Sourabhee: A girl India Idol

I, like millions in this country, was disappointed when Parajakta Shukre, the beauty with a golden voice from Jabalpur, failed to make it to the top position in Indian Idol I. Without any much personal liking and prejudice for others, I feel Shukre has a sweet, clear and perfect female voice, a voice very much in imitation of the great Lata Mangeshkar. That was more than four years ago when Shukre had to contend with 4th position. I had a feeling that people in India do not prefer girls as idols or champions. I am not sure I was wrong then.

In Indian Idol II, Antara Mitra, from near Kolkata, won 5th spot, while in Indian Idol III, Ankita Mishra from Kanpur made it to 4th spot again. Now it is in Indian Idol IV that history was created when a girl, Sourabhee Debbarma from Agartala as Indian Idol for the first time. Sourabhee Debbarma won the title of the Indian Idol on March 1and became the first female contestant to do so Her accomplishment is all the more exemplary because she defeated Rajdeep Chaterjee, a very melodious voice whom, like millions of fans, all the three judges – Anu Malik, Sonali Bendre and Javed Akhtar – seemed certain that he would make to the top.

This is also for the first time in Indian Idol history there are two girls in the top 3 after Rajdeep Chaterjee was eliminated on February 14. Due to her extra ordinary performance, Sourabhee won a contract of Rs. 1 crore with Sony Entertainment Television and a TATA Winger. After four years of its running, India finally got its first female winner in the form of Sourabhee Debbarma. The 22-year-old Sourabhee is petite, charismatic and adds glamour to her stage performances with her perfect moves. Her win is path breaking in the sense that it gives way for girls to win while competing against boys. In studies, especially CBSE exams, we have trends in recent years that show that girls are ahead of boys.

The victory of Sourabhee is also important because she hails from the India's northeast region, not from the mainstream regions that we often look for greats in any field. The special attractions of the event were Bollywood stars John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh. Others from the Indian film and music industry, including judges Javed Akhtar, Anu Malik, Kailash Kher and Sonali Bendre, too were present to cheer the finalists.

Like boys, girls are competing hard in every department and coming out with flying colours. Though in the Indian Idol I, we have had disappointment for Rahul Vaidya, but the verdict of voters must be respected. And this time, it is voters’ verdict goes in favour of Sourabhee.