The Hindu Business Line : The party has just begun

As Bangalore's first-ever woman Disc Jockey, it is Priya Diwanji's job to get the city's crowds swinging to some groovy music. And with her at the console keys the crowds can hardly keep their feet on the ground.

Throbbing. Pulsating. Dynamite stuff. Huge colourful strobe lights spin around even as gravity-defying figurines hang from the ceiling of the dance floor, upside down. There is music in the air; all 10,000 Watts of it. The weekend crowd has just begun to let its hair down after a week of work and stress. Youngsters in their dancing shoes hit the floor with frenzy when a slim and svelte girl slides into the DJ's corner and hits the console keys. More wild cheers.

Priya Diwanji rocks and quite literally! As Bangalore's first-ever woman DJ (Disc Jockey) it is her business to get the city's crowds swaying and swinging to some groovy music. Priya is neither from Bangalore nor did she aspire to be to be a DJ. She was a typical Delhi girl with an Army background, who made Bangalore home after her marriage to a Bangalore-based businessman. She was qualified in fashion designing and also carpet designing.

But she had a keen ear for music, especially retro rock, which she grew up listening to. Priya loved Bangalore's nightlife and she also loved watching the DJs at their jobs. At one such gig, she was seated close to the DJ's console and saw how much he enjoyed himself. "I simply loved it and I wanted to do it myself," she says. But she had neither a musical background nor did she know anyone in Bangalore to help her out.

"When I told my husband this, he asked me, `Do you really want to be a DJ? Are you serious?' I only know that I want this thing badly, I told him. He replied, `If it will make you happy, go for it!'" she says.

And she did. "I was this bored housewife and besides I always need new challenges."

The decision made, the next thing was to find a good school where Priya could train to be a DJ. "I wanted to do this course from Australia, as my sister-in-law was there, and I was comfortable with the place as I had travelled there often with my husband on business."

A Web search threw up 5,000 DJ-training schools! But Priya managed to zero in on one at Sydney, Australia. This was a 16-day DJ boot camp "where they mark you on attire, teach you how to buy music, to market yourself and handle legal issues." She explains, "Over there, things are very professional. One has got to have a licence to be a DJ and then you've also got to insure your music!"

She was the only woman DJ in the batch, and the only one besides another batch mate to have won the coveted `Gold certificate' at the end of the course. This, she says, gave her a lot of confidence.

Armed with the degree, she was back in Bangalore. For five months, she interned at Opium, a popular discotheque in Bangalore, but she never took centre stage. Then on November 17, 2002, Priya was asked if she would go solo with her own show. "They gave me a real good launch saying it was the first one by a lady DJ in the city."

She admits to having been a bit nervous before the event, but once she got into the console, she went full blast and the crowd went wild. The New Year bash, that year, was a smashing success; Priya had arrived. And how. "They told me the dance floor was broken in three places," she laughs. Now she has moved on to Zero G, another disco in Bangalore, where she performs three to four times a week. Here, she introduced, for the first time, Bollywood numbers, which the Bangalore crowd did not appreciate earlier.

"With this kind of work, it's important to be happy with yourself, if you're not, you cannot spread cheer to the crowd. I love my job and give people the kind of music they want. In fact, that's the stuff about this job that gives me a high. I can make a thousand people happy at the same time," she says.

But is it easier for a woman DJ to draw the crowds? "Initially, you do get a little extra attention. But as you go on, if you don't deliver, then things don't happen," she says. "In fact, as a woman, you have to prove yourself. The crowd watches and listens to you more carefully, and you've got to win them over. In the end, nobody really minds fans, you know!"

What does it take to be a successful DJ? "You've got to be able to play for the crowd, keeping your own interests aside. You've got to handle the crowd. It takes a lot of practice on the equipment and it is also hard work trying to keep abreast with the latest on the international music scene, while keeping tabs on what music works on which kind of crowd. You've also got to market yourself well."

Is DJ-ing a good career option for youngsters? "It is just like any other profession with its highs and lows, but make sure you do it for the right reasons. A lot of people aspire towards it but often for the wrong reasons! They just think that it's cool to be a DJ, which it is, but it's also a lot of hard work. The timings for one. A DJ's day begins in the late afternoon and can end by two or three o'clock the next morning! There is very good money in it, but it helps to be choosy and not desperate about the kind of job you get. Also family support, trust and faith are very important for a DJ to succeed."

What's the future like for DJs? "A disc jockey can go on to bigger gigs and ultimately make his or her own music tracks and remixes.

It's going great. Like a couple of weeks ago, there were these girls from Mumbai who came up to me and said they were enjoying themselves like never before. And they hadn't experienced such stuff even in their own city!" Clearly, for Priya, the party has just begun.

Picture by G.R.N. Somashekar

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