Mention Girish and Chronicles (GATC) in Bengaluru in a room filled with rock fans and see the memories of Vocals, powerful guitars, and the band’s blistering live sets. For more than a decade, the Four-Pires Band has been a motivational power in India’s hard rock and melodic metal scene. Originally from Sikkim, GATC includes Girish Pradhan (Swara), Nagan Mongranti (Drum), Yogesh Pradhan (Bass), and Suraj Karki (Guitar).
After shared stages with rock royalty – Guns N ‘Roses, Skid Ro, Nazreth, Alter Bridge, and Megadeth’s Chris Adler during his India Tour – GATC’s resume reads like a metalhead dream. But talk to Girish and the conversation returns to Sikkim, where it all started.
“My brother and I was searching for music on my own,” Girish recalls. “We grew up in the cassette era, which forced us to really listen. Yogesh was playing all around with the guitar, and I started taking the singer seriously at the age of 14. The music was always around – a singer of our mother and most of our cousins ​​played guitar.”
It was formal, thanks to the early exposure, cassette and classic MTV. “Show will play everything from Iron Medane and Bonn Jovie to Lenny Kravitz and Metalica. Songs like songs Clean, It’s my lifeAnd fly Just blown our mind. Later we realized that many of these bands already had legends since the 80s! ,
Girish credited his music Jagriti to the rich, music-loving culture of the Northeast. “We were lucky to grow up in it.”
His first band, anarchy, when Girish was in class 11 and Yogesh in class 9. “I was on the vocals and rhythm guitar. Yogesh started on the drum. Our father, Shyam Pradhan, who was a football commentator, was incredibly assistant,” Girish says. His breakout moment was on a school show in 2004 that attracted more than 5,000 people. Girish said, “We were blown.”
Now, two decades later, GATC is ready to perform in Hyderabad at Hard Rock Cafe on 31 May. Girish says, “This is not the first time in the city, but we are always excited to play. Every show looks new.”
Giresh and History | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Those early giggs were more than only performance – they were the initiation of GATC in concerts and crowds energy world. In these years, the band took every chance that came in his way. His commitment to Rock ‘N’ roll often attracted him with wrong kind of attention. “There was a phase when people labeled us as ‘boys with bad habits’ because we were in a rock band,” Girish recalls. “It was not pleasant. But nothing is permanent, thankfully.”
When asked what his song writing is, Girish says that it is deeply individual. “I started writing from an early age, and my songs often reflect my own situations – what kind of year it is, what is going on in or in my life.”
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Was there ever a moment when the dream felt uncertain? “Of course I did nothing but music. I was in a band that did not work. Then I went alone and got out of engineering – without telling anyone. It was a risk. But I knew it was what I had to do.”
The decision took him to Kathmandu, where he spent a transformative year immersed in the lively music scene of the city. “Kathmandu was my real college. I learned everything about music there.”
In 2009, he returned to Gangtok and recorded his first single, angelWith his brother, who was home for holidays when studying sound engineering. At the same time, Girish’s YouTube channel began to receive traction. “YouTube became a significant turn. It is how music lovers discovered us,” they say. “Honestly, YouTube and Facebook were our passports for popularity.”
The speed continued. In 2010, GATC became the first band from the Northeast, invited to the European music festival- Montenegro, Sunken Scale International Music Awards Festival in Europe. Two years later, in 2012, he spent an entire year as a house band for a major club in Hong Kong. His first album was released in 2014 – and now, his fourth album is slate for the September 2025 release.
Girish and The Chronicles will play in Hard Rock Cafe, Hitech City, Hyderabad on 31 May,
Published – May 29, 2025 12:59 pm IST
