Sanjaya Malakar, whose aspiration to become the American Idol proved shortlived, may have given a glimpse of desi power on the stage, but the real deal is Bamboo Shoots—a five-man band from Middlesex County College in New Jersey. The group is the toast of campus music lovers across the US, having just beaten more than 1,300 college bands to win mtvU’s inaugural ‘Best Music on Campus Artist of the Year’. Along with the title came a contract with Epic Records, reported to be worth around $1.5 million.

Bamboo Shoots was revealed as the winner of the competition by mtvU—MTV’s 24-hour college network—and Epic Records on the Late Night with Conan O’Brien show on NBC last week.

The band’s song, Hey girl, exemplified the quintet’s upbeat, danceable rock with a fusion of electro and Indian sounds to millions of fans they garnered during the course of the competition which was broadcast to over 750 colleges. Bamboo Shoots won on the basis of votes by students and judging by mtvU and Epic Records employees.

Bamboo Shoots will now set out on an unprecedented journey that will see them record a full album with Epic Records, premiere two music videos on mtvU/mtvU.com, perform on tour dates with top national artists and collect a $50,000 cash advance

Formed in 2004, the band comprises Avir Mitra (vocals, guitars, production), Karl Sukhia (vocals, production), Ankur Patel (percussion), Ahmed Mahmoud (guitars) and Shiv Puri (drums, percussion). Mahmoud, of Egyptian origin, is the only member who is not an Indian-American. Though the Bamboo Shoots members are past graduation age, they qualified because Patel attends Middlesex County College.

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