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DJ Salim Akhtar.- A musically inclined person with a social conscience. |
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 Mr.
Salim Akhtar is one of the four founders of ‘the Academy of DJ works’-
an institution that will provide the course needed for a Disc Jockey, which
is definitely for the first time in Nepal! A very skilled DJ, he plays at
the J Bar, Thamel and several other private parties at clubs. He is as well,
the chairperson of ‘Nepal Plus’- an NGO that works against HIV/AIDS
and drug abuse.
Let’s see what he has to say about his life, activities and his novel
effort-
Please give us some insight to this institution you have newly established?
Well, ‘the Academy of DJ Works’ is a combined effort of four
DJs of Nepal- myself, DJ Flex, DJ Rav4 and DJ Sazz. Such an institution
has been established for the first time in Nepal. We will hold classes and
workshops that will let students learn disc jockeying from the base. We
have prepared the layout of basic and advanced courses, with their respective
durations. After the completion of the course, we will let them play in
our clubs for about a couple of hours as internship, so that they can practise
their knowledge too. We want to provide them the platform to utilize their
skills and talent. We lack proper DJs here so we want to bring out professional
DJs from people out there.
The duration of basic and advanced course are 3 weeks and 6 weeks respectively.
It will probably start from January and it will have 2 shifts- morning and
evening.
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| From where have you been trained as a
DJ? |
| We have all been trained from outside the country, myself from USA, Rav4
from Australia, DJ Sazz from India while DJ Flex had even won the second
position in ‘the War of the DJs in Nepal. |
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| What are you doing for the promotion of
this institution? |
| We’re doing advertisements and holding Press Release too. We’ll
have our official media. We’ll have brochures, postures etc with information
about this institution and the way it works in the cafes and teenagers’
hang-outs. In addition, on occasion of Christmas and New Year, we are planning
to organize a big party to publicize and promote this institution. |
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| How did you come up with the concept? |
| It’s been our idea since very long but our team never got the right
time to implement it. We were not here for a while but now since I am back
and almost free, I thought of taking the initiative myself. DJ Sazz and
DJ Flex also had such plan but even they couldn’t take out time. The
idea just struck our minds while we were in a general conversation. |
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| Are other DJs of Nepal also involved or
are only four of you responsible? |
| It’s open for all the DJs if they are willing to involve themselves-
we can lay out their course too and arrange their classes to the interested
people. It’s indeed a DJ forum which is open to all the DJs but full
participation will be given by only the four of us. |
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| What about the course after the completion
of six weeks? |
| Well, music is vast- you can go deeper and deeper into it, its knowledge
can never come to an end. After the completion, if the students still prefer
to take it professionally, we’ll further let them play in our clubs
and the parties we organize. We shall organize big events to promote them
as well as to give them the chance to know the crowd too. |
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| Where do you generally do disc jockeying? |
| It’s mainly in J Bar, especially on Fridays and Saturdays; otherwise
I also perform in private parties at several other clubs. I have 3 contracts
ahead to perform in wedding parties too. I had also been the DJ at the SAATH
event, 2004 organized at St. Xavier’s College, which was a huge hit.
I will be responsible for the music for the SAATH event going to be held
this year too. |
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| What are the future plans of this academy? |
| We are planning to take it differently. We want to do several things
in the future. We want to hold a small party in Maiti Nepal, to entertain
the orphans there. We have our own equipments, sound system and obviously
DJs, so we want to let them experience discotheque in real- they must’ve
seen it only in movies!! Not the English or hip-hop numbers but the popular
Hindi and Nepali numbers. We basically plan to do such stuffs besides empowering
our students- we are not focusing on profit! We’ve just started…let’s
see where we reach! |
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| Apart from music, what else do you do? |
| Well, as a chairperson of Nepal Plus, I work for this organization but
not full-time duty (10-5) like I used to previously. I attend the meetings
and help them in doing stuffs like designing some postures or making documentaries;
I’ve made 4 documentaries till date- the fourth one was recently shown
in Jai Nepal, which was about the ill-effects of drug abuse. |
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| What kind of organization is Nepal Plus? |
| It is an NGO, registered in 2002, that works against HIV/AIDS and drug
abuse. We basically provide counseling to the victims or empower them; we
refer them to the treatment centers or rehabs or help them with the treatment;
advocate for their rights. It is not only an organization in itself but
works as a network with several other similar organizations like Maiti Nepal
and Karuna Bhawan. Mainly, it is now prioritizing advocacy through brochures
& postures, and documentaries against HIV/AIDS & drug abuse. |
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| How busy is your life? Do you prefer this
kind of life? |
| My life is really busy- sometimes, I don’t even get time to catch
some food! Work is always fun if you are engaged in it with your heart,
and your mind isn’t idle to develop negative thoughts! Moreover, I’ve
been working since 7, 8 years in the field of drug abuse and then later
HIV/AIDS too. I’ve also been involved in music since my schooling
and so, I wanted to take some time from social field and focus on my passion
for music. I’ve liked my work all the time, so, I don’t mind
the busyness. It’s all fun! |
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| As a DJ, how do you find nightlife in
the clubs and pubs in Kathmandu? |
| Well, the parties are highly increasing in number and the people are
gradually becoming inclined to them. The good part is that the people now
value music much more than they did earlier, for example, in the street
festivals, people are interested in enjoying the music played rather than
indulging themselves in fights! Changes have come. |
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| Last words to the young generation? |
| The youngsters mostly are hooked and obsessed with drugs- they think
that using drugs give them sole pleasure and find ecstasy in drugs. I just
want to let all such people know that there are more beautiful things in
life to enjoy. Drugs lead you nowhere….say NO to drugs! |
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By Priyata Thapa
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