The Li'l Champs finale is here !!!

After about four months of high-quality competition, the Marathi singing contest show Idea Sa Re Ga Ma approaches its grand finale. I have been an avid follower of this show (as an earlier post would indicate) and have been captivated by the level of performance on display. And now there are five contestants remaining, each one of whom has gone through many rounds and has consistently given his/her best. This week's episodes were especially wonderful, given that Republic Day was celebrated by invoking the best of patriotic numbers in Marathi. I, for one, cannot wait for the finale (and am irritated by Zee Marathi's delay in holding the mega finale !!).

Anyways, coming back to the finalists, in my opinion, the slight front-runners are Prathamesh Laghate from Sangameshwar near Ratnagiri and Pune's very own Aarya Ambekar. Both have been simply outstanding throughout most of the shows. Prathamesh has made classical and semi-devotional numbers his own, effortlessly crooning them in his own style. On the other hand, Aarya's cute smile and personality perfectly compliments her sweet voice, thus giving her that extra edge when it comes to soft romantic numbers. In fact, one of the highlights of the show has been that each of the finalists seems to have made a particular genre his/her own. Apart from these two, there is Rohit Raut who, with almost a rock-star personality, makes fast numbers even more rocking !! . And then there are the two little ladies, Mugdha Vaishampayan and Kartiki Gaikwad who seem to have left everyone else behind in the popularity charts. They will have the public support behind them (since SMSes sent by the public would have half the say in deciding the final winner).

Inspite of however wins the finals, I would forever remember this season of the show as one that bought me closer to the rich musical traditions of my mother tounge (which I admit I had never appreciated before). And once having got a taste of that, I hope to enrich it further. May the best participant win !!!

Cheers
Amit

PS: For those abroad who cannot watch the show, all the songs are avaliable for download on the Zee Marathi website: here . Recommended especially are 'Dayaghana' and 'Tya Phulaanchya Gandhkoshi' by Prathamesh, 'Malmali Tarunya Majhe' by Aarya. For non-Marathis, listen to 'Paan Khaye Saiya Hamaro' by Aarya (that I bet would have made Asha Bhosle proud) and 'Laga Chunari Main Daag' by Rohit !!! Although I admit, that the actual versions sound better the downloaded versions.