Viral sensations are a dime a dozen. But, once in a while comes a rare talent that makes everyone sit up and realise the difference between mediocrity and goosebumps-giving excellence.
Tumpa Gupta (16), a visually challenged girl who studies in Class VIII in Brajkishore Netraheen Balika Vidyalaya in Bargain, 8km from Bariatu in Ranchi, is one such talent.
The girl became an overnight celebrity when first-year human resource management students from XISS, Ranchi, who went to her school to teach, heard her singing Shreya Ghoshal's Aashiqui 2 chart-buster "Manzilein ruswa hain, khoya hai raasta".
Struck by how well she sang, the students recorded her video, uploaded it on Facebook and a website and sent the link to friends and relatives on WhatsApp.
This happened last week, on Wednesday. Now, Tumpa is an online sensation, with acclaimed Bollywood music director Ravindra Jain, himself visually challenged, evincing interest in her voice and asking her school to send her to Mumbai.
"As part of social work, we visit this special school thrice on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays to teach 34 visually challenged girls English and GK. When we first heard Tumpa sing, we were like, 'hey she's too good'. We quickly made a video of her and uploaded it on FB and circulated it via WhatsApp," said Karan Singh, an XISS student.
"What followed was unbelievable," he said.
"There are some 26 lakh hits on the website itself," Karan said. "The link on my own Facebook page has thousands of likes. On Saturday, a national channel showed the video. And now, Ravindra Jain ji has approached her school."
If this reflects the power of technology, it is no less the triumph of Tumpa's voice.
The girl, who sat among her friends at the secluded school on Monday with The Telegraph team, didn't yet seem to understand the full impact.
Originally from Dhanbad and the youngest of four siblings, Tumpa is an orphan. She trained in classical music for three years while staying with her married sister Meenu Singh in Odisha. When Tumpa enrolled at this school a year ago, the founder trustee of Brajkishore Public Educational Society Neelu Verma, a trained singer, decided to groom her.
"I was always humming," Tumpa said, when asked about when she started to sing. "My didi realised I had talent and kept a music teacher for me. Kewal didi ke chalte hum gana sikhe (Only because of my sister could I learn singing). Now, I train under Neelu ma'am."
She named Alka Yagnik and Shreya Ghoshal as her favourite singers and blushed when told she sounds like both.
"She has god-gifted talent and a very sweet voice. Jain saab (Ravindra Jain) has requested us to send her to Mumbai so that he can train her. But, before taking any step I want full security for Tumpa. She is our responsibility," Verma said.
Her classmates Sarita Kumari and Devanti Kumari said they loved her voice. "We often ask her to sing for us, it feels so nice," said Sarita. "She can remember so many lyrics. Aur uski awaaz mein Saraswati hai (Goddess Saraswati resides in her voice)," Devanti added.
Have you heard Tumpa Gupta sing? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com
