My family moved from India to Africa almost a hundred years ago. I was born there and grew up in London. My first turning point was moving to India in 1993. I’d always felt distanced from my roots. So I travelled across the country — doing almost 40,000km of the journey on a bike. I met wonderful people and discovered the real India.

Electronic dance music of the early ’90s was a major passion for me. But I realised it wasn’t available here. So, I’d make copies of the tapes I listened to and sell them. Slowly, I started selling tapes of tracks I made myself. However, it was mostly foreigners who listened to my music. The Indian audience didn’t quite get it. But I was relentless. I’d host parties at my place in Pune and sell my CDs for Rs 500 as entry passes. I loved introducing electronica to people. My first commercial gig was at a party in 1998. I even deejayed at the Osho Ashram. Another life-changing event was being banned from the Ashram — my parties didn’t go down well with them. This led me to find my own space outside a protected world of familiar faces.

Hitting 40 last year was a turning point too. I gave myself a complete makeover to get over the ‘shock’ of having grown older! The last five years have been a blast with shows around the world including Ibiza, Mexico, and the UK. But my favourite was the Sunburn Festival in Goa in 2010. The set I played still gives me goosebumps.

I’m now looking forward to recording an album with some of the best artists in the country. Also, I’ll be playing at a party next month for the queer community at The Blue Frog, Mumbai, to celebrate the first anniversary of the amendment of Section 377. It’ll be the largest show of its kind in India.

(As told to Amrita Mukherjee)