Background information
Genre(s) Pop, Classic
Occupation(s) Police, Indian Idol season 3 winner
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active 2007-present

Prashant Tamang is a Kolkata-based Indian singer and winner of Indian Idol season.He is the first contestant of Nepalese

origin to make it to the final rounds of Indian Idol and win it. He is also the first person from the Indian police force to

enter the final rounds. After the death of his father, Prashant, who was still in school, had to leave school and join

Kolkata Police to support his family. He was a favorite to win the competition due to strong backing from the people of

Nepalese origin and the Indian police force.Even as the results were yet to be announced on television, several news sources

had reported Prashant's winning the competition.

Early years
Prashant Tamang was born in Tungsung, Darjeeling, West Bengal to Rupa Tamang and the late Madan Tamang. He spent most of his

early life there and studied at St. Robert's School. After the demise of his father, Madan Tamang, in an accident, he joined

the Kolkata Police Force, succeeding his father.In Kolkata Police, he sang for the police orchestra. His family includes his

grandmother, mother and his sister, Archana. Recently, he has married Charu Semwal of Dehradun. She was also a contestant of

the Indian Idol competition.

Indian Idol
According to the program commentary, Prashant tried out for Indian Idol because his friends and his seniors especially Mr.

Zulfiqar Hasan, Special Additional Commissioner of Police(who incidentally also got Prashant's leave sanctioned for the

competition) told him that his voice was very good[5].He auditioned in Kolkata and was subsequently chosen into the final

rounds. He received mixed comments from judges after his performances.He is the only contestant to have never been in the

bottom 3 or 4 of the galas. He made it to the top 2 of Indian Idol 3 along with Amit Paul, before eventually winning the title.

Media
Prashant Tamang has become a celebrity in West Bengal, Sikkim and Nepal. Prayers for his success are expressed even in

website of Tamang Society.

The mayor of Mirik, T.B. Rai, voted to spend Rs.10,000 in SMS for voting Prashant and his staff have also vowed to spend a

month's salary on SMS for voting Prashant. Police staff of India also vowed to spend a month's salary on SMS for voting

Prashant. Nepalese working in Brunei, UK, Hong Kong, UAE are reported to have been sent money to SMS for him. Furthermore,

about 600 people were hired to send SMS's all night to secure his spot in the next round. Rallies were organized in

Darjeeling and Kharsang in his support, some of which were attended by his sister, mother and grandmother. Pokhara, Nepal

located Radio Annapurna 93.4 MHz campaigned for collecting donation and the collected sum of NRs.70000 was sent to Darjeeling

through its representative to vote for Prashant. A signature campaign for his support was organized by Himalayan Darpan

Newspaper of Darjeeling. Schools, clubs and police of West Bengal are found asking people to support Prashant who have named

him Pahad ko Gaurav ' (Pride of the Hills).Sikkim Cabinet Minister G M Gurung and S B Subedi planted tree saplings at Singtam

to pledge the Sikkimese support to Prashant and to show the unity between Nepalese community in Sikkim and Darjeeling." Lage Raho Prashant Bhai"

Support from Kolkata Police
Prashant a sepoy in the Kolkata Police was supported by the officials in Kolkata Police. Mr. Zulfiqar Hasan , visibly

ecstatic with Prahsant's triumph, in his interview after the announcement of the result told the news agency that he was

confident that Prashant would win and he and his team supported Prashant at every stage of the competition and in every

possible way. According to reports, a couple of policemen even stayed awake through the nights to vote for Prashant. Mr.Hasan

said, “Given the hard worker he is, Prashant deserved this title. He has no formal training in music, but he has been chosen

the new Indian Idol. This proves how dedicated he is towards whatever he does.” Hasan further added, “We are really proud of

the boy. He faced a lot of difficulties in life, but he never let the adversities deter him. Even after winning the contest,

he has his head firmly placed on his shoulders.” All the officials of Kolkata Police congratulated Prashant after his

victory, and they are now awaiting his arrival in Kolkata to give him a grand reception. “Our boys are ecstatic at Prashant's

victory. There has been an atmosphere of great jubilation since the moment Prashant was chosen, and now we are looking

forward to his homecoming”, said Hasan.After his successful stint at Indian idol he gave numerous concerts all over the world

mostly in Neplese community.

See also
Indian Idol
Darjeeling
Tamang

References
^ Indian Idol Page
^ Prashant Tamang in Indian Idol 3
^ Cop Prashant Tamang is the new Indian Idol
^ Nepal Nation
^ Indian Idol, Sony Entertainment
^ Dhukdhuki
^ Prashant's page
^ Tamang Society Homepage
^ Kantipuronline
^ Kantipur Online
^ a b southasiabiz