When we meet them on a windy November afternoon, the quartet that calls itself Sanam (named after lead singer/composer Sanam Puri) is comfortable taking questions on, and dealing with fame. They could be the biggest band in India, say insiders. Their YouTube channel has 208 million subscribers and enjoys 14 million views per month. And they have fans across South Africa, Trinidad, Netherlands, Bangladesh, England, Nigeria, and even Suriname. "We just realised the other day that there isn't a country in the world that hasn't visited our channel," says Keshav Dhanraj, drummer. Thank God Indians are everywhere, we say, and he laughs, "Yes! Bangladesh is the biggest consumer of our music!" And they admit that they are drawing in more women than men. "It's quite a tough fight," says bass guitarist Venkat Subramaniyam, who is scrolling through figures as we talk over watermelon juice at the clubhouse of their plush residential complex in Madh-Marve. "It's 50:50," he adds, "women are more active on social media, I mean they comment more, but otherwise the gender ratio is roughly equal."

Pic/Nimesh Dave