post news network, Bhubaneswar, July 3: Maneesha Mallick, a 25-year-old disk jockey (DJ) from the Capital city has been in the entertainment business since 2009. Probably the only female DJ working in the state, Maneesha has been performing at several events organised by colleges, corporate houses, party loving people and others, within and without the state since she was 19.
Fascinated by the songs of Bollywood and other forms of music since her childhood, Mallick’s intention of becoming a DJ got a boost after she married DJ Tushar, who instilled confidence in her and encouraged her to jockey in small parties to hone her skills. She got married in 2009, and as you have guessed correctly, got her vocation as a wedding gift from her husband.
A science graduate from Kolkata, Maneesha says much of her passion for music owes its origin to her stint in Kolkata as a student. “I stayed around six years in Kolkata and during my stay there I was exposed to the vibrant music culture of the city. The number of bands there, the prevalent culture there of promoting music and the craze for different genres of music among the people of the city, inspired me to take up music as a full-time career. And disk jockeying happened,” said Maneesha.
The young DJ has already done more than 100 shows organised by different enterprises. However, according to her, the best time any DJ often enjoys is during hosting music at colleges and universities. “As DJs we often perform at events organised by different people. But we enjoy the best moments when we perform at colleges and universities. The young crowd often infuses energy into the ambience. I have performed at many premier colleges and institutions in the state,” she said.
But is she liked more or less as she is a woman? “It really does not matter in DJing. There are numerous female DJs coming up now, albeit in other states. Wherever I have performed, I have got tremendous applause, which always propels me forward.”
The young DJ, however, thinks that Orissa has some catching up to do with other states when it comes to partying in company of DJs. “Parties with DJs are very famous in other states. I have often been to Mumbai, Bangalore, Vizag and other big cities. People there go en masse to take part in such events and it’s a craze there. However, Orissa is slowing catching up with other states in terms of power-packed parties.”
May be there’s not many parties organised in the state where DJs rule the roost, but howsoever insignificant the number of parties with DJs in the state be, what exactly does the people present at those parties want from the DJs? “In Orissa basically the Hindi Bollywood numbers are most in demand. However, if one takes the national trend into consideration, one will find that while Orissa wants Bollywood, people living in most of the other states prefer electronic dance music, where instrumental blends with vocal,” she said.
Maneesha now has 3,777 active netizens following her on social networking sites. She is often applauded by her followers for her various initiatives, on and off stage. These applauses, said Maneesha, encourage her to move forward with her aspiration of firming up her career in the music industry. She says she would very much like to continue with her job as a DJ as it helps to lift her spirits high.
