Who is Anikesh?

My name is Anikesh Sasmal and I moved to Australia in 2016. At the time I was working for NAB, and they put me up here in Docklands so that I was close to the office. Docklands has been home for me ever since, and I am still working at one of the corporates here, MLC Life Insurance, as a senior product owner in digital space.

By night, however, I turn into DJ Antidope, Melbourne’s first YouTuber DJ, performing at and coordinating events. Again, that whole journey started in Docklands. I had bought some DJ gear during lockdowns and started posting clips of myself on YouTube. When the lockdowns ended I began playing at events and private parties, and have since moved into event coordination as well. So, that's me in a nutshell.

One of the first things I did when I was still in India was to look up the address of the NAB office I was to work at. After that, I started researching the Docklands precinct and learned how it had been transformed since the 80s to become what it is now.

When I landed in Melbourne it was a Friday night, around 9:00 pm. I was put up in an AirB&B and the view of Docklands and the city from my bedroom was mesmerising. When I woke the next day at 7:00am, it was a different view altogether, with the sun rising right behind Marvel Stadium. I couldn't restrict myself. I just immediately changed and spent the entire weekend exploring. The first place that I found was the Webb Bridge. I could see the whole Yarra River and the cityscape to the south, and right there I fell in love. I said to myself, “This is the place to be, this is where you need to retire.” I mean, where else do you need to go? You don’t need to go anywhere else in the world if you are in Docklands.

You don’t feel so much of the city hustle and bustle here, there's room for sunshine and air. You can be close to the city and still have that peaceful, calm urban living inside Docklands.

I’m still mesmerised by the whole panorama of our 270-degree view. And then it's a different view altogether when you walk down to Ron Barassi Park and turn around under the Bolte Bridge to look back at the city: Marvel Stadium, the cityscape, Victoria Harbour and the dock. Or after walking down Collins Street to where the Alma Deopel is being rebuilt. There's an old port tower, and you can see the Yarra River, Docklands, and the whole city.

One way is playing sports. Once I had settled in after first arriving in Docklands I joined a local Futsal team, which is something I could never imagine doing back in India. There’s also a Facebook community page that I’m a member of. They have different catch-ups, like mahjong groups where you can go and learn to play with other people.

But I think the best way of connecting with people is just walking and going to a local cafe. You know, you will meet someone who lives or works in Docklands. Try out all the cafes here and you will be guaranteed to make new friends.

I recommend walking or jogging down Collins Street to the boat builders' yard. You can go all the way down to the old port tower and take in the view. Or walk over the Webb Bridge and explore the Lorimer Street side of Docklands. There is so much to do if you’re feeling healthy and want to walk, exercise, jog, do yoga or anything like that.

From a food perspective, there are so many options. We love eating out around the area. I go to Docklands Pizzeria regularly, the owner is a good guy and has become a friend of mine now. He has opened three more eateries in Docklands, a gelato bar and a fish and chip shop. If you want to explore the other side of Docklands, around Bourke St and Collins Street, you have Nine Elephants and some great Thai food like Thai Thani, right below ANZ. Chilli India is good, too. You can’t go wrong with their biryani, they sell out of it all the time. Then there's Mirchi Madras Street, they do amazing street food from the southern part of India.

I would like to see Docklands become the gateway to Melbourne. It has the capacity, it has sports and entertainment, it has the apartments, and it has five-star hotels all around. There are Port Philip Ferries on the Harbour Esplanade, trains and the Skybus at Southern Cross station, we are in the centre of everything here. We could be like Darling Harbour in Sydney, a real destination and gateway to the rest of Melbourne.