Bathinda youth in Indian Idol earns praise; Anand Mahindra shares video

Sukhmeet Bhasin
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, October 28

An Indian Idol contestant, who belongs to Punjab, has been earning praise all over social media. The 21-year-old has left everyone impressed with his singing skills. 

After Union minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal shared a post for the young singer, the business tycoon Anand Mahindra has also shared his video.

In his tweet, Sachin had encouraged the dedicated kids like Sunny from Punjab and others as he was touched with their talent and story of struggle.

On Diwali, business tycoon Anand Mahindra has shared Sunny’s video and he tweeted “Diwali is the perfect day to learn about people who rise. A friend sent me this saying he was in tears watching it. Find the whole clip on YouTube & I challenge you to remain dry-eyed. TV & social media have done us a great service: Discovering talent in the humblest locations”.

A few days ago, even Union minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal had also posted about Sunny on her Facebook page. She stated “When I saw the performance of Sunny, a Bathinda resident on Indian Idol, I was awed. At a tender age and despite limited means, he has honed his skill beautifully. Sunny is an example for our youth, who need to identify and channelise their talent in the right direction. I wish the young maestro all the best and hope to see him singing his way to glory”.

Sunny works as a shoeshiner outside the Bathinda bus stand and his mother sells balloons to earn a living. They had to go through a lot after his father had passed away.

Sunny never had any formal training in music. The 21-year-old self-taught singer has emerged as a new sensation after his performance in popular TV show Indian Idol. His rendition of legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s song “Afreen, afreen” has gone viral on social media.

Sunny was fond of music right from childhood and would sing at religious events. When he was 11-year-old, he was singing in a street and some people recognised his talent and made him sing on the stage.

Diwali is the perfect day to learn about people who Rise. A friend sent me this saying he was in tears watching it. Find the whole clip on YouTube & I challenge you to remain dry-eyed. TV & social media have done us a great service: Discovering talent in the humblest locations pic.twitter.com/dbf7SFmWAj

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) October 27, 2019