PRASHANT TAMANG : A Star of Hills

The Passion Called Prashant

All of this was amazing given that until four months back he used to pass unnoticed in the winding roads of smog-covered Darjeeling. He was like any other ordinary person. But four months later things took a completely new turn. Now the very mention of his name ignites passion. So it was little wonder that when Prashant, the finalist of Indian Idol, a musical reality show on Sony Television, visited his hometown recently thousands upon thousands of people came out in huge procession chanting "win-Prashant" slogans. By Anand Gurung

Oh my god," the perky anchor of the 'Indian Idol' singing contest exclaimed in a recent episode after viewing the huge welcome Prashant Tamang received in his hometown Darjeeling, "I've never seen so many people going crazy."

"I was feeling very excited," Prashant smiling his humble smile said in response, "There were so many of my fans and supporters… they showered me with so much love. I felt as if everybody were putting me in a very high place. It was really unbelievable."

Indeed, nothing could have been more unbelievable. For PrashantTamang, a 24-year-old boy from the foothills of Himalayas, who, as a constable of West Bengal Police Force, sang for the police orchestra –to make it into the final rounds of probably the most watched reality show in India was no small feat. But in the competitive world of modern day television reality shows like these ensures that people keep their eyes fixed on their television sets so that billions could be made from advertising revenues. As a result, in our living rooms we see the unbelievable happening for real and see a life of a simple person turning into a fairy tale. We see aspirant singers passing through all the travails and hardships with their fellow contestants to fame and stardom (like in American Idol). We see persons' fortune turning, see them go from "rags" to riches (like in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?). And see the intricacies of human character from close(d) quarters (like in Big Brother). Emotions run high in shows like these because those participating in it are real people like us, not professional actors. The emotions they express are genuine, not according to any script. They laugh and sob their way to success and failure. And by showing all these to us while we sit in the cosy confines of our houses, reality shows go on to stir the very core of our human nature - the search for fortune, power and glory.
Indian Idol, the desi version of the hit reality TV show American Idol, has done just this by turning the life of Prashant into a commodity for daily public consumption. Viewers were shown how he innocently entered the TV screens for the first time after being encouraged by his friends to take part in the contest. A decent singer, we saw him being praised by one Indian Idol judge as an "un-cut diamond". But we saw he was vulnerable also – one of the judges said his lack of training gets exposed when he tries some difficult songs – yet he beat out hundreds of contestants to make it into the gala rounds. We smiled with him when he received praises for his performance, felt sad when he was criticised. Yet he glided to the final top 2 along with best friend Amit Paul by never reaching the bottom 3 or 4 of the galas. In time, without our knowing, he has become a celebrity in Darjeeling, Sikkim, Nepal and beyond.

Media frenzy was enormous as newspapers, websites and blogs ran stories related to him everyday. Enthusiasm to make him India's next singing sensation gripped his supporters everywhere. We read government staffs in Mirik vowing to spend a month's salary on SMS voting for Prashant. Nepalese workers in middle eastern countries, Europe and South East Asia also sent SMS votes for him. We saw rallies and signature campaigns being organised in Darjeeling and elsewhere in his support. People were asked to vote for Prashant generously and fund raising campaigns were common sights. Hailed as a 'Pahar ka Gaurav ' (Pride of the Hills) already, the Prashant mania reached its fever pitch. Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling went on record to say that he would do much more than any government to see this fellow Nepali [origin] win the coveted title. Prashant became the daily fodder for gossip in households, offices and restaurants as the debate about who’s the better singer between him and Amit became intense. In all this frenzy, there is an equally feverish anticipation and tension among supporters of both contestants as to who'll emerge the winner at the end.

All of this was amazing given that until four months back he used to pass unnoticed in the winding roads of smog covered Darjeeling; he was like any other ordinary person. But four months later things took a completely new turn. Now the very mention of his name ignites passion. So it was little wonder that when Prashant visited his hometown recently thousands upon thousands of people came out in huge procession chanting "win-Prashant" slogans. They were lined up in the streets and along the high ridges of the town (some even on roof tops of buildings) to greet him. People pushed and shoved pass each other just to shake hands with him as his motorcade escorted by the police slowly made its way through the sea of people to the venue where he was giving his first ever concert. People were simply becoming crazy; jumping and waving vigorously at him.

And when Prashant got out of his vehicle surrounded by his security guards, people swarmed him, hugged him and put one Khada (religious garland) after another on his shoulders. Musical bands paraded the streets in his honour; the famous toy train blew horns to salute the young guy. Women both young and not so young screamed and ran after him. Seeing the kind of reception he got, even rock stars would have envied him. For the first time Darjeeling seemed to have something to show off in the national sector. The Darjeeling hills had produced many creative people in music and arts. Yet, none was bigger than Prashant. He seemed to have surpassed even the legends of Darjeeling music.

Last year people had turned up in large number to see the annual carnivals in Darjeeling, and Prashant was also one among the crowd. During that time he had a difficulty in finding his way through the crowd to see the musical programmes from a comfortable distance. However, this year he made everybody forget about the carnivals. To a sea of loud and cheering people, Prashant, wearing his Nepali topi and traditional Khada over his neck, sang Hindi-film songs and the crowd sang back to him. Seeing their idol from such a close distance, the Darjeeling public were simply ecstatic, and they rejoiced every moment of it.
Indian Idol is the most popular television show not only in India but also in Nepal these days.
Like everyone does after a long and hectic day, Prashant then headed straight to his home where his mother, grandmother and sister patiently awaited him. After the untimely demise of his father while serving in the West Bengal Police Force in Kolkata, Prashant, who was still in school then, had no other option but to leave his studies to succeed his father in the Police Force so that he could support his family. (This was also why despite having such an interest in music and singing he could not receive any formal training in singing.)

The TV camera followed him inside his house where he hugged his mother, received blessings from his grandmother and kissed his sister. Elated and overjoyed at seeing her son return home after earning so much name and fame, Prashant's mother kissed his son in his cheeks and said that if his father were alive he would have been very proud of him. She said it felt as if like a dream come true seeing her son become a darling of so many people, that he has made his family and the whole of Darjeeling proud and called him her own "piece of moon," while outside her house people continued to chant "vote for Prashant" slogans. Well, it was one rare television mo