kathmandu • A 22-year-old policeman from Darjeeling, who is one of the contestants in the popular "Indian Idol" show hosted by Sony television channel, has become the new icon for the Nepalese diaspora with Indian viewers of Nepalese origin whipping up a campaign to boost his chances.
Prashant Tamang, who comes from the Tungsung village in Darjeeing, has hit the headlines in neighbouring Nepal where hundreds are rooting for him.
Kantipur, Nepal's largest circulated newspaper, reported yesterday how Indians of Nepali origin have found a new object of pride in Tamang, who despite a difficult youth and having no formal training in music, won praise from the judges of the contest and survived the elimination round.
"I went home to Darjeeling recently. During my stay, I kept on voting for Tamang through SMS. When our brothers win laurels, it is a matter of pride for all of us," Darjeeling girl Neeruta Singh, one of the most sought-after heroines in Nepal, told Kantipur.
The Nepalese daily detailed how Darjeeling's ethnic Nepalese community was charged up to support Tamang.
A photograph showed a signature campaign with Tamang's 78-year-old grandmother Sanjeevani Tamang scrawling on the huge banner.
Taxis in Darjeeling are carrying photographs of the smiling Tamang, while schools, clubs and even the local police are asking people to support the singer, the report said.
A banner put up by Darjeeling Police said, "Prashant Tamang, the first ethnic Nepali Indian to have gone past the elimination round is our prestige."
After his father Madan Tamang died in an accident, Tamang, then just a teenager, was offered a job by the police force for which his father worked.
He joined the force in 2002 and found an outlet for his singing dreams by joining the police band. Currently, Prashant is stationed in Kolkata.
Ethnic Nepalese are also proud of Udit Narayan Jha, the golden-voiced boy from Nepal's border area, who became a singing sensation in India's multi-billion rupees Bollywood film industry.
Jha, who is one of the judges of the contest, spoke to Tamang in Nepali when he learnt where the contestant's home was and that he spoke Nepali at home — another matter of pride for the ethnic Nepali diaspora.
Indian idol is one of the most watched programmes in Nepal and when Abhijit Sawant, the first Idol, came to sing in Nepal, his concerts were packed.
This year, the contest for which auditions were also held in London and Dubai saw participants from cities other than the major metros making a mark for the first time. Besides aspirants from Nagaland and Assam, there was also a contestant of Chinese descent, who was praised for his singing talent and personality.
went awry after a large number of SMSes sent from Darjeeling through cellular service provider Reliance were not delivered. Darjeeling has been rooting for local boy Prashant Tamang, who had made it to the Piano round of the contest.
Tamang, a constable with the Kolkata Police, had the entire police force in Kolkata and West Bengal voting for him. Sentiments ran high in Darjeeling and residents sent bulk SMSes to ensure the local boy was among the top 10 finalists.
But, to their dismay, a large number of Reliance subscribers found that their SMSes hadn’t been transmitted. That triggered a rage in the hills.
Agitated subscribers damaged a Reliance outlet and burnt hoardings and kiosks on Saturday. They took out a rally protesting against the inefficiency of cellular service providers in delivering their SMSes in support of Prashant.
Although complaints were against all cellular service providers, Reliance bore the brunt as its subscriber base is the largest in the area.
For four hours, the mob went on a rampage, targeting Reliance retail outlets. Even police were unable to rein in the agitators.
Earlier too, subscribers had complained about their SMSes not being delivered and warned of protests if services were not restored. Subscribers were hard-pinched too, as each SMS for an Indian Idol vote cost Rs 3.
When contacted, Sony Television, which produces the show, was hopeful that the problem would be sorted out soon.
“We have heard about the huge uproar in Darjeeling. Basically, the area does not have the capacity to carry the huge load of SMSes. So, it’s either getting blocked or the delivery is taking a long time. We have spoken to the operators of that area to rectify it as early as possible. We have requested them to install enough capacity so that people can vote for their favourite contestant,†said Kaushal Modi, head, licensing and telephony, with Sony.
This is what Javed said after Suhit's performance Javed - "Alisha ji aap ke bare mein jis tarah boli, aur annu ji ne taarif ki, best wishes to you. Par main aap ki taarif karun, yeh nahin hoga. Aap jitna bhi achha perform karen, jo bhi style ho, woh tab tak kuchh bhi nahin jab tak gayaki nahin. Agar ek car mein A/C ho, DVD player ho, aur bhi accessories ho, toh woh sab added points hain. Par agar woh car chalti hi nahin toh in added accessories ka kya matlab hai? Mujhko jo achhe lagte hain unmein aap nahin. Aap shukriya ada karen Alisha ji ka aur anu ji ka. Aap aaj yahan tak aaye bas inhi donon ki wajah tak"
Aint this too much of a foul play!!! They say rules r meant to be broken but having a singer bcoz of chicken fox from last year n then adding wild card entry to accommodate ppl of the judges choice, making the pool of six to seven just makes me feel it too much of breaking the rules!!! Wud have been nice to c them accepting the fact that the ppl chosen r the deservin ones or may be the luckier ones!!!!!!!!!!
Two of the wild cards will be selected to compete in the finals. So, there will be total of 13. Oh, why this Suhit is back? I want Bhavin and Amit to be selected for the final.....
From Trump “I will revoke TPS, and deport them back to their country.”
wanna be ruled by stupid or an Idiot ?
MAGA denaturalization proposal!!
advanced parole
How to Retrieve a Copy of Domestic Violence Complaint???
and it begins - on Day 1 Trump will begin operations to deport millions of undocumented immigrants
Travel Document for TPS (approved)
All the Qatar ailines from Nepal canceled to USA
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