From IF Newsroom: Diwakar's delhi show!

Delhi dances to 'little champ' Diwakar's tunes 😊

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) TV show 'Sa Re Ga Ma' Little Champion Diwakar, who is blind from birth, came, sang and conquered hearts here with a medley of new and old Hindi melodies.

The 3,000-plus audience at the Siri Fort auditorium broke into applause as the 13-year-old sang the popular Hindi number 'Tum jo mil gaye ho to yeh lagta hai...' at the 'Diwakar Nite' show Tuesday.

As the second prize winner of last year's 'Little Championship' competition - run by 'Sa Re Ga Ma' - hummed 'Dil de diya hai jan tumhe denge', Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan was seen clapping along.

'The crowd was great. I have never seen such an encouraging crowd earlier,' said Diwakar, a Class VI student of the DPS School at R.K. Puram here who gave his first public performance at the age of five.

'Come on friends. Sing with me...!' he continued as hundreds of schoolchildren joined him from the gallery of the auditorium's main foyer.

'I still remember my first competition. I got a Casio as prize and played with it for many years,' he said.

Diwakar, who wants to be a playback singer, said he was confident of bagging a top prize in the 'Sa Re Ga Ma' competition.

'My performance was good and I was feeling confident,' he said, adding that his interaction with veteran singer Lata Mangeskar has been the high point of his career.

'I have heard her songs but to interact with her was amazing. She called me and kissed me on my left cheek,' the budding singer said.

Asked about his most interesting interaction with his fans, he said: 'A young girl ditched her partner to dance with me during a performance in Hyderabad. She hugged me.'

The Steel Authority of India Ltd and Ozone group supported the show organised by Tamana - a New Delhi-based NGO for the physically challenged.

Shyama Chona, the head of Tamana, said: 'The evening is dedicated to all such hidden talents across the country. Although they are physically challenged, they are no less talented and Diwakar is one such example.'