Chandramouli biswas

For 25 years, Rupam Islamand his band-mates have been synonymous with a genre that they helped create – Bangla rock. It is legit to say that 2023 marks the age of the genre, as much as being the band’s 25th anniversary year. On January 9, the official birthday of Fossils, in a show aptly named ‘Fossils Panchabingshoti’ (‘Fossils 25’), the band – led by Rupam Islam, guitarists Allan Ao and Deep Ghosh, Tanmoy Das on drums and Prasenjit Chakrabutty on bass – showed exactly why they rule, rocking out a 7,000-plus strong crowd, delivering hit after massive hit for over two hours on the sprawling lawns of a south Kolkata venue.

In terms of a show experience – the production, sound, lights, video, and stage act – no one does it like Fossils. Most Fossils fans know this, but to a debutant audience member, ‘Panchabingshoti’ would have been a reveal; an experience of watching a band at the peak of its game under circumstances that can be called perfect.
As one half of Fossils’ guitar duo Allan puts it, the key has been “dis

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