Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

CALCUTTA, India - More than 60 people were injured and dozens of vehicles set ablaze in eastern India when an angry mob demonstrated after a radio host made derogatory comments about the winner of the popular television show "Indian Idol," officials said Saturday. The violence broke out Friday when supporters of Prashant Tamang , the recent winner of the TV singing competition, took to the streets of Siliguri, a town in the eastern state of West Bengal, to protest what they perceived as a radio show host's ethnic slur against Tamang, said state police official R.J.S. Nalwa. Tamang is an Indian citizen of Nepalese origin. The protesters apparently blocked a road and refused to let an ambulance carrying a patient pass, which led to clashes between Tamang's supporters and a group accompanying the ambulance, said Nalwa. Intervening police had to fire their weapons and use batons and tear gas in self-defence, said Nalwa. Twelve police officers were injured, he said. Autho...

Prashant Tamang , a constable in the West Bengal police was crowned Indian Idol after vanquishing his rival Amit Paul in a grand finale. Tamang, 24, from Darjeeling, is a former member in the police band in Kolkata. The finale was an all North east affair as Tamang took on 24-year-old Amit Paul , who hails from Shillong. The results were announced at a gala in New Delhi with the final witnessing a seven crore people sending in their votes. As Bollywood actor John Abraham announced Tamang the winner, the constable thanked his mother in a voice choked with emotion. "I thank my mother, public and the Bengal police for granting me the permission for participating in the show," he said. The contest saw the entire Northeast coming together irrespective for their ethnic differences in support of the two singers. Meghalaya which has a history of violence between the tribals and settlers, especially Bengalis, rallied behind Paul, who is a Bengali.

Two-time Indian Idol judge has nothing against talent hunt shows. In fact, he is happy that young budding talent which otherwise would have gone unnoticed is being discovered and given a platform through television. But what he doesn't like is the fact that in these shows marketing overshadows talent. "Ideally there should be fair mix of singing and marketing. But it is the latter that gets more importance and the participants get such huge exposure that they become celebrities overnight. But real good singing is all about everyday riyaaz and not hype," says the well-known singer who came on Indian Idol as celebrity judge on Friday. Sonu says he could not do the third season of the popular talent hunt show because of his commitment to concert tours in America and Europe. "But I had heard a lot about the show and the contestants and also watched a few episodes in bits and pieces. That is why I decided to come as a celebrity judge and was pretty impressed with the t...