Gems shine against all odds

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Gems shine against all odds

Sunday, 23 September 2018 | SANGEETA YADAV

Gems shine against all odds

Four contestants from small towns have crossed many hurdles to make it to the Indian Idol platform which they are rocking. Sangeeta Yadav chats them up to bring you a report

Nitin Kumar, 22

Hailing from Una, Himachal Pradesh, Kumar’s singing journey started at age five with his father who used to sing bhajans in the temples. “I used to sing the chorus with my father in temples and began learning classical music at the age of seven.

“There was a time when we had no shows and events and faced financial crunch. My father singing dream took a back seat as he had to look for a full-time job. But my life took a U-Turn when I participated in SaReGaMaPa Lil Champs and was adjudged third runner up. This gave me my identity and I gained confidence to work towards my dream,” Kumar says and dropped out of school as he was not good in his studies.

He aspires to become a playback singer and a comedian as well.

Ankush Bhardwaj, 26

He likes challenges and always remained on the top whether it is about studies or competitions. Son of a daily wage labourer, Ankush Bhardwaj from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, come out a winner  — whether it is about convincing his parents that he wanted to make singing his career or fighting keratoconus disease which has affected his visibility and makes it difficult for him to go out at night. But today, he is making waves at Indian Idol stage. His YouTube videos have touched over a lakh likes.

“My father is a Himachali folk singer and also encouraged me since I was 12. But he is only Class X pass, he couldn’t get a  better job and had to leave his singing to work as a daily wage labourer. There was no teacher to train me. I started singing in school and practise on my own. My father gifted a Casio keyboard to my elder brother. When everybody used to go to sleep in the afternoon, I used to steal it and learn to play on it. Since it was battery operated, it was difficult to buy them every time they ran out. My parents were not convinced about my making a career in singing. I was depressed and failed in the first year of my graduation. But I bounded back when my dad saw a potential in me when I started winning regional singing competitions,” Bhardwaj says.

Talking about the disease which has affected his visibility, Bhardwaj says: “I am at stage III; this means that it has affected my eye len. I have blurred vision in the right eye and had a surgery which was not successful. Now if I go through another surgery, it has many risks involved. But has not deterred me to pursue my dream of being a singer.”

Salman Ali, 20

Coming from the family of professional singers, Ali started singing at the age of seven and was inspired by his father with whom he used to sing ghazals at live shows and sing at people’s marriages and jagran in Mewat district of Haryana. But circumstances were such that Ali was forced to discontinue his studies in Class IX and became the sole bread winner of the family. To fulfill his father’s dream to become a singer, he participated in SareGaMaPa Lil Champs in 2011 and was second runner’s up.

“Platform like Indian Idol enabled people like me, who have no backing in the music industry, to come to this stage on the basis of our hard work and talent. Sufi and qawwali are my favourite and this show trains us to be versatile singers,” Ali says.

But coming to this stage was an uphill task. “I had no money; my uncle got me to Mumbai for the auditions and brought a set of new clothes so that I looked presentable. My relatives were jealous of my success and used to spread rumours about me that I am a criminal and there was a court case against me and hence I was rejected in 2011. They defamed me but I never gave up and continued to persevere and here I am prepared to give my best,” Ali says.

Renu Nagar, 22

First woman contestant from Rajasthan who made it to Indian Idol in the last 10 seasons, Renu Nagar has awed everyone with her rocking performance. She started singing from the age of five year and comes from the  kirana gharana style of singing. Her journey to Indian Idol was full of challenges.

“My father is uneducated. He used to sing at various events.  Bringing up five children was tough and I never wanted to be like a burden to him. So I started supporting him by singing with him. He never considered me as a daughter but a son who stood by him in thick and thin. Because of financial problem, we were unable to pay the school fee and I had to drop out in Class XII. This made me realise the importance of money. All I had was singing and I decided to make it big in this field. The competition is high and I never thought in my wildest dream that I will be performing on the Indian Idol stage. When I look back, I feel we should have big dreams and work towards. It is great to see when you realise your dreams,” Nagar tells you.

 

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