Khonjel Anouba - New Voice
Tales from the Northeast India
Maibam Duranbikash Singh: Manipur's very own singing talent

Maibam Duranbikash Singh, Duran in short, is a young singer from Imphal, Manipur. Born in a family with musical background, his father M. Imocha Singh introduced him to music at a very young age.

“As my parents like music, and my father used to play the tabla, he taught me the different singing styles and insisted that I should sing old songs sung by legends like Kishore Kumar, Mohd. Rafi and other singers,” says the 28-year-old Duran.

 

However, being a shy young boy, Duran would rarely sing in school or anywhere else.  His shyness made him reluctant to pursue his desire to sing.

 

Duran did his Bachelors in Computer Application from Kristu Jayanti College, Bangalore, where he came around to focus on music. “I used to listen to 10-20 songs, singing along with the songs daily."

"One day, a friend who has heard me singing, offered me to sing in a chorus for college band. I went for the rehearsal. In the rehearsal session, I noticed some mistakes in the song – Mitwa - sung by the vocalist. When I pointed out the mistakes, he asked me if I could do justice to the song. I sang on the spot and everyone liked my vocal. What came next was  - I was one of the lead vocalist for the band!”

The performances with the college band gave Duran a break.  His journey started shaping up.

“Without affecting my studies, I started giving lots of performance in college and inter-college competitions. I got many awards which boosted my confidence. I was now building hope to break into Bollywood.

By giving performances I noticed pronunciation mistakes, high pitch problems and tried to improvise.  My best friend Kirtimani Koirala, a Manipuri Nepali who stays along with me, has been helping me a lot in correcting my accent and pronunciation of Hindi.“

It may be mentioned here that Hindi has been banned by the insurgent groups in Manipur since 2000 - 01. Playing Hindi music or movies in public domain earns punishment from the insurgent groups.

“In 2013, I went to attend Indian Idol audition in Mumbai as well as in Kolkata but got rejected. They never told me the reason but I haven’t lost hope. Instead my zeal has increased a lot more."

"I don’t know if it was my Hindi pronunciation for which I got rejected."

"If that is the case then I ask myself if Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan & Shaan can sing Manipuri songs then why can’t I sing Hindi song? I decided to improve myself. I worked hard at home singing different kind of songs hoping that a chance will come one day to show my talent and make my dreams come true. One day Kirtimani told me that Shubhodeep Roy, one of the best music composers wants to meet me. I believe in God and got a calling towards my dream."

 

"After my meeting with Shubhodeep Roy, he chose me to lend my voice for his composition titled "EK PYALI CHAI AUR TUM" which is written by lyricist Mahua Dutta, and recorded in his studio."

"The video of this song was released on 30th July, 2015 evening on YouTube”