Rochana Mohan By Express News Service CHENNAI: When Ashish Madineni sits in front of his computer screen and camera to stream, he is not nervous, because he knows he can rely on his gamer persona, Lord Bathura. The streamer, who has been working with League of Extraordinary Gamers (LXG), Chennai, for a year now, explains that his streaming persona helps him grow. “Lord Bathura helps Ashish in real life,” says the 20-year-old. “It’s gotten to the point where even my friends and family don’t call me by my name, but by my gamer handle. They’ve all saved my number as Lord Bathura, too.” He started out with Contra on the NES, but it was two-and-a-half years ago when he began playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on the PC. “I like the game because a gamer who has been playing for eight years and one who has been playing for a year are on even ground. The latter can beat the former in some cases,” says Ashish. Soon after he got in touch with LXG and took up streaming for them. The company streams through their YouTube gaming channel, and not through Twitch. “The problem with Indian streamers on Twitch is that they play mobile games, like PUBG Mobile, on PC. There’s also a lack of creativity in the Indian space, when there can be scope for so much more. Twitch is difficult to get big in India,” he says. However, he credits LXG for their work in bringing together the community and giving a platform for young and upcoming gamers like himself. He feels this is important as this helps nurture and maintain the local gaming community. Ashish’s method of remaining connected to his viewers is by remaining authentic on-screen. “I’m generally a talkative guy — I can talk for hours. So I just tap into that. I also do funny things in the game, like putting on sunglasses if we win, as a joke between us,” he says. This online persona has helped him come out of his shell more, and help change his life for the better. He juggles his job as a streamer with studying for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants exam, and his interest in film and cinema. “At the end of the day, streaming is a way to switch off for me. After a long day, I can just switch on the camera and spend some time playing the game I love with some people. It’s a stress buster for me,” he says.

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