Guitarist Mahesh Tinaikar. Photo: Camelia Oberoi/Facebook
Mumbai guitar great Mahesh Tinaikar, best known as the lead guitarist of rock legends Indus Creed, died in Mumbai following a suspected heart attack, his band members confirmed to Rolling Stone India. He was 63 years old.
Tinaikar was a guitarist and music teacher who formed Rock Machine in 1984, inspired by the likes of Deep Purple, The Who and more. Touring the country extensively, the band — comprising vocalist Uday Benegal, keyboardist Zubin Balaporia, bassist Mark Selwyn, guitarist Jayesh Gandhi and drummer Mark Menezes — went on to release their debut album Rock ‘n’ Roll Renegade in 1988 (with songs like “Top of the Rock” and the title track) and a follow-up album, The Second Coming, in 1990.
Tinaikar told New York Times in an interview in 1989, “Two years ago, an Indian band couldn’t draw an audience of more than 800 people. Now we get 10,000 in a stadium.”
Later renamed Indus Creed, the band released their self-titled album in 1995 with urgent and soul-searching songs in equal measure, from the hard-hitting “Trapped” to the rock anthem “Pretty Child.” In an ever-evolving rock scene that was constantly told it existed in a niche, there were a few starts and stops for Rock Machine, even as they renamed themselves Indus Creed in the early Nineties and began incorporating more Indian traditional instruments. While the band eventually split up in the late Nineties, it was in 2009 that Benegal, recently returned to India from a stint in the U.S., formed Whirling Kalapas with Tinaikar and multi-instrumentalist Sankarshan Kini.
By 2010, Indus Creed had not only reunited — Tinaikar and Benegal were joined by Balaporia, drummer Jai Row Kavi and bassist Rushad Mistry in their early lineup — but also released a full-length album called Evolve in 2012 via Universal Music. A return to their rock roots, Tinaikar and the band brought a progressive rock edge to songs like “Dissolve” and gave a grandiose new version to their 1993 breakout single “Fireflies.”
As part of Whirling Kalapas, Tinaikar toured the country once again, almost like an alter ego to the heavy, epic sound of Indus Creed to deliver acoustic tunes. The guitarist left Whirling Kalapas in 2014 citing creative differences and went on to launch a solo project. Still part of Indus Creed, they released singles like “Thief” in 2014 but focused on performing in the years after, most recently supporting British rock legends Def Leppard at their Mumbai concert in March 2026. As a trio, they played an intimate set at a restored monastery in Khandala in April.
In addition to writing and performing with bands, Tinaikar also contributed to songs by fellow Indian legends like singer Gary Lawyer. He often posted video covers of songs inspired by the likes of Steve Morse, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Paul Simon.
Tributes for the guitarist poured in from fellow rock veterans. Singer-composer Vishal Dadlani, from seasoned rock act Pentagram, took to Instagram and said, “India lost a true LEGEND today. Every single rockandroller since #RockMachine owes @sheeshling (Mahesh Tinaikar) a debt of gratitude for lighting up the way that we couldn’t even imagine until they walked it! An inspiring and pioneering musician, and a guy who always stood on the right side of things. Grateful I got to be on stage with @induscreednow and say thanks to all of them in public.”
This is a developing story.
Leave a Reply