi's rock lineage keeps passing the torch. That is the DIY spirit behind Rock in India, and few acts on the playlist embody it more completely. Asked by Indulge Express what he would tell young artists, Rahul Ram listed four truths, including "be prepared to remain poor for a fairly long time." Rajput, who walked away from consulting to find out, would probably agree.

FAQ

Who is the lead singer of Antariksh?

Founder Varun Rajput has been lead vocalist since early 2018. He also plays guitar, writes the songs and produces the records. Earlier singers included co-founder Mridul Ganesh.

When was Antariksh formed?

In mid-2012 in New Delhi, when Varun Rajput, Mridul Ganesh and Gurtej Singh began writing songs together after leaving corporate jobs.

What does Antariksh mean?

Antariksh is Hindi for "the cosmos", or outer space.

How many albums has Antariksh released?

Two studio albums: Khoj (2013) and Quest (2024). A third, the concept album Rehguzar, is being released single by single.

Did Marty Friedman play with Antariksh?

Yes. The former Megadeth guitarist plays the guitar solo on "Quest" (2021), after Rajput met him at Delhi airport in 2019.

Which Antariksh songs are on Rock in India?

On 14 October 2026: "Naaqis" (No. 32), "Dastan-E-Dil (Shine Your Light)" (No. 42), "Ye Jhootha Samaa" (No. 53), "Kaisi Ye Jeet?" (No. 58) and "Udaan" (No. 99).

Sources

Cover: Varun Rajput of Antariksh on stage at The Grub Fest 2018, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. Photo by Jyotika Rachel via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized to 1200×630; metadata stripped. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antariksh_live_at_The_Grub_Fest_2018.jpg.