Big love for Docklands, in person and online

By Jess Carrascalao Heard

It’s not often the first time you speak to someone, they mention that they are Melbourne’s first “Youtuber-DJ”.

But for Anikesh Sasmal, who is an enthusiastic Docklander and an IT professional by day, it’s a proud proclamation.

When he’s not busy working with banking apps at NAB 700 Bourke St, Mr Sasmal is mix- ing tunes and dropping beats as a DJ, as well as shooting and posting vlogs on his YouTube channel DJAntidope.

He uses his vlog to showcase two things: his original DJ music mixes, and images and foot- age of his life, travels, and two of his big loves, Docklands and Melbourne.

When lockdown hit last year, Mr Sasmal had already been posting his music remixes for some time.

But it was during the bleak days of the five-ki- lometre radius restrictions that he thought peo- ple might enjoy seeing footage of his local area.

“I thought, why not also show around how the place looks ... how the city looks and how Docklands looks and put my own remix music as the backdrop of the vlog,” he said.

Since restrictions have lifted, he has turned his vlogging sights to travel videos both here and overseas.

But even with overseas adventures, he is keen to promote travel amenities in the area, in- cluding the Geelong to Docklands Port Phillip Ferries trip.

He hopes that his videos might help optimise visitors’ enjoyment of Docklands.

“The whole point of this is to promote small businesses, and also to make sure that every- body who is visiting Docklands or coming on holidays, they know where to have their coffee, they know where to have their breakfast. They know where to stay,” he said.

Mr Sasmal first moved to Docklands in 2016 to be near work and friends.

First living in Waterfront Apartments, he later moved to the NewQuay side of the suburb, where he still lives.

He said that even through last year’s hard lockdown restrictions, which saw outdoor activity curtailed to just one hour for several weeks, he still felt like he wanted to stay.

“There were so many things to do in Docklands in an hour, because you can go around, you can walk, you can watch the beau- tiful sunset over the Bolte Bridge,” he said.

He describes Docklands as “mesmerising”, and for him, the changing nature of the water- front vista from early morning to evening is both fascinating and beautiful.

He said that when he woke up at 6.15am to go to the gym at Marvel Stadium, the colour hues with sunrise, and the clouds around the top towers, offered a distinctive silhouette of the area.

But in the evening, the cityscape takes on a different character.

“When I come back from the office or work, just right behind the Bolte Bridge, the sunset looks pretty different, and every day there is a different colour altogether. Sometimes it’s orange, sometimes it’s red,” he said.

“As much as I take videos or photos, it still feels like every day is a different day.”

In his spare time, he also plays in the local futsal club as a goal keeper when he’s not in- volved in summer cricket.

It was through a friend that he first got into playing futsal, and he thinks that playing on the team has helped him settle into the area and get to know more people.

“I got to know so many people from ANZ working there, and then there’s so many people working at Myer, and people who are walking by as well, and they just stand by, and watch. It’s lovely,” he said.

When asked to describe Docklands, he uses the word “serendipity”, because as he saw it, he could have chosen to live anywhere initially.

“I could have stayed somewhere else, but I chose Docklands,” he said.

“It’s a fortunate accident.” •