SILIGURI: Siliguri track mixers open first DJ school

THE TELEGRAPH

DJ Max (third from left) and DJ Niraj (fourth from left) with students at the institute in Siliguri. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, Jan. 21: Siliguri has got its first full-fledged DJ institute, thanks to two youths who want to cash in on the new generation’s penchant for performance.

The North Bengal DJ Institute was opened on January 16 to train youths in the art of deejaying.

Ten candidates, most of whom are from Siliguri, Darjeeling and neighbouring Sikkim, have already enrolled in the institute run by DJs Max and Niraj.

The trainers said the growing interest among youngsters to pursue discjockeying as a career had prompted them to start the institute.

“Ten years ago, there was virtually no scope for deejaying in Siliguri where hardly any night club or pubs were open. The general notion at the time was that deejaying was not a feasible career and anyone interested in the art had to go to metros to get trained,” said DJ Max or Sanjeet Gupta, who has been in the profession for eight years.

According to him, the mindset has changed in the past couple of years. “The crowd in Siliguri has become more trendy and a lot of corporate events, parties and weddings are being organised which cannot do without a DJ. A number of nightclubs, pubs and FM channels have sprung up and they are ready to offer jobs to budding talents. With such scope and opportunities, the interest among the youngsters to take up deejaying as a career too has increased,” said DJ Max.

The owners claimed that the institute at Mahananda Park was the first-of-its kind in Siliguri.

“We have opened a first-of-its kind institute with sophisticated equipment brought from Calcutta to give the best training to the students. Currently, we have a turntable, the main instrument on which a DJ plays, a mixer to mix the tracks, and two LCDs for editing. The students will be taught to produce, re-mix and edit music,” said DJ Max.

The trainers said reputed disc jockeys from Mumbai and Calcutta would be called to hold classes for the students during the three-month course.

“There will be 36 classes spread over three months and the course fee is Rs 15,000. The classes will be held thrice a month for two hours each. Once a month, well-known DJs like DJ Mansur and DJ Ronit from Calcutta and DJ Suketu from Mumbai will give lessons. The students will also be given a chance to play at parties and events here,” said DJ Niraj, who has four years’ experience.

He said youths in Siliguri had vast knowledge of music and most of them were deft in playing guitar, keyboard, drums and other musical instruments. “These are the qualities required to become a DJ, along with energy and enthusiasm,” said DJ Niraj (Niraj Chowdhury).

Manjeet Singh was one of the students who joined the institute.“I have always enjoyed dancing to music played by the DJs and often wondered how it would be like to be one myself. After the completion of the course, I plan to move to Bangalore or New Delhi to play at nightclubs and pubs,” he said.

Priyanka Sarkar dreams of starting her own discotheque once she learns the art. “For now, I plan to work as a freelancer but in future I wish to open a discotheque.”