My passion

My passion is singing. I started singing before I even learned to write all the Bengali alphabets. My mom used to sing to me every night before I went to bed. They were not just lullabies, but different kind of Bengali songs. My passion for music started growing as I grew. I was thrilled when my mom admitted me to a music school. At the age of 5, I started performing on stage and on television. I also attended lot of singing competition and won medals. By the age of 6, I started learning playing harmonium (a musical instrument similar to piano) and within a year I could play any tune in harmonium. It takes lot of passion and hard work to be able to play any tune in harmonium without even looking at the notes. Educating my ears was not as easy as I thought. However, my dedication to learning helped me discovering my talent. Singing helps me to express my emotion and relief stress. As I continued performing on stage and on television, I gained recognition too. Many people complimented my hard work, which was a big accomplishment for me.

When I was in 7^th grade, my mom decided to sign up for the national singing competition named “Notun Kuri.” Thousands of singers from 64 districts came to compete in the competition and it was a dream came true for me. I was overjoyed thinking that I would be performing on national television where thousands of viewers will be watching me performing. I still remembered that day. It was raining cats and dogs as my mom and I was trying to the television center by rickshaw. All of a sudden I realized that I was not on the seat of the rickshaw. I fell on the street and one of the wheels of the rickshaw was on my leg. A truck hit our rickshaw from behind and threw us on the street. I became unconscious as soon as my head hit the street. My mom was crying for help to get my leg out from underneath the rickshaw. When I woke up, I saw the doctor standing in front of me. Since the competition lasted for over 10 hours, I had enough time to be prepared. My mom helped me to learn and memorize the lyrics all over again. The judges were kind enough to make the entire process easier for me. I sang with bruises on my checks, band aided on my body, but I tried my best. I did not win any medals, but I knew I won many peoples heart. Singing at that competition after what I went through was not easy for me but I was glad that I was alive and I was able to perform with pain in my body and with a broken voice.

That incident changed my life forever. I still sing, but not on television or on stage. I sing for myself and for my family. I sing to my two beautiful daughters. I do not see myself as a failure that I did not win at that competition. I see myself as a winner because I sang no matter what I went through and followed my dream.