When Calcutta-based Sandeep Vyas (50) passed away suddenly on July 17, 2024 his 17-year-old daughter Samara Mehta Vyas told Parsiana that "his birthright was to be a rock star, and to witness even a minute of his performances is a privilege.” From Bollywood to Western and Indi-pop, Sandeep and his brother Sanjeev, who performed under the banner of Vyas Brothers, played at prestigious venues in 45 cities worldwide. In spite of having a glamorous career, Sandeep reportedly exercised, meditated, went for rehearsals and shunned sugar and junk food.
"Dad, my brother Nirvahn and I used to often jam together,” Samara recalled. "I would play the piano and they would sing songs by (bands) Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, Guns N’ Roses and more… When I started out as a singer, he would come to my rehearsals to help me out and encourage me. He would also sing a couple of songs with me during my shows and the crowd was always in a frenzy every time he came onto the stage… He made people feel better by just being himself and doing what he loved.” Samara represented her school (La Martiniere for Girls), her city and India when singing with the Choir of Diocese of Calcutta at The Eighth International Sacred Music Festival "Musical Edict” in Serbia last year (see "Singing in Serbia,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, July 7-20, 2023).
Samara’s grandmother Prochy Mehta told Parsiana that Sandeep "gave freely of his time and talent and performed at many Parsi events…This made him a favorite of the community…Community members came out in large numbers to mourn his passing…Sanaya (her daughter, Samara’s mother) and Sandeep had decided before their children were born to bring them up in the Zoroastrian faith…The simple tenets of good thoughts, good words and good deeds was his way of life and he encouraged his children to follow the path of Asha.” The musician contributed to the funds of the Late Ervad D. B. Mehta Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash Adaran during its 100th anniversary celebration, stated Prochy.
Sandeep Vyas (top, l and above, ext r)
with (from l) Samara, Sanaya and Nirvahn Mehta Vyas
"Taking care of nature came naturally to him. He abhorred wasting, to the extent of insisting on eating in one plate at a restaurant to save water… In the restaurants he frequented the waiters knew him well and would clear the table of all extra cutlery and crockery once he sat down,” noted Prochy.
Sanaya and Prochy have filed an Originating Summons in the Calctutta High Court in December 2016 on the question of who has right of entry to the Mehta Adaran, as a result of their then newly appointed priest Ervad Jimmy Taraporwalla restricting entry for Samara and Nirvahn to the place of worship since their father Sandeep was a non-Parsi (see "The concept of gender equality,” Parsiana, July 21-August 6, 2017). The matter is still pending. F. J.