In August 2013, The Tribune's Chandigarh lifestyle pages ran a roundup of local bands trying to make it big on YouTube. Two of them were The Local Train and a five-piece called Swastik the band. Rohit Joshi, Swastik's lead guitarist, was proud of the numbers: the song "Kuch Bhi Karlo", uploaded the previous November, had passed 29,000 views, and a track called "Jogi" had about 4,000. Thirteen years later, the official "Jogi" video has more than nine million views, and Swastik The Band has three songs on Spotify's Rock in India playlist. "Jogi" sits at No. 12 this week, six places below The Local Train's "Choo Lo". This is how a Chandigarh campus band became one of Hindi rock's quiet long-distance runners.

Swastik The Band at a glance

  • Formed: 2011 in Chandigarh, according to the band's own biography and The Hindu
  • Founder: Rohit Joshi (per the band biography), lead guitarist, composer and lyricist, originally from Jaunsar in Uttarakhand
  • Sound: Hindi alternative rock with Hindustani classical, folk and Sufi touches
  • Album: Avasa (2018), followed by singles from "Dishayein" (2019) to "Rok Na Paya" (2024; listed as "Rok Na Payaa" on streaming services)
  • Releases: Avasa was self-released; "Keh Do Na", "Nadiya" and "Rok Na Paya" came out through Malsons
  • Spotify RADAR India artist in 2024, after an earlier Fresh Finds India feature
  • Rock in India (checked 14 October 2026): "Jogi" No. 12, "Keh Do Na" No. 17, "Main Chahta hun" No. 24

Swastik The Band history

Campus stages in Chandigarh (2011 to 2013)

Joshi moved to Chandigarh from his village in Jaunsar, Uttarakhand, around 2007; "I have been living in Chandigarh for the past 14 years," he told The Tribune in January 2021. The band's biography and The Hindu both date Swastik to 2011. The earliest clips on its YouTube channel include a cover of Noori's "Saari Raat" at a Chitkara University fest in April 2012, and a "Vande Mataram" in Shimla that July, with Karan Verma singing, Joshi on lead guitar and Rishab Kesar on rhythm.

Swastik was built on the college circuit long before streaming. According to the band's own uploads, by 2013 it was headlining at Uttarakhand University and playing Punjab University, and in May that year it played Blue Frog in Delhi during auditions for Coke Studio. The Tribune's August 2013 piece listed the line-up as Joshi, Karan on lead vocals, Rishabh on rhythm guitar, Parth on drums and Pankaj on bass. Joshi also explained why YouTube mattered so much: "Any event company or music channel first looks at your YouTube account to access the popularity of any band."

The video years (2014 to 2017)

Instead of rushing out an album, Swastik released songs one video at a time. "Kuch Bhi Kar Lo" got an official video in June 2014. "Andhere Shehar" followed in July, a portrait of a city "where majority feel lost in its competition", with lyrics by Mohit Joshi and a video directed by Ashish Joshi. The band calls it a song "about the social evils and issues in our society".

"Jogi" arrived in June 2015. Built around the line "Jogi tere pyar mein", it is a six-minute love song steeped in Sufi-style devotional imagery; the band has described it as a song "about pure love and sacrifice" and introduced the video as "a musical retreat for all the souls in love". Rohit Joshi is credited as composer, and Anindo Bose recorded, mixed and mastered it. "Nadiya Ke Paar" came in August 2016, with drums, recording and mixing credited to Keshav Dhar. "Main Chahta Hoon" followed in October 2017, with the tagline "Let Love Happen".

Avasa, at last (2018)

On 5 August 2018 Swastik released Avasa, a six-track, 36-minute album issued under its own name. It was less a new statement than an overdue record of the band's best songs: "Andhere Shehar", "Kuch Bhi Karlo", "Jogi", "Nadiya ke Paar", "Main Chahta hun" and "Daruu", several of them on YouTube as early as 2013. Avasa gave them a home on streaming services, where "Jogi" and "Main Chahta hun" found the audience that keeps them on Rock in India.

New voices, new singles (2019 to 2023)

"Dishayein" (August 2019) credited a seven-member band: Joshi on lead guitar, Vipul Chopra on vocals and rhythm guitar, Avneesh Sharma on bass, Hardeep Singh on classical vocals, Bharat Aggarwal on flute, Rahul Bhatt on percussion and Raghav Bhutani on drums. By April 2020 the band's showreel listed a leaner four: Karan Verma, Joshi, bassist Banaibor and Bhutani.

When the pandemic stopped live shows, Joshi made his first solo record. Parvati came out on 16 January 2021 and includes "O Meenue", a Pahari folk song filmed in Jaunsar during lockdown. "Indie music has come very far from the days we started out, but artistes need to be more prolific," he told The Tribune. "The more you put your work out there, the more you get noticed."

Swastik took that advice. "Khwaishein" (July 2021) came with an animated video by Studio Murb. "Raat Guzar Jayegi" (January 2022) was recorded by Ranbeer Sidhu at Blue Olive Studio, and its video credits thank the administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh. Then came "Keh Do Na" on 29 November 2022, released through Malsons and recorded, mixed and mastered by Keshav Dhar. Verma sings over Joshi's guitars, Abhishek Thakur's bass and Bhutani's drums, with a violin solo by Jatin Chhabra. The Extragavanza blog rated it among the band's best work, praising Verma's "pitch-perfect vocals" and calling the violin solo "scintillating". "Nadiya" followed in June 2023, adding flute, mandolin and a mix by Matt Bishop in Los Angeles.

Rok Na Paya and the RADAR spotlight (2024 to 2026)

"Rok Na Paya", released in March 2024 through Malsons, changed the formula. Joshi sings lead, plays guitars and harmonica, and wrote the lyrics to what the band calls a song about "the profound pain of unspoken words and suppressed emotions". According to the band, it was featured on Spotify RADAR in April 2024. Rolling Stone India confirmed that Swastik was one of six RADAR India artists in the first half of 2024, and one of four who had previously appeared on Fresh Finds India.

On 22 June 2024 the band played Spotify's RADAR India showcase at Snowball Studios in Worli, Mumbai. Rolling Stone India described Swastik as a "folk-fusion act". The Hindu, covering the same night, called it a "classical and alternative rock collective" that had "performed at over 300 colleges". Joshi's view of the industry was characteristically long-term: "I feel that music is a cycle, it is going to repeat itself after a few years and making music that is only relatable to that particular period of time, does not do justice to the sound." In September 2025 the band finally released the "Rok Na Paya" video, which it said had been "sitting on our hard drive all this time".

Swastik The Band members

Swastik has never presented a fixed roster for long; the band has always formed around Rohit Joshi. He is the founder, lead guitarist, main composer and lyricist, and he also sings: he shared vocals on "Nadiya Ke Paar" and takes lead on "Rok Na Paya". Karan Verma, the voice of "Jogi", "Keh Do Na", "Raat Guzar Jayegi" and "Nadiya", has sung lead on most of the band's releases and appears in its credits as early as 2012. On recent credits, Raghav Bhutani plays drums and Abhishek Thakur plays bass; keyboardist Joshua Mallik, engineer ADil and Bhutani co-produced "Rok Na Paya". Mohit Joshi has written or co-written lyrics from "Andhere Shehar" to "Khwaishein" and "Keh Do Na".

Earlier line-ups and credits include Rishabh Kesar (rhythm guitar), Pankaj Verma (bass) and Paarth Koser (drums) in 2013 and 2014, and Vipul Chopra (vocals and rhythm guitar), Hardeep Singh (classical vocals) and Avneesh Sharma (bass) on "Dishayein" in 2019. The band has not published a current official line-up, so this list follows release credits rather than a press roster.

The Swastik sound

Swastik's songs take their time. "Jogi" runs 6:16, "Nadiya ke Paar" 6:39 and "Andhere Shehar" more than seven minutes, long for Hindi indie singles. The band's own description is "Indian music on western rhythms, with a pinch of Indian Folk and Sufi", and the credits show how that works in practice: alternative rock guitars, bass and drums, with Hindustani classical vocals, flute, tabla, mandolin and violin added for colour. On "Keh Do Na", the Extragavanza review noted Verma's high notes and a "fiery electric guitar solo" in the final minute. The lyrics stay direct: love, longing and, on "Andhere Shehar", the loneliness of the crowded city. That directness suits a packed college hall, and puts Swastik in the same emotional territory as fellow Rock in India regulars The Yellow Diary.

Swastik The Band best songs: where to start

  • "Jogi" (Avasa, 2018; video 2015): the love song that defines the band, at No. 12 on Rock in India.
  • "Keh Do Na" (2022): Karan Verma's vocals and Jatin Chhabra's violin, at No. 17.
  • "Main Chahta hun" (Avasa, 2018): the love song whose video urged "Let Love Happen", at No. 24.
  • "Andhere Shehar" (Avasa, 2018): the band's most socially pointed song.
  • "Kuch Bhi Karlo" (Avasa, 2018): the early YouTube favourite that started it all.
  • "Raat Guzar Jayegi" (2022): Verma's own lyrics, with tabla by Sidhant Gangani.
  • "Rok Na Paya" (2024): Rohit Joshi on lead vocals, and the band's RADAR single.

Why Swastik The Band matter

Most Indian rock histories follow the big-city circuit. Swastik took another route, across the campuses of Punjab, Himachal and Uttarakhand, one fest and one YouTube upload at a time. It took the band seven years to release a debut album and more than a decade to land in Spotify's RADAR programme, all without a major label. Swastik self-released its album, put later singles out through Malsons and let its songs find listeners in their own time, the path we explore in how to release music without a record label.

That patience has paid off on streaming, where songs written more than a decade ago keep finding new listeners. It is the same DIY spirit behind Rock in India: no hype cycle, just songs good enough to outlast it. Joshi said it himself in 2024: music is a cycle. Swastik has spent fifteen years making songs that hold up each time it comes around.

FAQ

Who founded Swastik The Band?

Lead guitarist and songwriter Rohit Joshi founded the band in Chandigarh. The band dates its formation to 2011.

Where is Swastik The Band from?

Chandigarh. The band built its following on college stages across Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Who is the lead singer of Swastik The Band?

Karan Verma sings lead on most of the band's best-known songs, including "Jogi" and "Keh Do Na". Rohit Joshi sings lead on the 2024 single "Rok Na Paya".

Who wrote Jogi by Swastik The Band?

The band's official 2015 video credits Rohit Joshi with the music and lyrics, and Anindo Bose with recording, mixing and mastering; a 2014 live upload on the band's channel credited the lyrics to Karan Kapil. "Jogi" appears on the 2018 album Avasa.

How many albums has Swastik The Band released?

One album, Avasa (2018), plus singles including "Dishayein", "Khwaishein", "Raat Guzar Jayegi", "Keh Do Na", "Nadiya" and "Rok Na Paya".

Which Swastik The Band songs are on Rock in India?

On 14 October 2026: "Jogi" (No. 12), "Keh Do Na" (No. 17) and "Main Chahta hun" (No. 24).

Sources

Cover: Swastik The Band, official artist photo from the band's Spotify artist profile (photographer not credited). Used for editorial identification; background extended with a blurred copy of the same image and resized to 1200×630; metadata stripped. Source: https://open.spotify.com/artist/740SYcL7Hl2TatDM2wYV8V.