<\/p>\n
From climbing mango trees in Kodagu to headlining music festivals across India, Nikhil Chinapa\u2019s journey has been anything but ordinary. The DJ, VJ, festival founder, and scuba diver has lived many lives, but through it all, one thing has remained the same: his belief that music is the lifeblood of humanity.\u2018MY LATEST TRACK IS INSPIRED BY NEHRU\u2019<\/span>Nikhil\u2019s latest release, inspired by Jawaharlal Nehru\u2019s iconic \u2018Tryst With Destiny\u2019 speech, wasn\u2019t just another experiment. \u201cThe crackle of vinyl always moved me,\u201d he recalls. \u201cNehru\u2019s words carried the same resonance. It wasn\u2019t about being gimmicky\u2014it was about emotion and history,\u201d he says. The connection was deeply personal. His grandfather, a freedom fighter, was imprisoned when Nikhil\u2019s father was born in 1939. \u201cI never met him, but I always pictured him in his Nehru cap. Using those words in my music was my way of honouring that past.\u201d The track pairs Nehru\u2019s speech with the haunting tones of the sarangi. \u201cThe sarangi almost sounds like it can talk,\u201d Nikhil says, adding, \u201cWhen we brought it into the mix, it was magic. We created a layered soundscape that feels alive.\u201d\u2018My childhood memories of Coorg are something I cherish\u2019<\/span>Every summer, Nikhil would return to his ancestral home in Kodagu, where life was simple but magical. With no electricity, evenings were lit by oil lamps. Days were spent chasing frogs in paddy fields, fishing in streams, and climbing guava and mango trees\u2014sometimes with bamboo sticks fashioned into hooks. Even fetching water was an adventure: riding bullock carts to the well and returning drenched from splashing drums. \u201cYou didn\u2019t need much. A stick, a ball, some cousins, and a tree to climb \u2014 that was happiness,\u201d he smiles.\u2018EVOLUTION IS ALWAYS A GOOD THING\u2019<\/span>With more than two decades in the industry, Nikhil has seen music evolve in unimaginable ways \u2014 and he embraces it. \u201cEvolution is always positive. Yes, \u201980s rock or Goa\u2019s scene in the \u201990s may feel different now, but it will still enchant someone discovering it for the first time. True fans always remain,\u201d he says. He laughs, recalling his first Goa trip in 1990, when an old-timer told him it had \u201calready changed\u201d. He says, \u201cThat\u2019s the thing\u2014people will always say Goa has changed. But someone discovering it today will say the same thing 10 years later. Change is the only constant.\u201d\u2018TV AND SOCIAL MEDIA WILL NEVER SHOW THE WHOLE STORY\u2019<\/span>For many, Nikhil will always be MTV\u2019s face. He admits people often ask if his fiery reactions on TV were scripted. \u201cThey weren\u2019t. That was me in the moment. What you saw was real\u2014though it was just a slice of the whole picture. TV and now social media will never show the complete story,\u201d he says. On dealing with negativity, he grins, \u201cWas that in my contract \u2014 to deal with people\u2019s insecurities?\u201d And on trends like \u201ccoffee raves\u201d? He\u2019s blunt. \u201cThey\u2019ve got nothing to do with coffee or raving. They\u2019re about Instagram. And that\u2019s fine. If that makes people happy, who am I to judge?\u201d<\/div>\n