Participants perform in the quarterfinal of Voice of Jharkhand. Pictures by Manik Bose

Ranchi, April 27: They sang their way to the judges’ hearts as the search for the best voice of Jharkhand began.

Popular Hindi and Nagpuri songs enthralled the audience for two hours as the quarterfinal round of the popular talent hunt competition Voice of Jharkhand kicked off at the Birsa Institute of Technology on Ratu Road today.

Organised by Imaging, an event management company, the competition saw 25 contestants for today’s round, the selection for which had started in February.

Santosh Kumar, the branch head of the company, said: “The sole aim of this competition was to provide a platform to the young singers of Jharkhand whose talent remains unnoticed.”

Explaining the eligibility criteria and selection process, Kumar said: “We started with the preliminary round where the competition was open to all the boys and girls studying in colleges and other professional universities. Although there was no age limit, we made it mandatory that the participant should at least have a matriculate degree. After the preliminary and quarterfinal, two semi-finals and a final will be organised to select the winner.”

Today’s competition comprised 11 girls and 14 boys, who were asked to sing classical, semi-classical and a light number. Songs like Piya Re evoked a huge applause from the audience.

The jury comprised Mukund Naik, head of the state arts department, Mitali Ghosh, faculty in music at the Ranchi University and Rajiv Kar, a PhD in music and a renowned vocalist of the city.

Speaking at the function, chief guest S. Sarkar, the zonal head at the State Bank of India, said: “The competition is a healthy initiative to provide opportunity for youngsters in Jharkhand.”

Binay Singh, the administrator in-charge of Birsa Institute of Technology, was also present.

The result of today’s quarterfinal would be announced on April 30. The final would be held on May 10. The winner would receive a cash prize of Rs 50,000.