{This article was released when Prashant Tamang first arrived at Darjeeling during the Indian Idol competition}
The Journey of Thousand Miles begins with One Step’- this saying has turned into reality with the victory of Prashant Tamang as the third Indian Idol. This simple young lad hailing from Queen of Hills- Darjeeling, would not have even thought in his wildest dream that he would one day bestow so much of respect, pride of belongingness and above all a totally different identity to the people he belonged to. Fate fortunately had a secret blessing for Prashant which even his near and dear ones were unaware of a blessing in disguise followed him which eventually took him to the platform of Indian Idol on Sony Entertainment Television thus making him the winner of the title. Every ill fated blotch on his life and every bad remark he received in his life till now has proved to be a blessing in disguise which he accepted with silence and with a glazing smile, which really worked wonders for him.
Born on 4th January, 1983 to Rupa Tamang and Lt. Madan Tamang, Prashant is the only son and also the youngest one, he has two elder sisters one of whom is married. His father expired in the year 1993 when he was young and it was his mother who brought them up. After passing class IX Prashant joined Kolkata Police in lieu of his father who was deployed with Kolkata Police and it’s his fifth year of service running with Kolkata Police. Prashant Tamang not only filled the void left by his father at Police force but also successfully replaced his father who was the sole earning member of the family. Prashant who is also lovingly called Arpan by his family and dear ones truly proved to be an offering and a gift of God for his well wishers and fans and had lots to offer them for which we have no words to thank him. Apart from making his fans and well wishers proud he has also contributed priceless memories which was never experienced and would never ever be relived again, those feeling of oneness, brotherhood, communal harmony and belongingness which could be understood without words but just with a simple smile to express and exchange our thoughts was what he taught us, but Prashant as a person proved to be more than that which was evident in the episodes we watched eagerly on every Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Besides everything the atmosphere which prevailed during the final days of the Indian Idol results along with the mental and emotional fluctuations which every individual experienced from the day one of the Indian Idol show after finding a representative from the hills and which increased to unknown extent with each episode and comments passed, the result declared on the night of 23rd September 2007 in favour of Prashant Tamang drove his fans mad with happiness, the feeling of oneness, belongingness knew no boundary and was celebrated leaving behind the barriers of caste, creed, community, religion and even age. The same was witnessed when Prashant Tamang had visited Darjeeling on 3rd September 2007 the mammoth gathering went wild and hysteric when they saw their Idol live with the same simple appearance and a glazing smile. Indian Idol third has truly been a memorable one which was quite distinct from the previous ones, among the noted incidents the runner up in the finals were never given equal importance, the winner and the runner up this time made equal presence as the winner Prashant Tamang shared his victory with his friend Amit Paul who was the strong competitor in the battle of Indian Idol, one could witness Prashant sharing his first moment of victory with Amit who hugged his friend cum competitor with tears in his eyes leaving behind his family members and sharing each moment of victory equally, what could be more touching than that? That act of Prashant was a mark of respect, love and brotherhood towards his friend without whose defeat he wouldn’t have been a winner as the presence of winner cannot be marked with the absence of a runner up and with his act Prashant justified the presence of both.
With and above all other issues related with the making of the Indian Idol and Prashant Tamang as the winner of the title, many new things too have come into consideration which is a hardcore reality too. Binding people with the feeling of belongingness, manifesting the simplicity of the people he belonged to and presenting a different image of ours is what Prashant Tamang did successfully, the platform of Indian Idol 3 not only proved to be a boon for Prashant along but in a way also proved to be a turning point in the history of Nepali/Gorkhali of the entire country and also of the whole world. Apart from all these Prashant has emerged as the new youth icon and an exemplary for many youths like him around the globe who can do wonders if they wish to. He has proved to be a living example for many youths like him whose success has shown them a new path diverting them from the world of drugs, frustration and depression which is commonly found among the youths today and many such negative aspects of life, he has shown that for anything big to achieve in life one needs to take the first step and that there is opportunity and a place for every talent that one has within and that a small effort is the only thing needed from ones side. Along with that he has also portrayed how simplicity and the down to earth attitude really help one to achieve the goal. Prashant’s victory in a way has been serving as a ray of hope for many youths and in many ways.
It would be appropriate to say that everyone admired Prashant Tamang as one of the Indian Idol contestant as his simple presence spoke volumes about him as a person, the criteria required for the Indian Idol was rather much inclined to ones talent of singing, performance and presence and looks too depending on which few made it to the final round, but including Prashant himself did we ever gave a thought that his simplicity and humane quality would play a great role in fetching him the title? The entire Indian Idol contest this time witnessed a historic incident starting from the collection of votes to the craze showed by the fans of the contestants till the type of Idol they got this time who is a bit unique from the previous idols, the victory of Prashant as the Idol this time has been a turning point and also has changed the definition of the Indian Idol in a way. The way he was supported proves that Indian Idol is much more than just singing, performing, presenting and appearance…it is also something beyond that.
Prashant Tamang is a complete winner who has not only won the prestigious title of Indian Idol fetching pride to his people, fans and friends but he is winner in a true sense who have won the love, support, admiration, blessings and many more from the people round the globe. Born with the star and a great fortune for him and others, Prashant has proved it by the way he spread love, harmony and happiness among the people, or else why couldn’t we live the same moments which we lived this time with its fragrance still lingering among us. Each time we hear his name we would surely relive those moments gifted to us by our star boy Prashant Tamang. This new star has been a blessing to us in disguise, the blessing which is the need of the hour.
We hope he would be an asset for the nation too in the days to come. Lets pray and hope for the bright future of our ‘New Star’ Prashant Tamang.
(This article was first published in Explore Sikkim published from Singtam, Sikkim)
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