Daijiworld

Daijiworld Strikes A Chord With Expats 

Gulf expats of Mangaluru in Coastal Karnataka swoon over Daijiworld, thanks to its founder Walter D'souza Nandalike who has broken the glass ceiling by his business acumen and corporate strategy. From being a news and entertainment website, Daijiworld has grown exponentially over the years into a multi-dimensional entertainment hub.

Walter D'souza Nandalike, Founder and Managing Director of Daijiworld, is an extraordinary visionary businessman. He has been wearing different hats juggling them between roles from being the company's top corporate leader and a popular actor to a prolific writer, an orator and a philanthropist.

Walter D'souza, who runs the popular Daijiworld Entertainment and News hub, as well as one of the top regional TV channels, never had an inkling of where he was headed when he set out on an uncharted business path back in the early 1990s. Today, he has offices in Mangaluru, India, Dubai, and other expat destinations. He had no plans to revolutionise the thoughts of the people of Mangaluru, but merely wished to bring about a transformation in "relationship" between natives of the coastal town employed or engaged in business in the Gulf Countries and connect them to their native heritage and culture. 

The famous quote by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, "The pen is mightier than the sword," inspired Walter to set the ball rolling. A qualified journalist, he was associated with regional publications prior to landing a job in Dubai. Although he took a cue from the above quote, he did not think his business would garner such huge popularity within a short period. In fact, on the suggestions of his close friends he had set up a website for the native expats. Initially, the website was designed and operated as a source of community news from back home. 

Walter D'Souza, born in 1973 and fondly known as Walter Nandalike, is the Founder and Managing Director of Daijiworld Media Pvt Ltd, a media company based in Mangaluru, Karnataka, India.

Daijiworld.com, formerly daijidubai.com, was launched in January 2001. In April 2007, the media company was converted into Daijiworld Media Pvt Ltd. With close to 1.2 million visitors per month, the website today has a wide presence, besides India, in the Middle East and Gulf countries.

Initially, Walter D'souza began writing stories and articles for Konkani and Kannada periodicals as he set out on a journalism career. In fact, it was a dream he cherished from childhood. He graduated in commerce from St Mary's College, Shirva, District Udupi. However, after a brief stint in local publications, Walter left for Dubai in search of employment. However, he had little knowledge of computers, which was then making a splash in the corporate world. Knowledge of computers had become a prerequisite for any impactful business in the media by the 1990s.

In The Beginning 

It began as an April Fool's Day email prank on his friends back in 2000, which said that he had launched a website, daijidubai.com. But he was amazed by the overwhelming response he received from them. Although his friends pointed out the website was not functioning, since Walter meant it to be a mere prank. They expressed their desire that he would look into the matter forthwith. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of his friends and their support, he decided to actually start a website. 

Enthused by the big initial response, Walter took necessary steps to acquire computer skills unaware that it would be a prelude to the coming revolution through his website in  Coastal Karnataka. In January 2001, his efforts came to fruition with the launch of the erstwhile daijidubai.com. It was initially meant to cater to the Konkani-speaking community. The website was transformed from a regional online publication over the years to include the entire spectrum of Mangalorean diaspora around the globe. 

After the success of Daijidubai.com, Walter Nandalike subsequently set up Daijiworld.com, with much wider coverage. He soon diversified into radio and TV channels. Thereafter, he converted his proprietary firm into a private limited company by roping in like-minded friends, inviting investments in the new company. Thus, he embarked upon the corporate media business successfully. 

Walter D'souza was the first person to introduce the concept of Internet TV in Mangaluru back in 2007. He launched the city's first-ever Internet television, TV Daijiworld, which has successfully been running with a wide viewership abroad. Among other programs, TV Daijiworld also telecasts major community and social events, including live webcasts from Mangaluru, Dubai, Doha, Mumbai, Bangalore and other cities across the world.

After Daijiworld's success, Walter D'souza launched the Daijiworld 24x7 TV channel. Today, the TV channel is the numero uno among other local TV channels in coastal Karnataka. In fact, it is the first multilingual channel of Karnataka serving Kannada, Tulu, Beary, and Konkani communities. Along with the multilingual TV channel, he also launched, Daijiworld Audio Visual Pvt Ltd, another first state-of-art-audio recording studio in the region, with advanced recording facilities for music and movie dubbing. Moreover, in May 2017, an app-based Konkani-Tulu music radio station was launched. 

Walter, The Actor

Walter made his film debut in Coastalwood's  "Soda Sharbath," which was a box-office success. He has also played the lead role in "Mog Mullyaar," a Konkani musical film. Besides, he has appeared in "Magane Mahisa," which was directed by Veerendra Shetty, and Police File, a Kannada web series directed by Sooraj Bolar.

Walter's runaway success is Private Challenge on Daijiworld TV, a satire, along with comedian film actor Arvind Bolar. Currently, in its fourth season, Private Challenge has garnered huge viewership.

Radio Daijiworld, a subsidiary of its parent company Daijiworld Media Network, caters to all kinds of Konkani and Tulu music. Moreover, it also promotes artists and events related to Konkani. It's the first online radio station for Konkani and Tulu music.

Awards And Recognitions

Walter D'souza has bagged over 85 national, international and regional awards for his achievements. The key awards include Pingara Rajyotsava Award 2007, IPP Star of Year-2009 from Toastmasters Club, Houston, US, Rachana Entrepreneur of the Year 2010, Sandesha Media Education Award 2010, Editors' Award 2011, Young Entrepreneur Award from CCC Mumbai, Entrepreneur of the Year Award from FKCA Bengaluru, Mayura Award 2012 and several others.

A prolific writer, Walter Nandalike has written nearly 100 short-stories, several articles on current affairs and two novels 'Saithanachya Savlenth' and 'Devcharachi Deswat'. His stories have been broadcast on All India Radio. Being an actor and an orator, he has hosted over 100 major cultural events in India and the Gulf countries.

Photo: Courtesy Daijiworld