The hills of the North-East are humming as its people are leaving no note untouched to get one of their boys - Darjeeling policeman Prasant Tamang, who has been adopted by Sikkim for his Gorkha connection and Amit Paul of Shillong, Meghalaya - coronated as the Indian Idol 2007, set to climax in Mumbai on Sunday.
The battle for the heart of India appears to be raging in the North-East where not too long ago, the talk was all about how the region has remained, perforce or by design, alien to the national mainstream.Music is what has brought the periphery into the national mainstream. The hills of the North-East are humming as its people are leaving no note untouched to get one of their boys — Darjeeling policeman Prasant Tamang, who has been adopted by Sikkim for his Gorkha connection and Amit Paul of Shillong, Meghalaya — coronated as the Indian Idol 2007, the Sony TV musical-reality show set to climax in Mumbai on Sunday.Enthusiasm has reached sky high in Darjeeling, as Prasant’s fan club has issued a virtual diktat to all and sundry, not to booze on Sunday, the D-day. Watch groups have been formed in Darjeeling and Sikkim to ensure that people follow it and keep sending SMS votes so that Prasant’s rival Amit, proves no match in the
“It has been decided that Sunday will be observed as a dry day as we want all to vote and pray for Prasant Tamang,” his fan Arvind Gurung over telephone from Darjeeling on Saturday. A constable, Prasant — presently the lead vocalist of the Kolkata police band — hails from Sikkim and is now settled in Darjeeling. Once Amit Paul signed up as Meghalaya’s brand ambassador, Prasant was nominated as the brand ambassador of Sikkim. “Prasant has made all of us proud and we must support him,” announced a Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan K Chamling at a reception in Gangtok.
Meghalaya in frenzy
Meanwhile, processions calling for support to Amit have become the order of the day in nearby Meghalaya for the past few weeks. The governor and the chief minister of Meghalaya, B L Joshi and D D Lapang, respectively, have gone public with their support for Amit.Son of a small-time garment trader of Shillong, Amit – an aspiring singer – sold his favourite music-system to travel to Mumbai for the audition of the contest, got selected but voted out after a few episodes, made a wild card re-entry and then enthralled the judges and countless viewers with his mellifluous baritone.Over 100 PCOs in and around Shillong have been reserved exclusively to vote for Amit. “He has made all of us proud. We have to do our bit to help him win,” said local MLA P T Sawkmie, who has been paying for all the calls made to vote for Amit from 50 PCOs in his constituency. He himself has sent over 15000 SMS votes from his cellphone.Hundreds of volunteers have been queuing up in front of Amit’s residence in Shillong, waiting for their turn to vote for him through the six landline phones his family and fans have placed in the modest three-bedroom apartment.There are 26 more phones at a makeshift booth on the ground floor of the building.
