Meet the Mancunian-8.12 - Jazzy J. transcript

Intro

Welcome to Season Eight of the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester. A warm Mancunian welcome from your host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe. Thank you for joining me today.

Every Tuesday, I bring you the stories of Manchester's unsung heroes. The individuals who help to create positive change in our community. My aim is to inspire you dear listener, to follow your own passions, whether it's through volunteering or working in the social impact sector. I'm also keen to spotlight good causes and create more awareness and support for them.

Whether you're tuning in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or on my website, meetthemancunian.co.uk., get ready for a season filled with inspiring tales of social impact within our beloved city.

Introduction and Finding Passion

Welcome to the twelfth episode of Season 8 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, Social Impact Stories from Manchester.

Passionate about bringing joy to the community, we hear from Jazzy J, Artist and Executive Committee Member, Indian Association of Manchester, in this episode.

In Jay's own words,

[00:01:13] Jazzy J.: I think I have made an impact by making people believe that if they have a talent that they can come forward and present it. Age does not matter. Form does not matter. Style does not matter. As far as you have it in you, you go ahead and you share it with the world and you enrich it in the way that you feel that is fit for you.

[00:01:31] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much, J, joining me today.

[00:01:34] Jazzy J.: Thank you very much for having me.

[00:01:35] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It's a real pleasure to have you, and I'm really loving the fact that we are both from Bombay, we have a link to Kerala, and we even have family in the army. There’re a few interesting things happening there.

Tell us first how you found your passion for supporting the community. Where did that come from?

[00:01:51] Jazzy J.: So my passion is bringing people together and bringing joy to everyone. It comes from my deep inherited culture and my belief system that my parents gave to me as growing up as a child in Mumbai, that it's not just about earning money.

It's not just about doing things to make your living, but it's also about growing in the community and working with the community, bringing people together, spreading the joy and giving something back to the world because that's what gives me more joy, gives me more happiness.

And I think that's where the passion comes into play. I try to work and find everyday ways to spread the beauty and joy of our South Asian culture and the heritage that we've got to everyone around me. And hopefully they take some benefit from it and they have a better life.

[00:02:40] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much for sharing that and I love that it's come from your roots in Mumbai.

Involvement with the Indian Association of Manchester

[00:02:45] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Tell us about how you got involved with the Indian Association of Manchester and what does it do?

[00:02:51] Jazzy J.: Indian Association of Manchester is an organisation that has been around for a long time. I got involved with them, I should say, pre COVID times when I was invited to be the host of the Republic Day Festival. Since then, I have been working with them in a hosting capacity for many years during COVID period and post COVID period to help them organise their festivities like Republic Day event, Independence Day event and even I think to a certain degree Diwali Dussera mela that they do as well.

Now because of me playing such an active part in the organisation. When I had the opportunity to become an executive committee member and try and make a difference in the community by being part of this esteemed organisation, I thought, why not. It would be better to make a change to the cultural aspect, do it from within and take it forward from there.

So this is where I decided to step in to join the executive committee team. It's been since last December, that I've joined them. So it's been a year since, almost a year coming to, that I've been a part of that organisation and so far it's been great.

Role and Objectives of the Indian Association

[00:03:52] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Tell us a little more about the Indian Association of Manchester.

[00:03:55] Jazzy J.: The objective is pretty much to provide an organisation where all the Indians of the Northwest can come together. We provide a platform for talented local artists to come forward to display their talent as well. We've also worked with our Council General of India to provide CGI camps.

We've also had blood donation camps as well. During COVID period, Indian Society of Manchester also helped out lots of students who were in need in Preston, in Manchester area. And it's just an organisation where all the Indians can come together and celebrate our culture. And if they would like to take part in any activities, they're most welcome to do. It's just for the betterment for all the Indians across Manchester.

[00:04:34] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It's something I definitely want to check out myself. I haven't heard of them before we interacted.

[00:04:40] Jazzy J.: The new committees come on board now and you're going to be hearing a lot more from us.

[00:04:44] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That'll be great. I'd love to. It's only been about three years for me and this sounds very interesting.

Supporting the Indian Community

[00:04:51] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: How is it that you're specifically supporting the Indian community? You talked a little bit about spreading that love for South Asian culture and giving people a platform. Do you want to elaborate a little more?

[00:05:02] Jazzy J.: Our Indian culture is so quite diverse. We have different castes, different cultures, different languages, and quite often I've come across different communities over here who are segregated in their own cultures, celebrating their own festivals in a different community aspect of things.

Now, where I come from, which is Mumbai, I always grew up seeing all of these communities coming together and celebrating all of these festivals together. May it be Janmashtami, may it be Independence Day, Republic Day, Holi, Eid, Diwali, any of these festivals regardless, Christmas even, regardless of which religion you came from, which caste or culture you came from, we all celebrated everything together.

So my social commitment to the cause is to make sure that all of these people, from all of these different communities, they come together, they come to me. And I can provide them a platform for them to have a discussion with me and how that talent to the audiences and just show how diverse our country is, how diverse our culture is, but have one single platform to display that beauty and diversity in one single place.

And this is where I feel in my way, I'm trying to provide that support to these local artists, to these local talents to come forth and their kids as well. We've got younger generation of kids who are coming forward now, who are learning about their culture.

They come to these events, they see somebody older than them, somebody younger than them participating. And then the parents get curious, what can I do to get my kids involved in this? And then I would suggest, these are some teachers over here. Here are some dance teachers over here. Here are some artists over here whom we can connect to and, they can take it from there.

And it makes it easier for me to think ahead that the next event that's going to come in, I'm going to get more people joining in. So it's just a way of spreading that, paying it forward, seed that everything's going to, whatever I plant today, tomorrow, there's going to be something new happening from there. And that's what I want to do.

[00:06:56] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I love that very much about paying it forward and, encouraging younger generations and people who are not born in India to make those strong links. And I echo what you say. The reason I say I'm strongly multicultural now is that I've grown up in this culture of many cultures, celebrating different things, working and talking and having friends from different cultures, languages, backgrounds. And it's just it's that lovely diversity that we are just and food and everything, you're used to it.

[00:07:28] Jazzy J.: And we are proud of it.

[00:07:29] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And proud of it, of course. And I was very thrilled last year when I went to the South Asia Gallery in the Manchester Museum, which was the first one of its kind that they have set up. So I thought, that was also a really proud moment as South Asians.

Challenges Faced in the Journey

[00:07:46] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Tell us a little bit about the challenges you faced in this journey. Are there challenges that you've had to overcome?

[00:07:52] Jazzy J.: Certainly. It might be to do with a generational thing, or it might be to do with the new ways of doing things because pre COVID, there was a certain way of doing things where everybody followed a structural face to face approach or sit down meeting or a first face to face discussion on several aspects.

During COVID time, everything got digitised all of a second. And then post COVID now it's become like a hybrid model where not everybody wants to get together face to face and put a pen to a paper. Everybody would like to sit in the comfort of their homes and have a digital meeting such as like the one that we are having right now and have everything organised at the comfort of their own homes.

Now, many organisations have adapted it quite well and few organisations are still facing those little bumps along the way that the few authority heads do not feel that digital way is the best way going forward. Let's stick to having face to face agendas of meetings and face to face approvals and stuff like that. The only obstacle has been to try and convince such authority heads to come to the digital age and let's try and find the better way of working now and especially when it comes to organising events where everything has to be digitised and, recorded and kept hold of from an audit perspective.

It does become a little tedious to convince, but luckily so far, I've had everybody who's come on board. Once I've provided the valid reasoning for why we are doing it in a digital way, why we are doing it in such a structured manner, why don't we do just a piece of paper on the day and, and then have it as a chaotic day rather than that being structured.

Everybody eventually comes around and then we end up looking so fine polished on the day that nobody realises that till one day before it was all chaos. Do you get what I mean? But that's the beauty of it. But it's now slowly making that change now and everybody's coming together. And my way of working is always structured and organised.

I like to be organised two days, three days before any particular event. As a host, I've always chased people to make sure that I've got all the information about the artist, all the information about what's going to happen on the day, at least three days before I step into the stage. So that on the day, even if people do get late, people are not able to attend on time if I have to make the time. At least I have a Bible that I'm working with and I'm making those modifications on the fly. But I still have a Bible with all the information on the hand. And I can disclose that to all the artists. I can disclose that to all the stakeholders on the day. And they're happy with it. That they have somebody who's so structured and organised working for them.

[00:10:22] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Both are very important. One, being organised and planned and having a plan B for the times that things don't come together, but also working effectively in this wonderful hybrid world of ours, because, I think there's huge power in it. There is time when you have to do face to face, but as many things that you can do, like you said in the comfort of our homes, like we are doing this podcast today.

Impact and Encouragement

[00:10:47] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What's the impact that you made so far?

[00:10:50] Jazzy J.: I think I have made an impact by making people believe that if they have a talent that they can come forward and present it. Age does not matter. Form does not matter. Style does not matter. As far as you have it in you, you go ahead, and you share it with the world and you enrich it in the way that you feel that is fit for you.

As far as you're not spreading any kind of hate speech or you're not saying anything bad about anybody and you have a genuine knack for doing it. I've been able to connect with such wonderful people in so many years that I've been working in this industry, and I've been able to encourage them to come forward.

Some of them, I can't even name names, have now become quite famous in their own respect. Some people have become quite viral in their own respect. And I just take happiness from the fact that it's, because I was a small part of their bigger journey that they are there where they are today.

And I wish everybody well, and I wish everybody does that. Carry on coming to me, let's meet up, let's connect and then continue making that impact on each other's lives and learn and grow together.

[00:11:52] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That is a big impact. And I think this whole idea of supporting people, giving people wings or a platform to showcase their talent. That is more powerful than most people think that one platform could transform their lives.

[00:12:08] Jazzy J.: And I shouldn't say this, but in our South Asian culture, there are lots of people who clip wings quite quickly, because of the way that the older generations are taught to criticise and critique. Because in their belief system, when they provide critique, they feel that they're helping the other performer to go and do it better.

But what they don't understand is when five people like that continue to clip those wings and the wings no more. You've got to be the air below the wing, not the scissors that cut them off.

[00:12:34] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It's a very real and very sad picture. You're right. That is so important. We don't know what people are holding in within themselves. Each time somebody feels critiqued or criticised, that could have a very bad impact on their self-esteem or confidence or and have a knock-on impact on the rest of them. So yes, we should always try to boost people and, give people an uplift.

[00:12:59] Jazzy J.: 100%.

Advice for Starting a Community Movement

[00:13:00] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What advice would you have for people looking to start a similar movement in their local community? Where should they start?

[00:13:08] Jazzy J.: The lesson is very simple. Don't expect the world to change, be the change yourself and the world will change with you. Don't expect the community to understand what you want to show. Show that change to the communities and to help the communities understand the change, and then they will change along with you. That's pretty much it.

[00:13:27] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I think that's right. It's like you show the way rather than try to expect people to move along with you. They will, but then you need to take the early steps yourself.

An opportunity to talk about anything I haven't asked you about anything else

Additional Cultural Involvements

[00:13:41] Jazzy J.: Along with Indian Association Manchester, I also work with a local cultural organisation here called Sri Radha Krishna Mandir. And we also do similar festivities and events which is Holi, there's going to be this, the Holi coming up, there's Janmashtami coming up, there's Diwali coming up as well and we showcase these festivals to showcase talents from the local community as well.

 Alongside the religious festivities that do happen on the day, we have this cultural activity, so it doesn't matter what age you are. What culture you come from, you can be from the north, from the south, east, west, does not matter. As far as you have the talent to showcase it, please come to me as well. I'm also on the executive committee of Sri Radha Krishna Mandir and I'll be very happy to align you to these festivities coming up in the future.

 I'm going to move now to the signature questions I ask all my guests.

Signature Questions: Mancunian Spirit

[00:14:30] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: If Manchester was a colour, what colour would it be and why?

[00:14:36] Jazzy J.: Rainbow, because we have all the colours of the rainbow in Manchester. We have all sorts of people, all from different walks of life, all from different belief systems. And we all still stay in our lanes. We don't intersect with each other, but we are happy being together and we create the beauty in the sky. So we are the colour of the rainbow.

[00:14:56] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I like that very much about vibrancy of the rainbow, but like you said, still having your niche.

If you could choose a famous landmark in Manchester to represent you, which one would it be and why?

[00:15:10] Jazzy J.: This is a tough one to be honest because there's so many, but I think I would say the Hilton Towers on Deansgate, the Hilton Hotel on Deansgate, because I think it's quite unique and niche in its way. It's always reaching up to the sky. It's a landmark that stands out from all the other buildings. And it's situated in such a lovely place of old architecture meets new architecture.

It's a perfect example of something new, living amongst the old and still being different to everything around itself.

[00:15:39] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I'm going to say I don't know that building, but I do pass it every day.

[00:15:43] Jazzy J.: The Cloud 23 bar over there in that hotel is quite famous. You've got to give that a try.

[00:15:49] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I'll definitely have a look at it.

If you could trade lives with someone in Manchester for the day, who would it be with and why?

[00:15:57] Jazzy J.: If you're saying anybody, I would love to trade lives with my cat Murphy. He's no longer with us anymore, but he lived a full life, and he enjoyed to the max and he used to have a blast of the time and he used to give me hell. So I would love to trade lives with him and see how it is to be on the other side.

[00:16:12] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Beautiful. Your little kitty. I'm so sorry you lost him. It is sad to lose pets if a part of the family isn’t there. But I like that you would try to walk in his space.

[00:16:22] Jazzy J.: He was a handsome hero in the area. He used to walk around with a swag and, lots of girlfriends around the area. He was absolute hero.

[00:16:29] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far?

[00:16:33] Jazzy J.: Be patient with everything. Be patient with yourself, be kind to yourself and learn to forgive yourself. Because you are human, you'll make millions of mistakes. The world might not forgive you, but you need to forgive yourself. And that's the only way you can move forward in life.

[00:16:53] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That is really, really important. Being kind to ourselves. Just such a big thing. We are probably very tough on ourselves. Probably our toughest on ourselves.

[00:17:05] Jazzy J.: Absolutely. It's our upbringing, we're always taught since our younger days to be you are your biggest critique. All the time and we grew up with that belief system for such a long time, but now it's come to the stage where if you're not kind to yourself that belief system is going to fail you.

[00:17:22] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What's the most important personality trait someone needs to be successful in your industry?

[00:17:29] Jazzy J.: Oh, a really thick skin. You have to have a thick skin and the patience of a monk. Because quite often you will feel that you will come across different people from different walks of life with no mistake of their own because they're set in their mindset, set in their thinking, that even though you will try to explain something to them millions of times, you will still clash with them, you will still not get along with them.

So you need to take a step back, be patient, and rather than going down to their level, try to raise them up to your level. So they finally see the big picture and they understand what you're trying to show them because by raising somebody up is the only way you can show them the sky.

[00:18:07] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I like that very much. I'm also very optimistic and I think hope to be hopefully patient as well.

[00:18:16] Jazzy J.: I love the hopefully patient slide.

[00:18:17] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I think so. Most of the time. I might roll my eyes once in a while, but otherwise I am patient.

[00:18:23] Jazzy J.: It could be like a t shirt, hopefully patient.

[00:18:25] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Most of the time.

Is there a common myth about your field that you'd like to myth bust?

[00:18:32] Jazzy J.: The myth about my field working in the community is that it's a great paying job. You make lots of money doing community work and voluntary work in the organisation. So let me just debunk that myth. There is no money. You will end up spending more time, more money, more efforts, putting out of your normal working hours to give to the community, to put something in.

And sometimes you might even feel that you don't get the appreciation that you get in return. But it's not about the appreciation that you get, it's about the difference that you make tomorrow, not today. Because what you're doing today will make an impact tomorrow. It's not going to happen immediately. It will take time, but you will see it. And when you will see it, you'll be happy you spent all those times, and you spent all that effort.

[00:19:19] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Like that very much, like you said about earlier, planting seeds so that your little tree or plant is going to keep growing.

How can interested people reach out to you and learn more? Where can they find you?

[00:19:31] Jazzy J.: They can connect with me on my social media channels. My handle on Instagram is thisisjazzyj, all one word. They can connect with me on Instagram or Snapchat. My ID is exactly the same. This is Jazzy J or on Facebook it's Jazzy J Acharya. These are the mediums for them to connect with me which if you can share on your channels, they can most happily come to me. And I'm more than happy to help and support anybody who's interested in making a difference in their life and bringing a change in their life.

It's indianassociationofmanchester.co.uk. That's the website and they can find us on the Facebook page. It's called Indian Association Manchester, all one word. And that's the Facebook page for that as well.

[00:20:09] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I'll make sure I include it in the show notes.

Heartwarming Conclusion

[00:20:12] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And to end the podcast, is there a funny or a heartwarming story you'd like to share with listeners?

[00:20:17] Jazzy J.: There is a song that I always believe in. It's a Hindi song. It's from a very old movie, Kishore Kumar song. If you don't mind, I would like to hum a few lines for your listeners. Jeevan ke din chhote sahi, hum bhi bade dil wale.

[00:20:36] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much for sharing that. Do you want to translate a few lines for our listeners?

[00:20:41] Jazzy J.: Absolutely. So the meaning of this beautiful song is so the days that you have in this life is quite small, but you have to have a big heart. So you don't have time for tomorrow, but that does not matter. Because that time will come for you eventually. This life might give you pain. This life will give you the balm for your suffering as well. But again, tomorrow is another day, and you will get to see the beauty in another day.

[00:21:08] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Powerful artist who's influenced so many people. And thank you so much for sharing it with listeners today.

It's been a pleasure to have you.

[00:21:16] Jazzy J.: Thank you so much for having me today, Deepa ji. It's been an absolute joy and pleasure to be on this beautiful podcast called Meet the Mancunian.

Outro

Jay, I really enjoyed learning about creating joy in the community today.

Dear listener, thank you so much for listening to the 12th episode of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, Season Eight. Tune in every Tuesday for a new episode or log on to meetthemancunian.co.uk to listen to all the episodes and learn more about my podcasting story.

Next week on Tuesday, 27th August 2024, I speak to Daniel Firea about supporting self-development in the community.

Thank you for joining me on the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester. I hope today's conversation has sparked new ideas and inspired you to act in your community.

A big thank you to my wonderful community for your continuous support and valuable feedback. Your stories shape the very essence of my podcast, driving me forward with purpose. I'm eager to hear your thoughts. Visit my website at meetthemancunian.co.uk to share your insights. Remember, this podcast is your platform too.

Let's stay connected on social media, find me @MeettheMancunian on Instagram and Facebook, @MancunianPod on X, and @MeettheMancunianPodcast on YouTube.

Together, we're more than just listeners. We're a vibrant community dedicated to making a difference in Manchester. Spread the love by sharing, commenting and engaging with my guests and me. Keep fostering connections and always remember the power to change the world lies within each one of us. Until next time.