‘JorrDaar’: Inside India’s first NFT-ticketed IRL event

Pratiksinh Chudasma aka Digital Pratik is known for his Digital Marketing skills. (Express Photo)

JorrParivar by Digital Pratik claims to be the country’s very-first community-driven NFT project consisting of 1,254 NFTs around 22 IPs with a primary focus on the practicalities of branding, marketing, and motivation. These NFT tickets were redeemed on JorrParivar’s custom Web3 platform, which generated a QR code via blockchain. Their portal then scans this at the event before letting in the attendees. What’s noteworthy is that the tickets to the event are not sold in INR or any fiat currency.

Each JorrParivar NFT token has a specific description and meaning and provides metadata with on-chain storage of media. Notably, these NFTs are animated animals like Cheetah, Dog, Rabbit, etc. It is obvious that these hand-drawn animals don’t serve any real-world utility. The premise of Digital Pratik’s approach is to create access to and serve his community that he calls “Parivar” via exclusive training, workshops, monthly zoom calls, Q&A sessions, dinner meetings, etc.

These animated animal NFTs have three tiers: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Any Bronze (people who bought only 1 NFT) members were allowed access to the event. Silver members got access to a two-day exclusive hotel stay at a lounge including the access to the event, and Gold members were part of various activities including GoKarting, etc. “JorrParivar tokens are all about utility and access, meaning each NFT will have different levels of access and activities through the smart contract attached with each investment thus giving them “utility” through metadata,” Pratik told indianexpress.com.

Pratiksinh Chudasma aka Digital Pratik is known for his Digital Marketing skills. He dropped out from engineering college three times, the first time he dropped out, when his father suffered a paralytic attack, after which he worked in the sales department of a call centre. Even after spending four years in his professional career in the call centre work, Pratik did not demonstrate any progression and that is why he started looking for more options to earn. He understood that making money online is the best option, and as a result, he began studying intensively during his digital marketing course. But owing to a lack of finances, he was unable to pay his fees and was forced to abandon the course in the middle. But he did not lose courage and re-entered employment and had also earned money. He then returned to the digital marketing course. “I only had Rs 300 in my bank account. It was a tough time for me, thanks to my friends, who helped me grow.” Now, Pratik makes content on digital marketing, web3 and branding. Inspired by American Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, Pratik launched his own collection of redeemable NFTs.

“Around 350 NFT holders from pan India and from abroad attended the event,” said Chirag Jain, co-founder at Social Tag, a talent management and influencer marketing company. “Over 50 people got access to a luxurious suite room and attended activities like go-karting, in-door cricket, ice hockey, etc. Facilities like swimming, tennis, VR gaming, and movie theatre, were also made completely free including an exclusive VIP dinner with guest speakers.”

Devansh Seth, a 26-year-old college student and a JorrParivar NFT holder, has been following Pratik online. He believes that Pratik became a father figure in his life. “ I had no goals whatsoever. But his videos were encouraging, having this voice there every single day, 10 times a day, pumping out all this content constantly, reminding me, ‘You can do this.” Seth holds two bronze NFTs and has spent all of his savings, more than Rs 17,000 on buying these NFTs.

Another NFT holder Vaishakh Sabu, 31, flew all the way from Kerala just to get a glimpse of Pratik. He has Gold, Silver and Bronze tier NFTs. He found Pratik authentic and genuine and wanted to be much closer to him, and owing an NFT made him feel that. “I’ve spent around a lakh on the NFTs,” and “I will continue buying”. Sabu aspires to become a content creator.

NFT holders enjoying the event. (Express Photo)

It’s a dream come true for several attendees. People want to meet their boss in real life. Some say they want to just hang out with him while others want to build networking. Netra Acharya, 22, an NFT artist, who was present at an event, missed her college to be a part of the event. “NFTs are all about communities. It does not matter what the art is, or how creative it is. But, the trust in a particular content creator is the driving force. We believe in Pratik, and know that he can be our pathway to success.”

Despite the regulatory uncertainty, the NFT holders still seem bullish on cryptos and NFTs. Two young entrepreneurs Harshil Anand, 20, and Hiran Banerjee, 21, said: “We became a part of the community, only because we believe in Pratik. The regulation still has a long way to go. India is still understanding crypto and it is here to stay. We are not here for the short-run.” Hiran holds 16 animated animals JorrParivar NFTs.

Interestingly, the market is severely down which means the prices of the NFTs have plunged to 50 per cent than the buying price. “ …It doesn’t matter, these prices will soon shoot up. This is what we call market correction,” Harshil added.

One of the sponsors of the event, Anshul Rustaggi, founder of a mythological metaverse called ‘Zionverse’ believes that Pratik’s community is the driving force behind the event. “They love him and understand that they can do big because redeemable NFTs are something that has never been introduced in India.” adding that “We wanted to do this because NFTs are not just a bunch of images. They have real-world utility and we are here to offer that.”

NFT tickets are digital assets that hold your access credentials to an event. (Express Photo)

NFT tickets are digital assets that contain your credentials to an event. Using these tickets, NFT holders can avail perks like meet-and-greets, exclusive merchandise, this creates an even more immersive fan experience. It is worth noting that NFT tickets provide ongoing royalties for artists, event organisers, and stakeholders. It is the system that can potentially disrupt the traditional ticketing industry by solving the inefficiencies faced by the current ticketing system.

“Paper tickets and QR codes can be forged, and this is one of the major downsides of the traditional ticketing system. This creates a gap in security for event venues and disappointment for fans who unknowingly bought a fake ticket. NFT ticketing resolves all of this because each transaction is recorded on a blockchain ledger, event organisers and attendees can validate the authenticity of every ticket on the chain and even track the history of ownership. Thus, making it impossible for bad actors to falsify a ticket,” Sanchit, tech head at the event told indianexpress.com.