(Left) Team India ODI skipper M.S. Dhoni arrives in the city with best friend Paramjeet Singh. Chak De Bachche winner Deepak Tirkey celebrates his victory at Lala Lajpat Rai School on Friday. Pictures by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Aug. 8: The little star is following the footsteps of the superstar.

Taking a cue from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Deepak Tirkey, the winner of reality show Chak De Bachche, visited Deori temple to seek the blessings early this morning.

However, there are differences between the two icons. While Dhoni did not have time to visit his school for a felicitation ceremony, Deepak headed to his alma mater Lala Lajpat Rai Senior Secondary School, Pundag, right after his return.

Later, he also met Dhoni with his parents in the evening. The wonder kid spent some 10 minutes with the ace cricketer.

As soon as the Class VII student entered the school premises, students showered rose petals on him. A programme was organised by the Punjabi Hindu Biradari under the aegis of its president Gulshan Lal Ajmani.

His father Roshan Tirkey, Manju Tirkey, uncles, aunts and his siblings accompanied him. The music teacher of the school, Sujan Pandit, who also was the chief guest, felicitated Deepak.

Later, Deepak regaled the audience with his performance and was joined by his classmates as well.

He also met all the 1,700 students of the school took blessings of the teaching and non-teaching staff.

Moreover, it was announced that Deepak’s fee would be waivered and he would also be given free bus service.

Deepak was also given a cheque of Rs 25,000. The owner of Book Heritage, Raj Mohan Arora, announced that he would give free books to Deepak till he completes his education.

However, Deepak’s grandparents could not attend the function, as they were not well.

Rosy Sharma, the headmistress of the junior section of Lala Lajpat Rai School, said the ambience was grand. “It seemed like Diwali with students bursting fire crackers,” Sharma added.