?Voice of India? DEBOJIT SAHA writes exclusively for The Telegraph ? in the second part of a fortnightly series ? on how he started his musical journey in the entertainment capital of the country and struggled to realise a grand dream

People often ask me about the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest and how it all started. It is a long story, but definitely the most rewarding for me till date. To be honest, the country has so much talent in every sphere, more so in music with good singers thronging every lane and bylane. But most of them go unnoticed, without ever getting a platform to showcase their talent.

This is the simple truth and I myself have experienced a prolonged struggle.

In the end, only the chosen ones become ?star singers? by dint of their talent and hard work. The others end their journey of struggle midway with broken hearts, returning to their homes from Mumbai, which I would like to call the ?city of chasing dreams?.

But even before Sa Re Ga Ma Pa started, there was another contest called Fame 2005, organised by Zee TV before they ventured into Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005.

The opportunity to join the contest came at a time when I was desperately looking for the ?one chance? that could change my life. Eight of us ? including Vineet, the other finalist of Challenge 2005 ? had reached the semi-final round of Fame 2005 when Zee TV decided to stall the contest midway and launch Challenge 2005.

The eight of us were taken into the contest as wildcard entrants. There were altogether 32 contestants, divided into four groups of eight each, in the show.

By God?s grace, I got into the gharana of famed music director Ismail Durbar. The gharana was called Yalgaar, which means to win.

At the beginning of the competition, I worked under the close guidance of Durbar saheb. He nurtured and groomed my talent like a mother tending to her child.

In accordance with the show?s concept of dividing the singers into groups and forming gharanas based on the age-old guru-shishya parampara, a touch of divinity was there in all our attempts to make brilliant music.

Along with hard work, all the singers had great fun and many became great friends. The contestants who came from outside Mumbai stayed together at Mumbai?s popular hotel, Spanish Villa.

I used to join them at Famous Studio, the music studio where we learned our lessons for the contest with the blessings of great maestros, including Ustad Gulab Mustafa Khan, lyricist Sameer, music consultant Anand Sharma and filmmaker Subhash Ghai.

It was not only singing; we were groomed in every department, from ?proper diction? to facing the camera. Perhaps it was this grooming that helped me win the coveted title and, of course, the people?s support.

Controversies did erupt during the contest between the musical gurus who judged us, but it?s all part of the game. Their critical observation and guidance helped us all to improve.

Winning the contest has definitely made a difference to my life. People now know me, music directors offer me singing assignments and I am flooded with offers for concerts all over the country.

The first of these concerts was in April, two months after winning the contest in February, when I performed at Judges Field in Guwahati. Singing my favourite numbers in front of my own people has its own magic. It is beyond any definition.

I am happy at the people?s wonderful response to my album Debojit and its title song, My heart goes?

I have also signed contracts for albums in Assamese and Bengali, and a playback offer from Bollywood?s very own ?disco dancer?, Bappi Lahiri, for his forthcoming film Cabaret.