Farida Vakil

Farida Vakil was an Indian guitarist who was part of the all-girl band The Ladybirds in the late ‘60s and later went on to be the first female lead guitarist of a five member band called The Riot Squad. Farida Vakil was 19 when she joined The Riot Squad which consisted of five other members – the Kar twins with Ramesh on bass and Naresh on rhythm guitars, Trilok Gurtu on drums, Jungoo Gazdar on vocals, Burgess Kharsethu on organ. According to Vakil’s contemporaries of the time she was one of the most talented guitarists of that era.