Debojit Saha, Missing the home touch

Voice of India Debojit Saha writes about what Durga Puja means to him....

It is that time of the year again, when I always long to be in Assam, with my family and friends. As I share my feelings, I am not sure where I am destined to spend this year’s Puja. If by then if I am not evicted from the Bigg Boss house, then I will be spending the four days there bereft of any contact with the outside world.

In a way, I have now become almost used to being a non-participant in the Durga Puja revelries. Ever since I shifted to Mumbai in 2002, there has not been a single year during which I could go home and celebrate Puja with my family in Silchar. I could not even be with my wife Vandana during those festive days.

Last year, I was engaged in Delhi. Prior to that, I was performing in California. This year, I was planning to celebrate Puja at home, when I suddenly got the Bigg Boss break.

Incidentally, much before Zee TV’s Voice of India, I still remember a performance at a Durga Puja programme in Rilbong, Shillong that endeared me to many.

It was the second day of Puja in 2002. The response from the spirited crowd was fantastic, something that motivated me to venture out to Mumbai that very year.

After I got chosen as the Voice of India, I had to perform overseas during the pujas.

Though I miss the revelry at home, there had been several interesting anecdotes associated with my out-of-home Puja rendezvous.

One such incident took place in Noida last year. It so happened that I was invited for a maiden performance in New Delhi.

Taking a break from my hectic programme, I hopped into a pandal in Noida one morning. As I made my way into the pandal, I noticed some teenagers looking at me rather confusedly. Then one of them walked up to me to enquire whether I was Debojit Saha, the singer, or merely a close resemblance. I could see the joy on their faces when I said that I was indeed the former.
source: telegraph india

Debojit Saha new challenge Bigg Boss 2

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IDOL CHAT

Voice of India Debojit Saha writes about a challenge he has picked — to test his inner strength... By the time you read this, I will be totally cut off from you and everyone else as I go into Bigg Boss house in Lonavala in Mumbai where I will spend, if I am lucky, three months. Those who watch TV and like reality shows must know by now what I am speaking about. Bigg Boss 2 is being hailed as one of the biggest TV reality shows in India and I am proud to be part of it. But to be frank, I am also a little scared. I had viewed one or two episodes of the earlier Bigg Boss show and wondered what made the participants behave in the way they did — intolerant, rude and even on the verge of violence. I could understand the moment I was told about life I will be spending over the next few weeks. Bigg Boss, I am sure by now, is nothing like the musical reality shows I am accustomed to. First let me tell you about the company I will have 13 others from different walks of like which also include Monika Bedi, comedian Ehsan Qureishi, actress Payal Rohatgi and politician Sanjay Nirupam (who has been eliminated since then) and Rahul Mahajan. Now the biggest challenge. We will be totally cut off from the outside world. And when I mean totally that means there will be no TV, no phone, no Internet, no books, no newspapers and not even a music system! And 32 strategically-placed cameras will scan every move we make, every breath we take. Thank god, they have not put cameras in the bathrooms. Which also means that I will not be able to speak even to my wife Vandana for the time till I am in the show. When I agreed for the show, I was also told that Bigg Boss would give the contestants some tasks on a weekly or a daily basis, through which they will earn their weekly budget. The group will use the budget to buy food items to survive in the house. I will not go into details of other aspects of the show. But one fan asked me why I agreed to the show. I believe that the show will be a test of endurance, not physical but mental. It will also be a test of my character. Being a singer does not make me a great human being. Will the show make me a better man? Let me see. If I survive the test, I will have a lot of things to tell you. Till then, goodbye.

source: telegraph india