pawni pandey article

Ludhiana, August 29: Her family shifted to Mumbai from Sri Ganganagar so that her grooming as a playback singer could begin early and this young girl aspires to sing like Asha Bhonsle.

She is ninth-grader Pawni Panday, one of the six finalists of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champ show currently on on Zee TV.

Talking about her entry into the contest, Pawni says, ''It was my grandmother who came across this ad and she asked me to try my luck. I tried and have managed to reach the final six. Pawni trains once a week under her guru Usha Deshpande and she says her singing versatility is what ''has helped me reach here''.

But is she under immense pressure to succeed? ''No, my parents only want me to give my best and nothing more.'' At this point Pawni's father, Akshat Panday, a bank officer, intervenes, ''These days, all youngsters are under some kind of stress. This stress is for them to excel and Pawni also faces the same. If we are not strict with her, then she will not be able to sing in sur. But there is no pressure on her to win the contest for there can be some other child who is better. She only gets scolded when she sings badly.''

Pawni says, ''At present, there is no clearcut winner. We all sing well and each week some of us have bad days and some good. So the performance levels keep changing. But we all know there has to be just one winner and you will never find me crying on the show. The day I am eliminated I will leave the show joyfully.''

Brave words from the girl who is also confident that ''singing is my life and there will no breaking away from it. I am singing for some films also but just to keep my voice fresh and evolving as I grow older''.