GANGTOK, September 24: It was like Diwali in Gangtok as large number of people assembled across the state to cheer the “Pahar ko Gaurav” on being crowned Indian Idol three after a count of an estimated 70 million votes received through SMS on mobiles and defeated rival Amit Paul of Shillong in the grand finale on Sunday night.
Fireworks lit up the sky as the winner was named after the slip containing his name was taken out by John Abraham, who in the recent episode of Indian Idol, had announced his preference for Prashant.
And then the dancing and beating of drums pervaded throughout the night of the final verdict.
As his name was declared, Prashant, a 24-year-old constable from Darjeeling became emotional and could not hold back his tears. His mother, who was accompanying him, broke down in tears as well.
Hundreds of thousands of people, including school children carrying banner, posters and flowers took out a mass rally around Gangtok today and hailed the 24 year old Prashant, a constable with the Kolkata Police orchestra, as the true pride of the hills and the hero of Gorkha/Nepali people. The Sikkim government declared a state holiday today.
Everyone rent the hills with this slogan, “Prashant’s victory is our victory and has made us proud”. Organized by Central Monitoring for Prashant, the rally which started from the Sikkim Government College, Tadong ended at Paljor Stadium.
On reaching Paljor Stadium, the huge crowd danced to the tunes of joy.
DD Bhutia, the acting chief minister and also the Minister for UD&HD attended the winning ceremony as chief guest along with Thukchuk Lachungpa, President, Citizen Forum.
Addressing the huge gathering, DD Bhutia said, “Prashant has not only brought laurel to the people of hills but has also earmarked the identity of us being united and focused.” ‘It’s time to celebrate with more spirit,” he added.
Stating that Sikkim cheered and supported Prashant in the mission of Indian Idol he also thanked all the Sikkimese people for their tremendous love and support shown towards Prashant.
Jubilant over the victory, the fanfare was also seen in all the hill towns including Darjeeling, Kurseong, Mirik, Sikkim and Kalimpong. However, to maintain law and order, the district administration has enhanced the deployment of security personnel throughout the hills.
Sikkim’s support to the hill boy perhaps germinated when various clubs of Rangpo had announced its whole-hearted support. Since then, associations and forums were formed and there was no looking back until September 23.
For the people of the hills, it was a historic win.
In addition to a recording contract with Sony BMG, Prashant was awarded a contract worth Rs 10 million with Sony Entertainment. Both Prashant and Amit were also awarded one Maruti SX4 and one Sony Ericsson Mobile Phone. Both the finalists, Prashant and Amit, also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi during their two day stay in the capital preparing for the finale. Congress President Sonia Gandhi said that she’s proud of the youngsters and they are idols in their own ways.
Fireworks lit up the sky as the winner was named after the slip containing his name was taken out by John Abraham, who in the recent episode of Indian Idol, had announced his preference for Prashant.
And then the dancing and beating of drums pervaded throughout the night of the final verdict.
As his name was declared, Prashant, a 24-year-old constable from Darjeeling became emotional and could not hold back his tears. His mother, who was accompanying him, broke down in tears as well.
Hundreds of thousands of people, including school children carrying banner, posters and flowers took out a mass rally around Gangtok today and hailed the 24 year old Prashant, a constable with the Kolkata Police orchestra, as the true pride of the hills and the hero of Gorkha/Nepali people. The Sikkim government declared a state holiday today.Everyone rent the hills with this slogan, “Prashant’s victory is our victory and has made us proud”. Organized by Central Monitoring for Prashant, the rally which started from the Sikkim Government College, Tadong ended at Paljor Stadium.
On reaching Paljor Stadium, the huge crowd danced to the tunes of joy.
DD Bhutia, the acting chief minister and also the Minister for UD&HD attended the winning ceremony as chief guest along with Thukchuk Lachungpa, President, Citizen Forum.
Addressing the huge gathering, DD Bhutia said, “Prashant has not only brought laurel to the people of hills but has also earmarked the identity of us being united and focused.” ‘It’s time to celebrate with more spirit,” he added.
Stating that Sikkim cheered and supported Prashant in the mission of Indian Idol he also thanked all the Sikkimese people for their tremendous love and support shown towards Prashant.
Jubilant over the victory, the fanfare was also seen in all the hill towns including Darjeeling, Kurseong, Mirik, Sikkim and Kalimpong. However, to maintain law and order, the district administration has enhanced the deployment of security personnel throughout the hills.
Sikkim’s support to the hill boy perhaps germinated when various clubs of Rangpo had announced its whole-hearted support. Since then, associations and forums were formed and there was no looking back until September 23.
For the people of the hills, it was a historic win.
In addition to a recording contract with Sony BMG, Prashant was awarded a contract worth Rs 10 million with Sony Entertainment. Both Prashant and Amit were also awarded one Maruti SX4 and one Sony Ericsson Mobile Phone. Both the finalists, Prashant and Amit, also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi during their two day stay in the capital preparing for the finale. Congress President Sonia Gandhi said that she’s proud of the youngsters and they are idols in their own ways.
