When age is just a number

Meet a Bengaluru-based DJ who is only 12 years old, ahead of his gig in Mumbai

The times they are a' changing. Turn the clock back to the mid-20th century. Peek into a home filled with classical musicians (let's choose tabla maestro Allah Rakha's residence in Mumbai). There, in the late '50s, you would find his baby son Zakir practising religiously day in and day out. That's the sort of catch-them-young-and-watch-them-grow ethos that was prevalent in the world of Indian classical music. And the same often holds true even for western instruments like the guitar and drums. Kids as young as three or four were encouraged to pick them up.

But that was then. It was the analogue era. Now, we have entered a digital age, where the very definition of a "musical instrument" has evolved. Yes, children still pick up sitars and guitars after they have barely learnt to walk. But, some also start toying around with electronic music gadgets like mixers, DJ controls and FX-bars after they have just learned to string sentences together. Take the case of Bengaluru-based Aiyaan aka DJ Atom — purportedly India's youngest DJ — who first started learning how to spin tunes on a turntable when he was all of five years old.

Aiyaan's journey started when he came across a video of electronica veteran Ma Fazia on YouTube. So enamoured was he of what he had heard that he decided to pursue DJing as a calling in life. And his supportive parents thus took him to a studio in the Karnataka capital, where Aiyaan was taught the basics of how to make electronic music like dubstep, drum 'n' bass and trap.

DJ Atom stands on a box to reach his DJ control at a club 

We catch up with the youngster, who is now 12, over the phone ahead of his show in Mumbai next week. The voice on the other end is a straight giveaway of Aiyaan's age. His answers, too, are mostly in monosyllables since he is still grasping the nuances of the English language. For example, we ask him to describe how he felt when he first entered that studio. "Excited," he answers. Where did he practise after the stint there ended? "Home." Is Skrillex his favourite DJ? "Yes". And did he feel any fear when, aged seven, he first performed before an audience? "No."

Finally, it's his mother who steps in when we ask whether Aiyaan has faced any obstacles in his career so far. "You know, the problems usually come from other DJs. They are like, 'Is he getting special treatment just because he's so young?' For us, Aiyaan DJing is the same thing as any other kid going for singing or dancing lessons. But the other DJs aren't thinking, 'Oh, we are happy that he's doing so well,'" she tells us, adding that their mentality is like that of crabs in a bucket, which, frankly, doesn't reflect well on DJ Atom's older peers at all.

ON February 9. 9 pm onwards
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