Islamabad, June 29: It was a dream come true for Euphoria the first Indian band to perform in Pakistan -- when it got a standing ovation from its fans across the border. "Everybody got up in the end and gave us a standing ovation. For us, that was our dream in Pakistan and we saw it," said Palash Sen, the band`s vocalist.

Euphoria had wanted to perform in Pakistan for long but its members could not get visas. "It`s another thing that we got a visa only for Karachi and that too only for seven days and we had to report to the police station!" Sen said.

Interestingly, the first person to ask for Sen`s autograph after he landed in Pakistan was the immigration officer. "The guy at the immigration first took our autograph and then said: `Sir, aap jaa ke C form le kar aaiye`," he said.

Euphoria has been popular in Pakistan since they released their hit single "Mayeri" ten years ago.

Though they have performed with Pakistani bands in India and abroad, their trip to Karachi materialised following an invitation from the ARY Television Network to perform at the Musik Awards ceremony.

"Destiny, I guess...I was pretty vocal about the fact that if it is a peace process, it has to be two-way. You cannot keep hosting people in your country and not get hosted in theirs. I guess somebody heard!" Sen told a magazine.

"For the past three or four years we`ve been getting numerous mails and emails from our Pakistani fans. Also, we`ve been getting invites for a lot of shows over here. The only hurdle was the visa."

Sen said there was pressure on bands in India to "Bollywood-ise" their music. "I`ll tell you what: the pressure is always there. But you know, if I as a band leader succumbed to it there wouldn`t have been a band called Euphoria today.

"I`m pretty arrogant about our music, life and the
band, and I`m very strong-headed. When we started out, the
first thing I was told was `choro band ko`, become a solo
artiste instead`. That`s the first temptation I avoided.

"So if you avoid the first temptation which primarily
involves you, you automatically become a team man. If I could
set that example for the band, the band would follow
likewise."

Bureau Report