| This is a short article published on The Himalayan Times,the most popular newspaper of Nepal. |
| Indian idol contest : Unstoppable Prashant to take on Amit in final |
| Roshan Sanwa |
| Darjeeling, September 8: Entranced, Darjeeling is rocking. All because local lad Prashant Tamang today made it to the gala round in the ongoing Indian Idol contest. After the elimination of Emon Chatterjee of Kolkata, Prashant and Amit Paul of Shillong are left facing each other. It will be a razor's edge contest between the top two now. Most Darjeeling folk are sure that Prashant will emerge the Indian Idol. Prashant's sister Archana said her brother has done Nepalis proud. Darjeeling's information and cultural department director, Maniklal Chhetri, said: "Prashant has proved that Nepalis can make it to the top level in competitions at the national level." Prominent singer Kumar Subba praised Prashant to the skies. On Monday, Prashant had visited his hometown, presented stage shows in Chowrasta, St Robert and North Point schools and requested people to help him reach the top through their SMS votes. Aside from the people of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, and neighbouring Sikkim state where Nepalis are in a huge majority and rooting for Prashant, Nepalese from Ilam, Panchthar, Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Dhankuta and other districts in eastern Nepal reached Darjeeling yesterday to send SMS votes for Prashant. Hundreds from Kathmandu, too, have been coming to Darjeeling to vote for him. In Uttaranchal, a sea of support has welled up for Prashant, with people there shooting forth their SMS votes for him. Singer Karma Yonzon described Prashant as the pride of the Nepali community. Individual and group donors have banded to contribute to help people send SMS votes for Prashant. Kurseong people have formed a Prashant fan club and are holding regular lotteries to raise money for sending SMS votes. Tickets are priced at Rs 20 and the first prize is a Maruti Omni van. Club secretary Pradip Pradhan said the profits from the lottery would be spent on sending SMS votes. |