Children have a gala time dancing at a marriage ceremony in Patna. Telegraph picture

Patna, Nov. 18: Gone are the days when people would be forced to sit through the rituals, which might seem monotonous to many, at a marriage.

Enter, a DJ (disc jockey) or a dance jockey and orchestra.

Be it a marriage or wedding reception, the trend of hiring a dance jockey and orchestra has really caught the imagination of people, even if it implies coughing up a few lakhs of rupees for a few hours of merriment.

Ruchi Agrawal, a middle-aged homemaker fond of good music, said: “Music is my passion. I am a member of a joint family and whenever a marriage takes place in our family, we arrange for an orchestra as we don’t like our guests to get bored.”

Dinesh Kumar, a businessman, said: “Only the bride and groom and their close relatives enjoy the rituals, while the rest of the guests keep on getting bored. So we prefer ordering for an orchestra. My family orders for DJs who play music according to our choice for us to dance. People who don’t want to come to the dance floor are compelled to join in after initial reluctance.”

People order for DJs or orchestra depending on their financial capabilities. DJs are in high demand in Patna since they decide on the music to play during the event. Now, DJs have started demanding hefty fees due to their increased demand. If a DJ is called from Delhi or Mumbai, he charges at least Rs 20,000 for a solo performance. Apart from that, he charges at least Rs 4,000 for the music and sound system.

As for dance floors, a minimum of 12x12ft is the most popular in different events on which a maximum of 150 people can dance. The next popular size of dance floor measures 24x24ft. Some clients even call for professional, especially female, dancers for performing at the events. The dance floors are all about light and music. Dance floors include simple ones with small bulbs, the LED dance floor, the platinum dance floor and others. Each of these dance floors differ from each other in terms of light effects.

The light effects in an LED dance floor project images of roses, girls among those of other objects. On the other hand, in the platinum one, the light is projected from above and not from beneath the floor.

Sanjay Kumar, who has been organising entertainment shows for the past few years, said: “People don’t mind paying money to make their party an extra-special one. If stars are called in, the rates for a DJ or an orchestra tend to increase accordingly.” Charges for hiring an orchestra start from Rs 15,000, while high-profile socialities pay up to Rs 40,000 for a good DJ brought from metropolitan cities.

If a Bhojpuri star comes to perform with an orchestra, then he can charge up to Rs 1 lakh. Even if an item dancer comes, she takes around Rs 50,000 for a solo performance. VVIPs generally call Bollywood singers like Sonu Nigam and Daler Mehendi, who charge very exorbitantly, around Rs 10 lakh-Rs 16 lakh.

Nowadays, people have developed the habit of inviting stars from reality shows.

They charge around Rs 1 lakh to perform for 1 to 2 hours of performance.

The hosts call local orchestras and arrange for the stars. Hasya kavi sammelans are also organised at events.