Guwahati, Nov. 18: When one-year-old Supriya's father, Dulu Kumar Khaund, found his daughter suffering from a "mild case" of Down's Syndrome, he went into depression. But with time, he shook off his despair and decided to help his child to explore her strengths and passions.

The result: Supriya, now 20, will receive an award for being an "outstanding creative adult person with disability" from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on December 3.

The Hengerabari resident's dancing and singing prowess caught the eye of officials from the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment, who selected her for the award.

An emotional Dulu Kumar told reporters this afternoon that the award would provide inspiration to parents with differently-abled children. "She (Supriya) has brought pride to the state. At this happy moment I would like to request parents of differently-abled children to always support and guide their offspring so that they can proudly live like any other person," Dulu Kumar said.

"At first when we discovered her problem (the triplication of the 21st chromosome), we became depressed. It is very difficult to raise such a child. Only those parents who have such a child can understand. But instead of leaving her alone, we tried to find out her strong points. We let her learn dance and music. And she did well," Dulu Kumar, who works with the state's directorate of secondary education, said.

In 2006, Supriya's parents took her to a dance academy, Sangit Sattra, to learn Xattriya. To their "great relief", the teacher at the academy, Rinjumoni Saikia, immediately accepted her.

"I was confident that I would be able to teach her. I was confident because I had seen how at age 65, famous Kathak dancer Reba Vidyarthi, mother of actor Ashish Vidyarthi, had taught Kathak to a hearing and speech impaired girl in New Delhi," Saikia said.

"Supriya continued to learn. Sometimes handling matters were somewhat difficult. But she could catch well what we taught. In 2014, she became a visharad in Xattriya nritya. Then we taught her how to train other kids. Now, amid her practice and lessons, Supriya teaches her juniors," Saikia said.

After attending her morning classes, Supriya goes to Ashadeep, an NGO that works in the field of mental health, five days a week to teach Xattriya to other differently-abled kids.

Simultaneously, she is a student at Gopal Boro Higher Secondary School and cleared the Class X exams last year.

Supriya also became a visharad in singing under Bhatkhande Sangit Vidyapith, Lucknow, this year, and is also learning to play the keyboard. She has performed across the state and two days ago, Ashadeep recommended her as a performer in the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics.

"Supriya remains busy with dance and music throughout the day. I have seen parents do not allow their differently-abled children to go out of the home. But we have taught Supriya to go out, see the world and live like others. We will continue to support her," the proud father said.