Soumya Sweta Behera with her mother at Badagada Brit Colony in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 15: Soumya Sweta Behera has a great passion for music. The eight-year-old girl, who was born visually impaired, can play a number of musical instruments like a pro.

She can also recite the Bhagavad Gita with immaculate ease. And in doing so, she is forging her way ahead to prove that she is a first among equals.

Soumya, a Class IV student of the Bhima Bhoi School for the Blind in the capital, loves to play the harmonium and practice classical music, which are some of her many passions. The little prodigy has won several awards at classical singing events and has won state-level competitions for reciting the Bhagavad Gita .

“I have great faith in God and so I started listening to the Gita and reciting the text. Nothing moves me more than classical songs, so my parents decided to train me in classical music,” said Soumya.

The only child of her parents, Soumya has brought glory to the family. And she is the apple of her father’s eye.

“Whether it is academics or music, my daughter does everything passionately. We feel very proud of her. It is our dream to see her become a famous singer in the future,” said father Asim Behera, a businessman.

Her music teacher Krushna Chandra Mana recalls the day when he started teaching her classical music.

“Her progress in music is impressive. What surprises me the most is the amount of concentration she shows during practice. She has even cleared the second year of Hindustani classical music, which is a big achievement for a girl of her age,” said Mana, who has been training Soumya for the past three years.

Besides music, Soumya is equally good at sports. “We are lucky to have such a talented student like Soumya in our school. She participates in almost all extracurricular activities organised on the campus. Visually impaired children have other faculties that are heightened. They are quick learners. With the kind of love and encouragement she gets from her parents and more importantly, her determination and willpower, she will surely carve a niche for herself,” her teacher said. The little bundle of talent wishes she could read books on her own.

“I want to read stories from around the world. However, we have to depend on our teachers to read out the books to us. I wish more books could come up in Braille,” she said.