Nurul Hassan or DJ Hassan is the world’s only one-handed DJ (Disk Jockey). He has struggled through his life and excels in the art even with minimum or less than minimum requirements in the profession. DJ Hassan is a popular name amongst the party goers of Bengaluru.
There are thousands who whirl and twirl to his tunes and mixes. But there are many who fail to notice that he cuts and scratches tracks with the help of only his left hand. His right hand became non-functional after an accident he met with seven years ago. However, hold the thought if you think this is the only hurdle he has faced in his life.
Nurul grew up in Bangalore in a poverty struck condition. Nurul had to give up on his education after STD 6 as he had to help his father to earn more money in order to not spend nights on the road. His father sold linen bed sheet, cloth pieces etc but the income was not sufficient to support his family and household having three kids. Nurul made the sacrifice and sold clothes starting out in the morning on a hand-pulled cart. He spent his entire day selling under the sun on the streets of Bengaluru.
Nurul met with his passion through a friend. Music became his relaxation therapy after the day’s hard work. He began exploring different genres of music. On the streets, his friend introduced him to music and another friend spotted Nurul’s interest in music. He then introduced Nurul to a man who worked as a DJ. Nurul fell in love with the art of it and was really keen on learning it. However, convincing for such a profession in India is very difficult. For such unconventional profession, one has to have a conflict with their family.
Nurul told his father that he would no longer sell clothes for which his father reacted with rage. It took many weeks for him to convince his father that the profession of DJing will provide him with the financial stability to which his father agreed reluctantly. His father gave him a three months period to prove himself.
So, in 2006, Nurul’s journey began for learning the art of DJing. He traveled to Bannerghatta which is 25km away from his home, where his mentor used to live. As he could not arrange to pay the teacher all at once, he requested him to accept payments in installments. Nurul was the quickest learner in the class and learned the basics pretty quickly.
The toughest part came after learning which is to get shows. Nobody hires a fresher and so after many rejections Nurul got a job at a club for a monthly sum of Rs 3000. He had meals in the cafeteria and was depended on the small tips he received from playing people’s favorite songs.
Almost after 1.5 years, he hit the monthly income of Rs 30,000. He played at few pubs and a gym and saved up to 2 lakhs. His father appreciated the progress of his son.
But as Nurul thought things were working his way he was struck with misfortune. In 2010, Nurul finished playing at the gym and was returning on his moped. He reached mid-way to his home but fainted and fell on a divider. His right shoulder was badly injured and three of his major nerves were damaged. His arm lost complete functionality which could not be gained with even a major surgery conducted at NIMHANS in which his leg nerves were taken but failed to bring sensation back to his right hand.
After recovering he went back to places he worked at only to find that they have turned him down due to his disability. For a period of six months, he was home working out ways for himself to try and play as good as he did before with just one hand. It was very difficult as the complex sections needed quick movements of both the hands. But he was not the one to give up on his passion so quickly.
He practiced every day endlessly to make his left hand efficient enough to play. However, he was about to drown in depression as there were absolutely no opportunities coming his way. A fortunate day, Nurul was contacted by Suhas Prabhakar aka DJ Sash as he believed in Nurul’s talents. DJ Sash offered him a job of resident DJ at the five-star, The Lalit Ashok Hotel in Bengaluru.
This was a striking opportunity for him and Nurul made sure he did his best for this job. He gained a lot of confidence from the talent and determination he displayed. He was boosted to take his talent to another level. Nurul learned production and launched his own album with numerous volumes of Electrocity. His music was released on Venus and can be found on Google Play, YouTube, Gaana, Saavan, and iTunes.
Nurul proved to be an invincible soul who has got shows all across the country as well as outside the country in places like Doha and Singapore. He does freelance for music events now. He carries on with a happy life since 2012.
(Photo Credit: Silver fox talents, careinfo)
