He is like any other teenager bustling with energy, chattering and getting excited at the drop of a hat - be it for a SRK movie or planning a prank with friends. But ask him to sing and he is a transformed soul. With a maturity that takes years for any singer to cultivate, this young boy surprises with his choice of songs that ranges from a Tumne Mujhe Dekha by the great Mohd Rafi to Kahin dur jab din by Mukesh, that too at a time when Dhinka Chika and Desi Boyz rule the charts!
Meet Abhijit Das, 19, a hotel management student and a singer who is slowly and steadily making his voice heard and felt at concerts and shows throughout the State. ‘’It isn’t that I do not love songs that are chartbursters today. I love Sonu Nigam and Mohit Chauhan numbers but I do feel that songs that were sung by legends like Rafi ji or even Kishore Da give you a chance to test and improve the quality of your singing,’’ he answers with a sincerity.
Hooked to music from a tender age of five, for Abhijit, an inclination towards singing was natural considering the fact that both his father and elder brother nurtured the same passion. ‘’As a kid, I saw my brother and father singing. In fact, music runs in the family. While my paternal uncle Abanikanta Das is a noted musician, my aunt Anjali Ray is an All India Radio artist. Even my cousin sisters sing really well. So, I never had to look for inspiration elsewhere,’’ he confesses. His father Asit Das is a senior manager with Nalco and mother Satyabhama, a homemaker.
His brother, Abhishek Das has also done several shows in the State and is at present in Hyderabad, having a band of his own, Dietribe, where he is the lead singer.
Recalling his first ever performance at Nalco Angul Club when he was barely ten years or so, Abhijit, a trained classical singer, says the memories of the show are etched in his mind. ‘’Dilbar mere was the song and I remember having the lyrics in one pocket and a Rs 20 currency note in another. And just before the antara when I wanted to go through the lyrics, I took out the note instead and ended up calling out for my dad, all nervous. But then, he helped me out and I completed the song and was applauded for it as well,’’ he says sheepishly.
A BJEM Bhubaneswar alumnus, he feels the encouragement he got from his teachers in school was instrumental in making him get rid of stage fright. ‘’I had started learning classical from Sushant Panda while I was in Class VII but my tryst with regular stage shows could start only due to the confidence my Geography and Chemistry teachers instilled in me then,’’ he admits, adding learning music has helped him polish his skills and understand nuances much better.
So while this young lad is content with the shows he keeps doing, he has no immediate plans to go for talent hunt shows. ‘’I want to complete my education first so no reality shows for now. However, I am definitely interested in attending quality concerts outside the State, even abroad. That will be great exposure and provide immense satisfaction, he concludes.