Sa Re Ga MaPa Li'L Champs Singer Diwakar Sharma
By Dr. Narasinha Kamath
If someone wants to read a story about Talent, Passion, Determination and Courage, it would be certainly about Singer Diwakar Sharma who is a wonder kid. Unfortunately, he is visually impaired, yet he is a little boy who has all of above 4 qualities rolled into one. Diwakar Sharma has been the talk of the town not only in India but also among Indians throughout the world. 13 year old Diwakar Sharma is a resident of Delhi. In recently, completed finals of Zee TV's SRGMP Li'L Champs singing competition, Diwakar won the second coveted prize of Rs.10 Lakhs. The first prize was won by 14 year old Sanchita of Kolkata who won Rs. 15 Lakhs. Sanchita's victory was of course well deserved since Sanchita is a very versatile and melodious singer. 10 year old Sameer won the third prize. But SMS votes (public voting via Cell Phone and/or Internet) count for all three contestants was very close. This singing competition was for kids who were 14 years of age or less. At one point, in the middle of the competition, Diwakar was eliminated from the competition by judges' decision. However, he got back into the competition after public voting selected him from among 5 other singers. What a spectacular comeback! It was very well deserved when one listens to Diwakar's melodious, soulful and soothing voice which appeals to everyone's heart as soon as one listens to his songs.
Just before, when Diwakar got eliminated at the middle of the competition, when judges were about to announce their decision as to whether he or the other contestant Armaan will be eliminated, this is what high-spirited Diwakar had to say " "Losing or winning does not matter. It's the spirit of taking part in the competition and learning from the experience that matters". This statement from Diwakar shows how well he is matured compared to his current age of 13. Diwakar's spirit can easily inspire everyone on how to maintain one's composure at difficult times. For a boy of Age 13, his talent, character and strength are unmistakable. As per Gajendra Singh, the producer of Zee TV show of Li'L Champs, it is Diwakar's remarkable composure, positive attitude, confidence and determination that are getting him noticed by the viewers all over the world. It was his smiling face and cheerfulness that has won him the iconic status. Also one should note that Diwakar never asked for any special treatment from Zee TV because he is visually impaired.
During the competition, Zee TV was getting innumerable heartfelt responses on Diwakar from viewers all over the world which stated that it was Diwakar's melodious and soulful singing that has cast spell on them and it was not due to sympathy as alleged by 2 judges of the competition. The 2 judges who made this allegation were Bollywood singers Alka Yagnik and Abhijeet Bhattacharya.
Two of the viewers, Jessie from Singapore and Sushma from Nainital wrote to Diwakar saying, "I want to donate my eyes to you after my death. Contact me atβ¦.", I hope and pray that someday, Diwakar will be able to see after getting the eyes from some donor.
Diwakar's Mom Mrs. Alka Sharma is a medical doctor. But when Diwakar was one year old, doctors confirmed that Diwakar was visually impaired. After learning this, Diwakar's Mom, gave up her medical practice, so as to concentrate on showcasing his singing talent to the world. Diwakar's father of course joined his mother in this pursuit. Diwakar's dad Mr. Sunil Sharma is an engineer by profession and running coaching classes in Delhi.
When Diwakar was only 2 years old, he used to listen to the songs of film Maachis and one day to the surprise of his parents, Diwakar sang a classical number from the film Maachis with all the nuances of classical raga notes of the song. When his parents saw this great talent of Diwakar, they decided to make him a singing star in future. This is the reason why they would like to spend maximum time on Diwakar to pursue this goal. At early age, Diwakar used to take part in singing competitions and won many many awards. As mentioned earlier, Diwakar is very matured and articulate far beyond his age. Diwakar is now in 6th grade in Delhi's School DPS R K. However, his first love of course is singing. He also is a disciple of Pandit Onkar Nath Ji of Delhi who teaches him Hindustani classical. Diwakar practices many hours a day and he is bent upon becoming a great singer as he matures further. Diwakar is an avid reader and with the help of Jaws software, he reads a lot. And his maturity comes from this reading. He is a very good student in his school getting over 90 percent marks in his final examinations. Diwakar has read all the Harry Potter series which he enjoys a lot. And this is the reason, whenever he writes compositions in his school, he always gets highest marks and his teachers always complement him for expressing very well.
Diwakar is very good in computers and has won gold medal for his skill and accuracy in computers.
Diwaka's goal is to become a professional singer some day, singing comes to him naturally. He loves to perform live in front of audience. He loves the affection and applause that he gets from the live audience. When he sees that the audience is getting inspired and encouraged, he feels humbled.
On the weekends, when his parents take him to restaurants, as they await the food to arrive at their tables, Diwakar continues to hum his songs attracting the attention of other customers in the restaurant. Because of his participation in Li'L Champs competition, he has become more popular in the public places and hence more and more people approach him to bless and encourage him after he sings for them. According to his parent, Diwakar is now practicing endlessly. He is obsessed to become a great singing star.
While he was in Mumbai for the Zee TV's singing competition, he missed his favorite dish Rajma Chawal and Kachoris fromDelhi Haat. But during the breaks in the competition, whenever he went back to his home in Delhi, he made up for it sometimes by overeating.
Many a times, Diwakar gets interested in live phone quiz competitions. One of his favorite TV show is KBC where he keeps on dialing until he gets connected. This type of his activity sometimes gets him thrashing from his parents when they see exorbitant phone bills at the end of the month. Diwakar has lots of phone friends.
Along with his singing talent, Diwakar can also play keyboard and harmonium quite proficiently. Diwakar's sensational style of singing has always amazed the public.
Diwakar has performed in front of dignitaries like Honorable President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at Taj Hotel, Delhi. He has performed in front of many other dignitaries such as Shri Salman Khursheed, Shri Murli Manohar Joshi, Honorable Vice President Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, KPS gill, MS Bitta, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Satpathiji, Mrs. Shankar Dayal Sharma, Shri Narsimha Rao, Shri Madan Lal Khurana, V.K Malhotra, Sahib Singh Verma.
Also on stage, he has performed with renowned singers and musicians such as Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Anamika, Bappi Lahiri, Udit Narayan, Daler Mehendi, Shobhna Narayan, Balibrahm Bhatt, Vipin Sachdeva, Sukhwinder Singh, and Sunidhi Chauhan.
Somehow, the judges (Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Alka Yagnik) of the Zee TV's singing competition Li'L Champs kept on criticizing Diwakar that he is getting public votes due to sympathy and also that he has a medium range voice. Sometimes they even said that while singing, Diwakar lacks body expressions unlike other singers. But this criticism was very unfair. How can a visually impaired kid can express when he has not seen the light of the world and when he does not even know how the world looks like. They should have noted that a blind child is competing with children who are capable to see. As we all know that a blind cannot feel the whole world as we all see and feel the world. Even with such handicap, it was highly remarkable that Diwakar has achieved no less than the singers who can see. His singing always strikes chord with everyone due to his harmonious and soulful singing and his confidence. After I heard Diwakar singing in so many episodes, I can confidently say that Diwakar always got public votes because of his singing ability and not due to sympathy.
Also these 2 judges overlooked the fact that one can improve his voice range over a period of time after one grows older. Diwakar is just 13 years old and he has lots of time ahead of him to extend his voice range with intense practice.
I never liked the criticism by these 2 judges. It was very sad indeed. But Diwakar in spite of this criticism stood firm in the competition and advanced further and ultimately went on to win second prize in the competition. Hats off to Diwakar!
It was Diwakar's mentor and third judge Music Director Bappi Lahiri who supported and guided Diwakar all along. The song Ke pag ghungaroo baandh meera naachi thi from the film Namak Halaal (1982) that Diwakar sang with Bappi Ji on stage at Delhi was superb. Viewers all over the world loved this stage performance. Also in one of the episodes of the singing competition Diwakar's rendering of the song Tadap Tadap from the film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) was extremely soulful. I loved Diwakar's rendering of this song. I had tears in my eyes after I listened to this song sung by Diwakar. Most of the hosts such as Music Directors Himesh Reshmiya, Ismail Darbar, Ardesh Shrivastav and actor Jackie Shroff who attended the show were moved by Diwakar's soulful voice.
In fact, when I and my wife first heard Diwakar singing on Zee TV show, it touched our hearts as we listened to Diwakar's divine rendition. And we instantly became fans of Diwakar.
Diwakar is a true champion, big at heart and attitude. He belongs to rare breed of singers who are gifted to inspire the listeners. One can learn a lesson from Diwakar, even when the odds are heavily against you, you can still win over a difficult situation with positive attitude. The human spirit that Diwakar embodies is what brings us together and makes us succeed. His display of confidence during Zee TV's Ll'L Champs competition speaks of his self-esteem, values and spirit instilled in him by his parents and mentors.
I also liked what Diwakar had to say during the Li'L Champ singing competition just before one of the two contestants was about to be eliminated from the competition. And Diwakar was one of the last two finalists and Shaan (host of the show) asked Diwakar how he was feeling at that moment and Diwakar said "I am very optimistic and one of us has to be eliminated from this show. So I hope for the best and prepare for the worst."
I was lucky to get Diwakar's Cell phone number and recently I talked to him and his Dad Mr. Sunil Sharma just before the final round of Li'L Champs competition. We wished him all the best for his final round. Before I completed the phone conversation Diwakar did not forget to remind both of us to vote for him and I assured him that we both will definitely vote for him after every episode. I am sure someday Diwakar will be one of the famous singers of India. God Bless Diwakar!!!
I also came to know from Diwakar that his favorite song is Ek pyar ka naghma hai from the film Shor (1972) composed by famous duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal. According to his Dad, when Diwakar was very young, every night, he used to sing this song like a lullaby for Diwakar just before they went to bed and Diwakar used to sing this song along with his father.
comment:
p_commentcount