It’s an outhouse in a sprawling farm house in the outskirts of New Delhi where six rockers are jamming on some really impressive kit. Instead of a glass of bourbon or beer, they are sipping a cup of coffee and fresh fruit juice. Everyone is super polite and well-behaved.

Then they nod at each other and rock music blares from the stereo. It’s a heavy metal piece from AC/DC. Jatinder Shroff pounds the drum. Ashok Shroff provides guitar licks. Ravi Shroff negogiates the keyboards.

Nothing unusual. Except it’s not ageing rockers who are rehearsing but three of the biggest printers in Delhi who seem to be as comfortable with bluesy riffs as with dot gains.

Ashok Shroff heads Nutech Security Printers (security printing and labels) which is located in Okhla and Faridabad. Jatinder Shroff heads Nutech Packagings in Noida which is engaged in printed cartons, packaging material and corrugated material. They have an offset unit complemented by a sheetfed gravure press. The company is on the verge of a huge expansion which includes a greenfield project in Greater Noida.

Then there is Ravi Shroff of Nutech Print Services, a regular at the London Book Fair. Nutech has created a 1,25,000 sq/ft book plant in Faridabad and has a battery of multicolour presses plus soft and hard cover binding lines that handle its high-end book requirements.

The Night Shift journey
It all began in 1983, when three young starry eyed boys – Ashok, Sunil and Jatinder came together with a Rangarsons drum kit, a Reynolds’ electric-guitar and an old hand-made bass guitar (with acoustic guitar tuning keys). They used to plug their system and jam in the Shroffs’ drawing room.

As they progressed, more members joined the band. The group got a a few party gigs and shows. Jatinder Shroff recounts: "The first show at IIT Delhi was followed by a new year gig at the Taj Palace Hotel and many others."

They installed a sound mixer, heavy duty kit and even cut an album. On cue, Ashok and Jatinder left for London to study print technology at the London School of Printing.

In 1987, the brothers returned and it was back to music. The brothers spotted a young lad perform an Elvis Presley Hound Dog routine with intensity. Enter Palash Sen. And the group was christened Euphoria. By 1988, Ravi Shroff, the youngest of the Shroffs, joined the group on the keyboards. By 1989, he exited to the USA for future studies.

Music is pleasure
In 1992, Sunil Verman packed his Washburn bass. And Ashok and Jatinder started to focus on expansion plans. The group called it a day.

Then as luck would have it, 16 years later, there was a reunion due to a party at Ashok’s sumptuous farmhouse. Night Shift was back in 2008.

Guitars were procured. Ravi got himself a Roland Fantom keyboard and Jatinder a drum set. Abhijeet Sharma (vocals) and Abhimanyue Singh (guitar) joined the group.
Practise sessions began.

I attended one such session. From moment one, it was clear this was not a bunch of guys who were time-passing, or busting stress. This was serious stuff. It was more than evident when they navigated through Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water and Queen’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

Ashok said, "We do 2-3 rigorous sessions per month. To-date a playlist of 35 songs has emerged. This includes rock classics and on Ravi’s insistence lots of Bryan Adams." Even as we gobble sandwiches, the group discusses the Foreigner concert in Delhi; and "the disappointment" over the Bryan Adams show being cancelled.

On cue, someone hums the classic Adam’s song, Summer of ‘69.

I got my first real six-string / Bought it at the five-and-dime / Played it till my fingers bled / It was the summer of ‘69 / Me and some guys from school / Had a band and we tried real hard / Jimmy quit and Jody got married / I shoulda known we’d never get far / Oh when I look back now / That summer seemed to last forever / And if I had the choice /  Ya - I’d always wanna be there / Those were the best days of my life

The lyrics eptimoise  Night Shift – and the Shroffs. Except the best days are still to come.

Ravi whose book manufacturing plant I visited earlier in the day says: "The Faridabad project is a dream of mine. It is  not just another business venture or factory." Ravi adds: "I’ve  seen large units in the West and always dreamt of building one like that. I’ve managed to create 1,25,000 sq/ft across  three floors."

Jatinder has plans too. His firm Nutech Packaging is one of the most progressive folding carton firms in North India and on the expansion path since the past one year. Likewise Ashok.

It’s time to exit. The session had gone magnificently. I’m keen to invite Night Shift to play at the PrintWeek India Awards gala night. After all, printers can have fun, too!

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Watch them play live!
At nU.Delhi Q'BA 14/48, Shopping Complex, Malcha Marg
09 April at 20:00
10 April at 00:30