A blooming career cut short, the rattled city reacted with disbelief as the news spread like wildfire. People from all walks of life — friends, relatives and fans of the Sardar who had captured the imagination of the nation with his melodious voice – started streaming into in to his home at Shastri Nagar, many of them weeping loudly. Only last year the city had run a campaign lobbying for the singing sensation. The Sikh community and Punjabis across India and the world voted proudly and unabashedly for him, making him the eventual winner.

Crying profusely, Charankamal Singh, his uncle and the chief strategist of the lobby group then, confirmed his death on phone before snapping the connection off. Too shocked to react Gurpinder Singh, father of Ishmeet, said he doesn’t know anything about what happened. Ishmeet’s mother, too shaken to shed a tear, sat quietly before a TV set relaying news that shattered her. Atamjit Singh, one of the relatives told TOI that they got a call from the CEO of Big Events, hosting a programme with Ishmeet in Maldives, that he drowned at the beach. "Ishmeet had gone just this morning to Maldives," he said.

Reports from Colombo said that Singh, 20, had been frolicking in a shallow pool meant for children on Tuesday and later jumped into the deep-end of the main swimming pool and had immediately run into difficulty, an official of the Dhonveli resort in Maldives said. "We understand that he did not know how to swim and had been advised by his friends not to get to the deep end," a hotel official said when contacted from Colombo. His body was taken to the capital island Male, about half-an-hour by speed boat. He had arrived in the Indian Ocean atoll nation early on Tuesday to sing at a musical concert on Friday. He had won the Voice of India singing competition organised by the Star television network and shot to stardom in November last year. Swimming accidents are rare in the Maldivian archipelago which is known for snorkelling and diving and exotic reef fish. Maldives is reportedly the most expensive tourist destination in

In a tough and gripping race to the crown, Aishwarya defeated fellow finalists, another extremely talented sensation – Banglar Gorbo Lady jasoos Anvesha Duttagupta. The venue of the Grand Finale was packed to capacity and showcased some brilliant performances by all featuring a mix of new and old popular songs. Hosted by Abhaas while Shaan too pitching in, the show featured performances by the eliminated contestants, Shaan, Abhaas, the judges, Group performance by Abhijeet Sawant, Rahul Vaidya, Ishmeet and Himani; the two finalists, the two A’s also made Isha Kopikar and Malaika Arora Khan dance to their tunes! Celeberity guest list included Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla with the whole Bhootnath team, Ismail Darbar, Satish Shah, actor Priyanshu Singer Abhijeet; star cast of Bidaai and Santaan and off course the two ladies- Mallaika and Isha.

The Judges Favorite Award from the eliminated participants was awarded to Sonya and Amul presented medals to both the finalists. Apart from the prize money, trophy and lots of accolades, Aishwarya goes home richer by another Rs.1 Lakh, which she earned as a special prize gifted by Singer Abhijit to the winner. Congratulation Aishwarya!

Source (India-forums)

Videos of Grand Finale of Chote Ustad

Chote Ustad Videos – Grand Finale 5th April episode – Part I

Chote Ustad Videos – 4th April Episode – Part I

Chote Ustad Videos – 29th March Episode – Part I

Chote Ustad Videos – 28th March Episode – Part I

How has your journey been through Chhote Ustaad?

It has been a great experience. I have learnt a lot apart from the competition. And I enjoyed a lot with all my friends. And most importantly, I got to learn a lot from two very important people Anand Sharma and Anuj Kapoor, who help us train and give us a lot of technical tips.

How do you feel reaching the finals?

I am quite excited about being in the finals. I am workinhg really hard and we will try and give our best so that the finale is a rocking show.

Were you sure of coming this far?

I wouldn’t say that I was over-confident of making it big here, at the same time I was sure that I had it in me to move on in the competition. My mother had always told me to take it one step at a time. And that’s what I did, I started out slowly by thinking that I just hope I reach the top 11 first. Doing so, I have finally reached the finals.

How are you preparing for the finals?

Preparation is going on pretty strong. We are concentrating a lot more on the performance and our singing. Along with the tension of being in the finals, there is also a lot of excitement. We are working very hard to make sure the finale is a good show.

Among the three judges, who is ur favorite?

All three of them are equally nice. They have all been very caring towards us throughout the competition. They have always made their decisions unanimously and their comments usually don’t vary. All three are the best in their own style and genre.

In the usual format of such shows except for the finals, all the ronds are done in the studio. How do you feel going through this changed format? Which format do you feel is better?

Well when it is a live performance, we have to practice a lot more than for a recorded performance. There is a lot of stress and tension associated with a live performance. In fact I was present for the grand finale of Star Voice of India and I saw that there were a lot of rehearsals held. I have never thought on the lines of which format is better. Both the formats are good in their own way.

Who among you two have the best chance to win?

Umm… what can I say about that? Both of us are working very hard and will give our best. Winning or losing is a part of any competition. All I can say is that after coming to this platform, we have received equal adulation and blessings and I don’t think winning or losing really matters, after reaching to this level.

Any incident that touched you and you would be taking with you after the show gets over?

Yeah I do have a special memory. When the Star Voice of India finale was going on, Lata Mangeshkar had come as the celebrity judge on the show and I was quite excited to meet her. I went up to her and received her blessings too.

Future plans after this show?

After Chhote Ustaad, I hope to become a successful playback singer. Hopefully as I grow I become a versatile singer, that’s all is what I wish for.

Actresses you would love to do playback singing for?

I would like to do playback singing for all the actresses.

Source: India Forums

Chote Ustad Videos – 22nd March episode – Part I

Chote Ustad Videos – 21st March Episode – Part I

Chote Ustad Videos – 15th March episode – Part I