Ganpati’s noise battle puts DJs on the mute

For nine -year-old Vivek Kalse, it started with a pair of speakers. He would experiment with them at home, fascinated by music and the way different sounds could change the mood of a room. By 18, that curiosity had become a profession.

He became a disc jockey. Now 24, Kalse is pursuing an audio engineering course in Ahmedabad, continuing to work as a DJ in Kalyan. But this Ganeshotsav, his attention is divided between learning new sounds and following a debate that could determine how much work comes his way.

What began with a Pune resident’s demand for a ban on DJs during Ganeshotsav has grown into a wider debate over high decibel sound systems. The ruling Mahayuti is itself divided over how far restrictions should go, while the question of whether DJs should be banned or existing noise limits strictly enforced remains unresolved.

For those who operate the systems, the uncertainty has already begun to affect bookings. “Growing up, I observed that people loved to dance to remixes. These mixes had no limitations of religion, language or beats. I knew, early on, that I wanted to play music that entertains,” Kalse said.

For an estimated two lakh-plus DJs in Maharashtra, according to the Professional Audio and Lighting Association (PALA), the current controversy is not merely about music or noise. It is about a profession that supports sound rental companies, technicians and loaders, and requires investments running into lakhs of rupees.

The person standing behind the DJ console is only one piece of the operation. A large set up involves speakers, amplifiers and consoles, with a sound technician and loaders working behind the scenes to install, operate and move the equipment.

The equipment used in a professional set up can cost between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 30 lakh. For DJ and sound operator Sandeep Bhoir, who runs Ashok Pro Sound and Lights, the business has changed dramatically since he began. “In the early 2000s, I started experimenting with two cassette players and did demos by blending music.

The response from the public was amazing as they no longer had to wait for a new song to play. Gradually, the cassette was replaced with the CD player and later, pendrives," Bhoir said. Today, digital systems have replaced most of that equipment.

But staying in business means continually investing in newer technology. “We have to keep purchasing new sound equipment, which are high-end and produce good, crisp sound. We are almost always facing financial hurdles as we have to constantly keep taking loans,” Bhoir said.

That investment is particularly difficult for an industry where work comes in cycles. The monsoon is traditionally a lean period for DJs. The season begins to pick up with Navratri, followed by weddings and events at schools and colleges.

Demand rises again from April and continues through the wedding season until June. Ganeshotsav falls at an important date in that calendar. This year, however, the festival has arrived amid uncertainty over the use of high decibel sound systems.

“During the monsoon period till September, we barely get any bookings. When we get a booking for an event, we hire speakers alongside loaders for lifting the heavy equipment and even sound technicians to maintain the systems.

We pay them at a rate of Rs. 1,000 per day. When we lose our bookings, it is not only us but also our team who loses a source of earnings during this period,” said Mumbai based DJ Ganesh Sunariwal, who performs under the stage name Djgsonyyyyy.

A booking can mean a day's work for a loader, an assignment for a sound technician and income for a rental company. PALA estimates that Maharashtra has over one lakh sound rental companies employing more than nine lakh service vendors.