“I was doing my last semester of MBA at Manipal, that was when I decided that, although I would have a certificate of having completed my post graduation course and settle with a job, it wouldn’t satisfy me because that is not what I loved. I loved MUSIC and playing guitar! So, I decided I would work on what I loved. So I decided that I wanted to start a band. I had a Junior - Nishant, who was a vocalist. So we discussed and realized the frequency matched between the two of us and hence we decided to start a band together. Since it was found during my last semester, we named it the same.”  is the history, Hemanth Jois shares about the start of his professional music journey.

Hemanth also reminisces his graduation days of how he had to plead his mother to get him a guitar and how his situations did not lead him to learn from a professional guitarist. His passion to excel led him to learn, through youtube and various other materials available online. He received many recognitions for his talent, which gave him the belief to take this up as his profession.

Although, it looked “cool” for others to see him do what he loved, there were many around him who criticized him for the start of a venture, while he had to focus on his education. “I only used their comments and criticism to trigger myself to work harder” he says. The band started gaining importance when more people joined in to support with the other instruments. However, Hemanth did take up a job in the corporate to take care of his expenses to sustain himself and the band. He happened to later realize that it wouldn’t be possible for him to take it more seriously if he worked at the corporate. Finally, he took the big bold decision to resign and the band became his priority full time. Once again, people around tried to influence him that getting a secure and well paid job had to be considered important. Although there was pain when he heard people commenting, the belief continued to push him the entrepreneurial path.

The bigger challenge for the team then, was to become an alternative metal band known for its uniqueness amidst thousands of metal bands across the globe. They did not want to just make the music unique but also the theme which would touch the hearts of people who are going through various situations of life. Their debut song was named ‘Zindagi’ (meaning Life); The theme was to help the society understand and connect with the dreams of every child, irrespective of his/her financial status. The second cover was termed ‘Pukar’, that was based on sexual harassment and the society’s reaction which is negative instead of being supportive; The song makes anyone realize that the society has actually lost its innocence and humanity. The team had by then decided to share a stronger message with the society; The song spoke about the treatment of the transgender in the society and about the unacceptance of these beautiful souls by the society to integrate the third gender with the other genders, which has led to the current misleading statuses. It was termed ‘Pehchan’ (meaning Identity). The song touched many hearts that realized the reason behind the current scenario of such people, is the society themselves. The song continues to inspire many, while the team continues to prepare for the next thought provoking music, that will continue to inspire lives!

‘Last Semester’ has been invited to perform shows at more than 25 mega events in the short span of its first 24 months. “We still do not stay together or meet often for compositions. We have continued to play our roles from our own places, while we use technologies including whatsapp and mails to communicate each others’ updates. I compose my music and share it with the rest through eMails or in the whatsapp group, while they sing and add their roles of music and share it by the same mode of communication. We meet during our stage shows or during our shoots for the video of our covers! Distance doesn’t really matter when you heart loves what you do. Our situations is not currently allowing us to be together physically, but each of us know that we are coordinated all the time.” states Hemanth.

Nishant Satish Vaidya, co-founder of the ‘Last Semester’ has been “a great source of inspiration and strength to the team” says Hemanth.  “Had it not been Nishant, I am unsure of how far we would come. At the beginning, both of us had thought about each other as an ‘Okay’ kind of a musician. I had never thought we would sail on the same boat, to the same destination, supporting each other’s success” he adds. The first team formed did not remain for long as there were a few who disbelieved in the success, but there were more who believed in the vision ad joined hands including Gautam who is the drummer, Twishampan Das - Vocals and keys, Prashant Kumar - another guitarist in the team, Anirudh Manoj - bassist. Everyone continues to shifting of roles when necessary and “that’s the best part about a start-up” he adjoins, “We don’t do a specific work. We only know that the work needs to be completed irrespective of who does what. While my main stream is guitar, but I also write the lyrics. It is the same with others too, but we ensure we perform the best at whatever we do. I’m sure as the team grows, we will have specific designations as well, but for now, we do everything possible to get the best results.”

The band’s next project seems to provoke the wrong doers of the country. The song shall speak about the policy makers and the politics in the society; It shall also ignite the thoughts of patriotism in the citizens of the country. Last Semester proves that the innovations and ideas should not only earn name, fame and money, but also empower the society in some or the other way. The effort may not look too big, when someone sees from outer world, but the change the band has brought, in the thought processes in so many minds is sure to inspire many more lives. The change that these young minds shall create one day, is sure to surprise the world! This energetic team of Last Semester believes, “Struggles and failures are a part of the journey, when the journey is right and has miles to go. Those who understand this law of life shall continue to work hard, while the rest who are more interested in temporary successes, terminate their journeys. Success in life is achieved only when we cross the journey of hurdles and reach the destiny. There is no fun and no success when the path is simple!”