Jeypore: Of late, the magical voice of ‘rags to riches’ woman Ranu Mandal, who was singing on the platforms of West Bengal’s Ranaghat railway station, has mesmerised people throughout India.
In a similar vein, the melodious voice of Padman Gouda of Jeypore town in Koraput district, who is singing the songs of legendary singer Kishore Kumar, has gone viral on Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp. Nearly 10 to 12 videos of his songs floating on social media have received lakhs of ‘likes’ from viewers across the state over last five to six days.
Sources said Padman happens to be an auto-rickshaw driver and is known as Kishore Da of Jeypore town. He sings popular, evergreen songs like ‘Chalte chalte mere yeh geet’, ‘Janeman janeman mere do nayan’, ‘Mera jeevan kora kagaz’, ‘Mere naina sawan vadon’, ‘Pal pal dil ke paas’, among others.
Interestingly, Padman has received no professional training in singing and he lags far behind in academics. “I learnt singing from radio and television during my childhood,” he said with glittering eyes. He also sings for orchestras and musical nites occasionally.
Despite the money crunch which haunted him throughout life he has continued singing. His childhood friend Tripati Gantayat has been trying to promote him on various platforms and had uploaded his videos on social media.
PNN