Welcome to "Stories from the Culture" (#SFTC), a blog series where we profile everyday people from around the globe to tell us how their culture enriches their human experience. These stories follow an interview format and except for spelling and some grammatical adjustments, none of their responses are edited in any way.
Today's Feature: Berma
What's your cultural background and which country are you currently based?
My family comes from Nepal but I was basically raised in Scarborough, Toronto my whole life.
When expressing ourselves in the world, some people use art, others cooking, fashion, music, makeup, design, academics, humor etc. What's your main way of expressing yourself in the world?
I express myself through DJing and the world of sound.
What is it about that specific medium that appeals to you as a mode of expressing yourself in the world?
I think no matter what you do, you always want a nice soundtrack in the background and to be able to curate the evening or event for somebody brings me a lot of joy because I feel like the puppet-master orchestrating chaos for people having a great time.
Your IG Bio says “storyteller, selector, traveler”. Is that in any particular order?
I don't think there's a particular order, I think that telling your story is the first one for a reason though, I feel like we are nothing if not the stories that we share and collect so that's why it comes first.
How connected would you say you are to your non-Canadian cultural heritage?
I would say I'm fairly connected, I feel like growing up as a diasporic kid it can get lost in the shuffle, especially when growing up in such a multicultural place like Scarborough but my parents always tried their hardest to keep my family as connected to our roots as possible and I'm so thankful for that.
How much (if at all), does that cultural background impact how you express yourself in the world?
I think that it is essential to who I am - I come from a super colourful and artistically inclined culture, with a lot of song and dancing deeply tied into generational expression of culture and survival and growing up within that taught me how to express myself through art since I was a young boy.
What’s one song you can listen to no matter what mood you’re in or what’s going on in life?
Give Me A Try - Sizzla
How would you describe your personal fashion style?
Artistic Roadman
What's your favourite clothing item that you own?
Right now it is a Scarborough hockey jersey by Wishing You Well goods but I also have a shirt with Allen Iverson's black SLAM magazine cover on it and I think that is the epitome of cool haha.
What does it mean to you, to be culture rich?
To be culture rich is to care - care about bridging the past experiences with the futuristic advances of society. To respect what came before and use it to push what can be reality for the generations to come. I come from a culturally rich place - both Nepal and Scarborough. Both places have long lasting legacies that have ups and downs but one thing that is for sure is that the culture of these places are cultures of perseverance and exceeding expectations. To me, being culture rich is carrying on that legacy - continuing to show the next generations that they are born to be resilient - that they are as rich as the greats that came before them.
-------------------------
Thanks to Berma for these very insightful responses.
Photo Credit: Kontinent.
If you're based in the Greater Toronto Area and need a DJ for your event, hit up his page.
At Culture Rich World (CRW), we aim to be more than just a luxury clothing company. We are committed to telling human stories, amplifying the voices of those in the diaspora and ultimately, promoting the sharing of culture across people groups.
To be featured in our "Stories from the Culture" #SFTC series, click here!