Eleven-year-old Nirbisesh Sahoo is a star in his own right. He is a singer par excellence and has won millions of hearts with his mellifluous voice. The has also been part of several national-level reality shows and has won quite a few awards.
Born to Rashmita and Rajesh Kumar Sahoo, Nirbisesh took to singing when he was only five years old. “At a time, when kids her age prefer watching cartoon shows on television or are busy playing, he would watch music videos for hours. Not too many believe that he comes from a family where no one is into music. He was very prompt at picking up the lyrics and would often sing those songs. My elder sister-in-law spotted his talent and advised me to groom him. So, we took him to Prakash Chandra Mohapatra, a popular music teacher in Cuttack, where he started learning singing,” says Rashmita, adding, “Today, everyone in our family has fallen in love with music and maybe Nirbisesh is the reason behind it. He often participates in music
comptitions in his school and most of the time he comes home with an award.”
Nirbisesh, who specialises in Hindustani classical and light vocal, says that he loves performing on stage. “I love both the forms. I am learning light vocal from Sarada Prasanna Sahoo. I am grateful to both my gurus for investing so much of their time in grooming me. I was a part of reality show Singing Superstar this year and also participated in Rising Star. It was a great experience performing on national television,” says Nirbisesh, who was also one of the participants on Saregamapa Li’l Champs Odia. Besides, he has also performed at prestigious venues like Jayadev Bhawan, Rabindra Mandap and Utkal Mandap in Bhubaneswar on several occasions.
Although singing is his first love, Nirbisesh is equally good at studies and takes active interest in sports. That had made him a favourite with his teachers in school. “I love playing cricket. I am a diehard fan of Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” says the singer who has been felicitated by several
organisations for his singing. He was also awarded the Pranabasish Samman and Udaybhanu Samman.
“We never force him to do anything that doesn’t interest him. He sings well and we believe that he can do well in the future. However, education is a priority and we don’t want him to neglect his studies. He is passionate about music but we want him to take up academics as a career. However, we won’t force him to give in to our wishes. I always come up to him and stand beside him if he gets eliminated from a reality show. I always ask him not to give up hope and focus on doing better the next time,” says Rashmita, who is grateful to both Nirbisesh’s school and music teachers in showing faith in him.
“We want him to succeed in life and for that education is of utmost importance. I want him to focus on his studies. He loves music and we are doing everything within our limits to see him become a good singer but for that too education is a must. So, I want him to focus on his studies. Success will follow automatically,” says Rajesh.
BRATATI BARAL, OP