I was wondering why Prashant speaks in Nepali knowing very well that most Nepali speaking people understand hindi. He knows very well too that most people who understand hindi do not understand Nepali.

So why would he speak Nepali in an Indian Idol contest? I think he is a shrewd artist to try to tap into the frail ego and tradition of Nepali misplaced nationalism. Remember Hritik episode? Instead of seeking votes as an artist, he has subtly tapped into the frail ego of Nepalis. This is huge since now it is a matter of ego for the people of Nepali origin and people of Nepal to prove to themselves that they can do it.

It is no longer the race of who's a better singer, but more of if we the people of Nepal or Nepali origin and make this artist who asks for votes in Nepali, can make him win. The reality is he is an Indian by all means. Nepal does not benefit in any way. It's our history of failure in our socio-politics spheres that have created this frail ego for us Nepalis. We have to try to prove that we are good because we know we're a failed state. Let's not be bhedas willing to be led by some shrewd politician or for that matter anyone, who taps into our misplaced nationalistic feelings which is higher than mount everest.

If Prashant wins, will he come to Nepal for a concert? Will he acknowledge the efforts of the people of Nepal and Nepali origin to make him win? Or will be bask in the glory of his win and think that he won because of his talent and not because of his Nepali origin?

That's something to ponder about.

Loote Hunk,

But tom cruise is not revered as a symbol of national unity, or is he?

neither is john nash...
prashant's case is different.

why???

lootekukur do you like NE patriots and tom brady??????...................................
As for Indian Idol...........May the best singer win.........

maddogg,
i like drew brees. i like tim duncan. i like roger federer. i love brian charles lara. love steven gerrard...

mav,
for all reasons i stated in the my first post

Loote, in my humble opinion, if you support Prashant because he's of Nepali origin then you could perhaps suffer from the bheda syndrome. Supporting him on the basis of his origins is some kind of nepotism that we need to root out from our system if we want to have a fair and democratic system.

We Nepalis when we envision a fair and democratic country that we want to have, need to be able to move forward and get rid of our habit of nepotism that we grow up with. In one hand we want fairness and equality and democracy, yet on other hand we base our national pride on practicing nepotism to make someone win due to his origin.

Theroem: This discussion is never ending.

Proof:

In light of the discussions/theses that have been floating around on the aforementioned topic .......lets concentrate on the rights that people have/should have in this time and age:

- Right to vote anyone whom they deem appropriate (be it for personal,nationalistic,casual reasons)
- Right to not having a reason for voting whomever they voted for.
- Right to open any kind of thread within the norms of that particular site in question (ex. Sajha.com)
- Right to not having a reason for opening a certain kind of thread in Sajha or any other site for that matter which allows them that privilege in the first place.

...all the queries that the above floating discussions/theses put forward can thus be easily accounted for, provided the above basic tenets of human freedom mentioned above are concentrated upon.


.....but then we shouldn't forget the basic right to opine as well ,
hence we're bound to come a full circle everytime we decide to board upon discussions such as the one in question.

Hence the discussion is never ending.

QED

I agree - this is clearly a matter of choice rather than debate at this point. You like Prashant, then vote for him, you like the other guy, then vote for the other guy, or if you don't like either or don't care who wins, then don't vote.

Also, I sense a racial/ethnic undertone to some of this - both from those supporting Prashant and those questioning that support. Not necessarily on this thread but in general. Maybe it's just my perception, but it seems if you look like Prashant, or wish you did, you might be more inclined to vote for him, and if you don't look like him or don't like the fact that a constable from the Calcutta police looks like you, you might just be inclined to lean the other way.

Maybe I am wrong. It's just a thought.

BTW, on another note, it's been a fiesty and fun day on Sajha - all because people spoke their minds and said exactly what they thought. Hope there will be many more of these to come

Best wishes to all (including Prashant - hey, why not? )

Exactly !!!...On a lighter note....get ready to support/not support our own Nepali brother, auditioning for a spot in the American Idol !!!!!

Man all i gotta say is that eat rice before singing you know. Otherwise the expression and acting is supverb. Changing clothes after mid part definately gave a refresh in music video. Bravo. ha ha

red,
i haven't voted for prashant personally so far but if given a chance, i would certainly vote for him over any other contestant not only because of the origin but because:

1) i feel that the guy has tremendous singing potential.
2) of his fighting spirit.
3) of his cheerful and down-to-earth personality.

indian idol has lot to do with popularity else there were many talented singers who auditioned but were shown an exit door because of their not-so-charming personality and other reasons that have nothing to do with singing. that allows me to believe that the competition is not all about singing. there are other shows which seek for the best "singing" talent. i am not going to put indian idol in their coterie.

as for the methodology being adopted for the format of the show, i genuinely feel that implicating voting system to choose the best singer doesn't work that well in our parts of the world as it does in west (US and europe). in american idol, people won't vote for a singer just because he/she is from their home town. uniformity is an asset of the west hence discrimination is comparatively less and rare whereas in southeast asia, regionalism is bound to dictate its terms because of the non-uniformity and ethnic/racial division/discrimination. ask a gurkha working as a watchman for an indian family in india for the answer. i am all up for equality and just society but that should come in action to where it is needed--in practical world-- not in a show which is just an entertainment package to many.

loote: it has helped to bring the nepalese communities across the globe together and resurrect the sense of harmony, brotherhood and kinship which these days, one can expect only in utopia. (literally).

You just mentioned, brotherhood and all but didn't dwell on the reason. Hrithik roshan kanda also brought Nepali youths in street. Any thing for wrong reason and misplace patriotism (which is obviously just seen in middle classes few cities) is not good. What is there with a singing competition and with brotherhood??? At least here you have chance to show to Indians and world that we unbiased unlike them.


Loote: if we look at nepal alone, people are fighting for their own community rights. everybody wants their own representations, they want their own language to be used as an official/national languange. they would not speak in nepali - the language that is understood by most, the language that is our common recognition. madhesis, newars, limbus et al. are fighting for their own cause which is fair enough to some extent. it's very imperative that a heterogenous society as ours, do justice to all its contents.
??Really.
Or it may be binding upper middle and elites who are already used to speaking nepali. But what about all those indigenous group,where we are showing closeness to certain kind of language, isnt this some kind of slap on their face??? You thrash a madhesi for not speaking nepali and label them bihari and you would support some foreigner for his nepali language and revere him as hero of Nepal??

3) i was quite overjoyed and to a great extent heartened to see that this sense of togetherness is more prevalent among nepalese residing outside nepali borders. i never thought tamangs/gurungs living in darjeeling would speak nepali as their first language. i don't think it's the same for tamangs inside nepal. as Suna pointed out, when you are in home, you tend to take things for granted, you don't realise the importance of who you are. 'being nepali' has plumetted the importance for us nepali living in nepal. ask those second-class nepali citizens in darjeeling, kalimpong and other territories of north india or other parts of the world--they seem to have more pride and respect for being nepali than for nepalese living in nepal !

They may be proud of their heritage of being nepali, but it doesnt mean we should make it a nationalist agenda for some kind of second grade competition; and denigrate the other nepalese for not supporting him with.

4) i think the craze for this show has sky-rocketted for them who have realised this sense of 'nepaliness' among nepali living outside nepal. for those who are still oblivious to this reality, they are still questioning whether prashant tamng is a nepali. they're still asking: how can he be a nepali? isn't he in an indian idol contest, so that means he's an indian?

very well written. this is purely another form of racism or reverse racism (conscious and unconscious ) to differnt color and different language. Just another reason....

BTW loote, there are NO reasons for  why Prashant is different as you  previously said??

You just mentioned, brotherhood and all but didn't dwell on the reason. Hrithik roshan kanda also brought Nepali youths in street. Any thing for wrong reason and misplace patriotism (which is obviously just seen in middle classes few cities) is not good. What is there with a singing competition and with brotherhood??? At least here you have chance to show to Indians and world that we unbiased unlike them.

--i think prashant's participation in indian idol and hrithik roshan issue cannot be juxtaposed for positive correlation. hrithik roshan issue was just a hype created by the media to stir agitation among nepalese. prashant's singing on the other hand has drawn attention of numerous music lovers. while i agree that he may not be the best in the competition, amidst loads of votes coming to his favor and relatively less to other contestants, he's been left there under-rated. everybody has surrendered to the fact that he gets a lot of votes anyways, so what's the point in listenting to his singing. if you look at his audition and his performance in the last gala, you will see how much he's improved.

millions of nepali viewers around the globe have been following him. they all have been sharing common cause---to enable prashant to go to the next round...this has generated a sense of commonality in their likeness--one of the traits that bind people together and what better reason than music--an art which touches the senses of people, one which grows inside the heart of many.

??Really.
Or it may be binding upper middle and elites who are already used to speaking nepali. But what about all those indigenous group,where we are showing closeness to certain kind of language, isnt this some kind of slap on their face??? You thrash a madhesi for not speaking nepali and label them bihari and you would support some foreigner for his nepali language and revere him as hero of Nepal??

as i already mentioned, i am all up for equality, just societal structure and all, but personal and community agenda apart, there should also be sense of belonging among people to the highest hierarchy --nepal. nothing wrong in fighting for individual representation, in fact all ethnic minorities should be recognized at national level. i just don't want to see "we-belong-to-nepal" senses fading away in the process. tetti ho. as ratobhaley stated: why prashant doesn't speak in hindi?, i just wanted to let him know that his first language is nepali and that's what he is most comfortable speaking. he may be indian in paper (passport) but his blood is nepali. it may be just that his ancestors at some point in the past migrated to darjeeling...even darjeeling was in nepal not so long ago for that matter.

They may be proud of their heritage of being nepali, but it doesnt mean we should make it a nationalist agenda for some kind of second grade competition; and denigrate the other nepalese for not supporting him with.

hahaha..mav..where does it come from.> when did i ever say we should denigrate nepalese who don't support prashant? i support him for his singing for the most part. rest comes from his loveable personality and fighting spirit. if one does not concur to it, oh well, absolutely no problemo. :D

very well written. this is purely another form of racism or reverse racism (conscious and unconscious ) to differnt color and different language. Just another reason....

mannn!! you managed to stretch my view to racism too huh? hehe.. that point was for those who believe prashant is not nepali. there is no racial agenda there. i don't see it...if somebody else finds the same as mav has, please let me know i will prove why that statement does not carry any tinge of racism...

on a lighter note:
san bro, if you're reading this, at some point you may want to help by bringing audio/video (as per the choice of users) facilty for us debators so as to make the debate more interesting, lively and effective. sometimes writing can be monotonous and it would also be intreseting to see how we all fare when it comes to speaking our hearts out in public.

I am tired of reading prasan't pros and cons . plz stop that let him sing and who cares where is from?

the world is our nation and our religion is to be and do good to everybody.
so don't talk abt race and relogion . talk somethings creative.
okay
you all take it easy and a chill pill.

WTF is Nepali Nationalism???????? To be brutally honest, lets admit it: we don't have no nationalism. What we have is Sheer Impulse. Spur of the moment. We act on it on the name of our nationalism and give it a few days rest, it will be completely forgotten.........

and Ratobhaley,
How on earth did you deduce to the conclusion of weighing an Indian Idol singer with "shrewd" Politicians. You must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. He's just singing for the sake of his singing. Perhaps will be his way of making his living. Whether he basks in glory, gloats in arrogance or calls you a nepali brother to make you feel good is so ridiculously out of context.

SRY was away for a while.............lootekukur.....so I take that as a no..... You dont like the NE patriots..........or Tom Brady.............thats alright ,.....jus checkin...
peace..................
Go Prashant Go

--i think prashant's participation in indian idol and hrithik roshan issue cannot be juxtaposed for positive correlation. hrithik roshan issue was just a hype created by the media to stir agitation among nepalese. prashant's singing on the other hand has drawn attention of numerous music lovers. while i agree that he may not be the best in the competition, amidst loads of votes coming to his favor and relatively less to other contestants, he's been left there under-rated. everybody has surrendered to the fact that he gets a lot of votes anyways, so what's the point in listenting to his singing. if you look at his audition and his performance in the last gala, you will see how much he's improved.

For your kind information fren,in Hrithik case, it was word of mouth, not a media hype as with Prashant. Nevertheless, its the same thing, over hyped patrotism for wrong purpose. Do u really think,in your all sense, that Prashant Tamang is national symbol??? Gorkha Dakshin Bahu dina lagaune ho ki usobhaye?
Woah man, milllions is a big word. One million has 10 lakhs, I wonder how many people actually watch sony tv.. that also in millions. So you are accepting that it is not about singing competition?? so u trying to say we just have to do regional voting??? n u r also trying to be unbias

millions of nepali viewers around the globe have been following him. they all have been sharing common cause---to enable prashant to go to the next round...this has generated a sense of commonality in their likeness--one of the traits that bind people together and what better reason than music--an art which touches the senses of people, one which grows inside the heart of many.

To send Prashant to next round or to send one indian home?? sense of commonality: oh hell ya!! skin color!! thats a sense of commonality at its best. u made me remember some of the apartheid lines when u wrote that "sense of commonality"

as i already mentioned, i am all up for equality, just societal structure and all, but personal and community agenda apart, there should also be sense of belonging among people to the highest hierarchy --nepal. nothing wrong in fighting for individual representation, in fact all ethnic minorities should be recognized at national level. i just don't want to see "we-belong-to-nepal" senses fading away in the process. tetti ho. as ratobhaley stated: why prashant doesn't speak in hindi?, i just wanted to let him know that his first language is nepali and that's what he is most comfortable speaking. he may be indian in paper (passport) but his blood is nepali. it may be just that his ancestors at some point in the past migrated to darjeeling...even darjeeling was in nepal not so long ago for that matter.hahaha..mav..where does it come from.> when did i ever say we should denigrate nepalese who don't support prashant? i support him for his singing for the most part. rest comes from his loveable personality and fighting spirit. if one does not concur to it, oh well, absolutely no problemo. :D

Yup dude, you didnt denigrate,consiously.  You were actually saying that supporting prashant is  supporting Nepal( ur highest hierarchy),which means that u are alluding Prashant-not-supporting crowd as Unpatriotic.
Well, you do can support him for any reasons you want, i dont even care if you like his shoes or whatever.Its not the question of whom u supporting. But the thing, how would that support made him national symbol of unity, by ur words, global nepalese symbol of unity. lol dude. N ya where does this hindi came from?? If speaking nepali made him Nepali, then speaking, urdu or hindi in nepal make people Indian and Pakistani?? My muslim fren gonna get pissed at u dude!!!

mannn!! you managed to stretch my view to racism too huh? hehe.. that point was for those who believe prashant is not nepali.
Prashant is an Indain of Nepali Descend. I understand we share alot of culture.  Well, you accept or not ( i dont wanna particulary point to u as u may be exception) But alot of these is just because of hate-those-dhotis syndrome. Doing that they are forgetting there own people( those minorities) of Nepal whom we are showing that we can support someone with that "sense of commonality" but wont care about u, though u r living here from generation after generation.

Still, you didnt give me the reason, for why Prashant is differnt ???

"To be brutally honest, lets admit it: we don't have no nationalism. What we have is Sheer Impulse. Spur of the moment. We act on it on the name of our nationalism and give it a few days rest, it will be completely forgotten......... "

Snurp, you just defined a case of misplaced nationalism. On a whim or an impulse you tend to misplace your nationalistic feelings on wrong causes. You nailed it! bravo

And for the record, I did not deduce and conclude anything for anyone. It was just my opinion that perhaps Prashant speaking Nepali in an indian idol contest was a hidden tactics to rile up the fragile Nepali misplaced patriotism. It is ridiculously out of character than you want everyone to think like you do. Everyone has their own thoughts about the subject and can express themselves

Winner will be choosen on the basis of votes. if Nepali cannot vote from nepal then all the credit goes to the Indians, not nepali I am afraid. We're just barking for no reason. nepali origin from India will definately vote for him. if Prashane wins, it's not because People from nepal supported him, its because he has been supported by the Indians as these are the people spending their money to vote him.