Fans bid farewell to Indian Idol winner who was 'pride' of Gorkha community

HUNDREDS of fans and admirers are bidding farewell to Indian singer and actor Prashant Tamang, who rose to fame two decades ago after winning the third season of the popular music reality show Indian Idol, reports the BBC.

Tamang, 43, who was from the hill town of Darjeeling in West Bengal state, died of a cardiac arrest at his house in Delhi on Sunday.

His body was brought to his hometown on Monday, and fans have been sharing their grief at his sudden death and paying tributes on social media.

Tamang's successful career in the entertainment industry was a matter of pride for his Gorkha community, a Nepali-speaking ethnic group that mainly lives in India's Uttarakhand, West Bengal and north-eastern states.

The Gorkhas are from the same ethnic group as the differently spelt Gurkhas in Nepal who serve in the Indian and British armies.

In the hours leading up to Tamang's funeral on Tuesday, fans gathered on the streets near his house to bid a final goodbye to the singer.

Bimal Gurung, chief of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha - a political party that has long campaigned for a separate Gorkhaland state in India - told Sikkim Express newspaper that Tamang "carried the hopes and aspirations of an entire community onto the global stage, making every Gorkha proud".

"Prashant was a musical coordinator who unified not only Indian Gorkhas but also the Gorkhas of the world," he added.

Tamang's participation in Indian Idol in 2007 brought long-overdue mainstream recognition to the Gorkhas, and the community rallied behind him as he overcame tough competition to win the season.

"Not many people have mobiles in Darjeeling. But in order to vote for me, a lot of people collected money and bought mobile phones. They even performed puja for my victory," Tamang told the Times of India newspaper after winning the show with around 10 times more viewer votes than his rival in the final.

After the show, an alleged racist remark made by a radio jockey about Tamang's win even sparked protests and violence in West Bengal.

"For people in Darjeeling and the surrounding hills, he [Tamang] was more than a singer. He was someone from our own backyard who made it on merit. After decades without a figure we could identify with, he became a symbol of pride and representation for an entire region," Tamang's sister Anupama Gurung told the BBC on Tuesday.

Before participating in Indian Idol, Tamang worked as a police constable in Kolkata, capital of West Bengal. His talent was noticed after he joined the police orchestra and sang in many events, he said in several interviews.

After winning the show, Tamang released his debut album, which had songs in both Hindi and Nepali languages.

He went on to build an acting career, making his debut in the Nepali film Gorkha Paltan (2010), followed by roles in several other blockbusters. But he got widespread recognition as an actor last year after playing the role of an assassin in the second season of the popular Amazon Prime thriller series Paatal Lok.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was saddened by his "sudden and untimely demise", noting his roots in the Darjeeling hills and his association with the Kolkata Police.

Singer Udit Narayan, who was a judge on Indian Idol during Tamang's season, described his death as "heartbreaking", calling him "extremely talented" and "a true gentleman".