NILADRI CHAKRAVARTY might sing for his supper, but he is pretty good at it
I’ve been surrounded with music all my life,” says Niladri Chakravarty, frontman of the Delhi-based band ‘The Limited Experience’ and adds that he has actually been listening to music since the time he was in his mother’s womb. But even after he came into this world, he credits his family for ensuring that music ran in his blood as he was introduced to a vast array from traditional Rabindra Sangeet to funk.
“My list of musical influences is very large. I’ve heard music from the 1930s right up to today’s music from a multitude of genres all of which have inspired me and developed my ear,” Chakravarty says. He writes his own lyrics and composes his own songs today as he certainly takes his role as a frontman seriously.
He promptly starts playing some classic tracks by The Beatles on the Sonet’s BOSE audio system. “I love the Fab Four. Even today the music they wrote is so inspirational,” he says adding, “Song writing in the 1960’s was special.” A lot of other classic musicians continue to be an inspiration for this 20-something. Not just acts like The Police, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, John Mayer, The Doors, Fleetwood Mac but also more modern acts like Canadian band Tame Impala hold his interest.
Currently the lead vocalist for Delhi-based band, The Limited Experience, Chakravarty has been singing for years. He started his first band while he was still in school at the age of 16. Yet, he has no formal training, “I am a self-taught guitar and piano player.” He began playing the piano at the age of nine and the guitar at 15. Yet, today he finds himself teaching young children both guitar and vocals at a couple of music schools in Delhi and Gurugram. “It is amazing fun teaching children music because if they like it, you get to open up their world with amazing new sounds and you also get to learn from them. Being a musician is always a learning experience,” he says.
While 2020 has been a rather grim year for many, musicians like Chakravarty have been particularly hard hit thanks to the lack of concerts (or ‘gigs’ as they like to call them). “That has been a bummer, but I’ve been busy going to the gym, after all one has to stay fit, and also been improving my musical abilities. I am really hoping that we start to play at concerts again soon. The experience of playing at college concerts is really something else for an up-and-coming musician but I also like playing at small, intimate gigs at some bars where you can really get close to the audience.” But he, like many other musicians, is hoping that the news of an impending vaccine means that The Limited Experience and other bands can perform in front of large audiences soon enough.
Chakravarty may not sound like it but he is a bundle of energy literally bouncing off the walls and very excited about driving the Sonet. “This is an amazing car,” he says while accelerating the turbocharged 120PS engine down Gurugram’s Sunset Boulevard. “This is a fun car to drive and what an amazing audio this BOSE system is. I’m in the market for a car, and this Sonet, I think, ticks all the boxes. Honestly, for a vehicle in its class, I’m simply amazed at the features it offers. I mean ventilated seats? Wow!”
The class-leading BOSE audio system, available on the top-specification variants of the Kia Sonet, features seven speakers, one each on every door, two tweeters on the A-pillar and a subwoofer in the boot, giving a proper surround sound feeling. The Sonet’s 10.26-inch infotainment system screen is also class leading and thanks to multiple inputs allows drivers and passengers to play music from Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as over Bluetooth and directly from the USB. If the car is stationary you can also play videos on the screen.
And why wouldn’t it? The Kia Sonet comes with a choice of engines, unlike vehicles from most other carmakers. You have the Smartstream 1.2 litre petrol with 83PS as well as the 1.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine that Chakravarty drove with 120PS. There is also a diesel option, a refined 1.5 CRDi engine that produces 100PS in the manual and a first-in-segment diesel automatic variant with 115PS. Just like Chakravarty listens to music from a variety of genres to improve his musical abilities, the Sonet offers its customers a host of options to ensure that they can choose what is best for them.
And while 2020 has been a difficult time for many folks, the Kia Sonet ensures that if you are a musician or just a music fan, you can listen to top-quality music through a top-quality sound system in India’s best-selling subcompact Sports Utility Vehicle.