Facing music from police,DJs in Vadodara’s walled city hit a sober note

The three DJs who have been externed are Naresh,his cousin Vikas Rana,and their uncle Sanjay Rana,who owns the equipment. In the past too,the trio were served notices for allegedly assaulting a police officer. Since 2003,their DJ console has been seized thrice after their songs ratcheted up tension in the area.

Naresh admits he and his cousin were arrested thrice,in 2003,2006 and 2008,for threatening communal amity but pleaded innocence,instead blaming the organisers who ask them to play “certain” kinds of songs. “Once trouble breaks out,they just abandon us with our truck and equipment and we end up in lock-ups,” says Naresh.

Asked what led to extern notices,assistant commissioner of police A J Patel said,“They were found involved in violence in the Fatehpura area. They would also get drunk and try to extort money from local traders.”

Rattled by the extern notice and wary of losing business,the DJs now say they are exercising restraint. Numbers like Suno gaur se duniyawalo… and a local pop bhajan — mandir yehi banayenge — which were popular during Ganesh Utsav,are off their play list. During Dev Diwali celebrations,even the decibels were lowered voluntarily.

“This Dev Diwali,we did not place a single speaker in the area,” says a popular DJ who goes by the name of Seven. He adds that the extern notice is a result of rivalry between music bands.

With each of the 20-odd DJs in the locality being offered an average of 30 assignments in the upcoming days — each session fetches them up to Rs 25,000 — the tribe is treading with caution and picking up clients with care. “What is the assurance that organisers would come to save us?” asks DJ Krishna.

A class apart

Disc jockeys in the walled city are mostly dropouts from school and college. Most of them between 19 and 25 years of age,they have a huge female fan following and are much sought-after in garbas during Navaratri.

About 250 of them,they charge Rs 5,000-Rs 6,000 for regular processions and rallies but the rates go up sharply during festivities. Most of them are self-taught. Some of them also make use of Internet and other softwares to create music. “We have every song. We can remix any song,depending on the request. True,we did not go to a certain DJ training academy in Pune for a six-month course since there is no point in paying heavy fees which could otherwise be utilised in buying latest equipment,” says DJ Seven.

DJ Krishna and others aspired to go to Pune-based academy but found it expensive.

“Those who attend such courses do not go for pubic gigs. They have a niche market and in three sessions,they almost make a decent profit,” says Krishna.