Female DJs get the crowd grooving in Mangalore

Mangalore: The fear psychosis that had gripped the people here after attacks on women who had ventured to have some gala time in pubs , has slowly faded and the general public are back pub-hopping and holding parties to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays etc. With this a new trend that is seen in the city are the female Disc Jockeys setting the party freaks grooving to the beats. While there have been many male DJs who had made it big, Mangalore is seeing several women taking up DJ-ing following their passion. Those women who would earlier stick to live music and stage shows in Mangalore are now being drawn towards playing in clubs and parties, making it evident that women are overcoming the barriers of gender and are proving the conventional mindsets wrong.

Pria Vas (15) is a young DJ aspirant wanting to make it big in the industry. It is a tough job as she has to juggle between her studies and jockeying lessons from Shushith who is her tutor. Although, far from reaching her goal, she has a confident attitude and aims big. “Since a year, I have been practicing in occasional private parties. As the academic year has started again, I have to focus more on studies. I take time out mostly in the evenings to practice in such a way that it does not affect my studies,” she says, adding that she would get down to the professional field once she completes her studies. However, Pria's passion for DJ-ing comes with a clause. She is pursuing her passion despite sharp opposition from her family.

“Performing as a DJ is my passion. I just want to show to the world that even girls and minors have the ability to become DJs. True, girls are not taken seriously, but I don't allow others' opinions let me down. Sadly, I get no encouragement from my mother,” she says asserting that girls are as good as boys in every single field.

Aditi Alva is another DJ wanting it make it big. She says that she has so far got outstanding support from her clients who have time and again given her opportunity to become DJ in their programmes.

Event organizer Divya D'Souza says that since there is huge demand for DJs, she sometimes fails to get good DJs during the peak season. Surprisingly, she says, sometimes her clients demand for female DJs for ladies' events. “I support the trend of having female DJs in the city,” says Divya.

Meanwhile Chintu, a professional DJ is rather overwhelmed to see females emerging as DJs. “This profession is not based on your gender. It is based on your dedication and creativity. I feel women are often more dedicated and they have good scope in this field,” he says.

With young girls slowly taking up an unconventional field, one has to wait and watch as to how Mangalore takes this trend.