MUMBAI: The founder of Indian band ‘Rait’ and Guinness World record holder for being the youngest tabla player – Pawandeep Rajan, who started playing the tabla when he was two and a half years old, went ahead to win &TV’s singing reality show ‘The Voice India’ on 30 August, 2015.

Interestingly, this Uttarakhand boy never imagined making it through the audition rounds, which is why his victory has turned out to be magical to him. “I am still in my dream world. When my name was announced I was just lost. This is for the first time that a turning point has come in my career. Shaan sir selected me in the auditions and since then I have only given my hundred percent,” Rajan added.

Coach Shaan too agrees with Rajan, said, “There were good voices in my team but they weren’t that consistent. Pawan was someone who kept performing. So gradually I realised that if someone is going to make it from my team, it is going to be him.”

Rajan celebrated his victory with tears in his eyes and so did his mother for her son managed to win the first competition that he ever entered (the singer has never participated in another reality show before). Co-contestants lifted him up in pride. “The part that I like the most about my victory is seeing a smile on everyone’s faces. Not a single co-contestant or coach felt that I did not deserve the trophy. They were really happy for me,” averred the artist.

‘The Voice’ winner has got a Maruti Alto K10 car and a music album contract with Universal Music. However, for this reality show winner, there are miles to go before he sleeps. “I really worked hard and learnt everything that I could here. But, now I will work harder and keep my feet on ground, for it’s just the start. I wouldn’t want to fly in the air. I just want to learn a lot and do something in life. In fact, I will get back to learning classical music, which is something that I initiated just three weeks before participating in 'The Voice.' I also want to learn western music as it involves a lot of techniques and also helps in voice modulation,” said Rajan.

He also wants to make it big in playback having sung a song for Himesh Reshammiya. “Himesh Sir did ask me to sing a song for him so, let’s see how it goes. I would want to work with Pritam and A.R. Rahman. I think I would like to work with all the music composers,” said an elated Rajan.

When asked if he sees Rajan making it big as a playback artist, Shaan stated, “The kind of music and songs that trend these days, you just don't know what or who is going to be the next big thing. It’s difficult to forecast but he is a wonderful person and there is something very amicable and pleasing about him. He has an aura around him that is comforting and has that special thing about him. So, I am sure that he is going to go places. But, how ambitious and desperate he is will matter at the end, as this is the age of desperate. If you are really desperate, you get it. There was this age when it was so much about talent, but now you have to be proactively desperate.”

With most of the reality show winners ending up being on more reality shows, we asked the winner if he would follow the trend. This is what he firmly stated, “I don’t experiment with things much. Moreover, I am not interested in acting so, I will be more focused on singing. I don’t know how to dance so I don’t see myself doing such reality shows. I just want people to remember me. I never want to go missing.”

The artist has also made a few friends for life on the show and he will always remember them. “Sachet Tandon, Parampara Thakur and Rishabh Chaturvedi will stay my friends forever,” stated ‘The Voice’ winner.