Seniors Have Talent Season 1 Ends on a High

Twelve contestants who were declared winners

For seven weeks, over 80 senior citizens from across the country sang their favourite songs, and competed for the top honours at Seniors Have Talent, the online talent hunt for singing for citizens 60 years and above.

And on Sunday, November 8, we finally had the winners.

They were, in no specific order.

• K V Laxminarayan
• Jameela Mulki
• Radhika Hathi
• Triloki Nath Dubey
• Jagdish Mudaliar
• Lt.Col. Ramesh Ramiah (retd)
• Padma Lal
• Uday Suryavanshi
• Anita De Rakshit
• V Muralidharan
• Gurinder M Singh
• Dr Ananth Prabhu Kumble

Our 20 Finalists were winners from five group rounds – and they won by popular choice or by the choice of our editors and experts. The show was emceed by Jeeya Sethi.

For the finale, each Contestant could sing a song from one of the 10 alphabets given. These were handed out by our eminent jury. Participants had six to nine minutes time to get their act together and come on stage.

The 10 alphabets were:

Sa, Ra, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Na, Aa, Ja, Ha   (स, र, ग, म, प, ध, न, अ, ज, ह).

The Jury:

Dr Mukesh Batra: He needs no introduction… Dr Batra is the pioneer of modern homeopathy in India. He brought standardisation and modern technology to a largely informal homeopathy practice. Dr Batra received the Padma Shri for his contribution to the field of homeopathy. He has 225 clinics across 133 cities including London and Dubai and has impacted the lives of over 15 lakh people worldwide. 

Deepa Gahlot. – She  is one of India’s seniormost entertainment journalists. She is also a columnist with Seniors Today. A National Award-winning film critic, she has authored several books and was head of theatre and film at the NCPA, Mumbai. Needless to say, there are few who know Hindi cinema as well as Deepa Gahlot does.  

Narendra Kusnur. – He is one of India’s best-known music journalists and critics. He is also a columnist with Seniors Today. Born with a musical spoon, he is also popularly referred to as Kaansen (Kaan-say-n). A late bloomer in music criticism, he is as comfortable with international jazz as he is with jhumka gira re. And classical music. Recently he conducted a four-part jazz workshop for the NCPA. 

Vijay Taparia – He is executive director of Supreme Industries and is involved in the philanthropic activities of the family which include running a college for girls, a Sanskrit school and college, an information technology institute and conducting  medical camps in Jaswantgad in Rajasthan. He has written for Seniors Today and we must add here that one of his articles has been among the most read stories on the magazine since launch in July 2019. He is also a committed amateur singer. 

For the benefit of our readers, here were the rules.

All our Contestants were 60 years or above. They coud sing a song from a Hindi film only. The song should be between 3 and 4 minutes. Their time was counted from when the music starts or they start singing . There was no grace time given. In fact we told them that we would mute them at 4 minutes sharp.

In case a Contestant is unable to perform due to poor internet connectivity, she or he would be given two minutes to reboot and login again. If the connectivity isn’t in order, then he or she will be called to sing after the last Contestant, and will be given a fresh alphabet. Thankfully, none of the Contestants had an issue with connectivity.

So here were the 20 Contestants:

Shubhangi Dhanawade

From Pune

An extrovert by nature, Shubhangi Dhanawade likes to socialise. She enjoys singing, listening to music, and watching reality shows on television. Her favourite singers are Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosale, Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi.

Jagdish Mudaliar

From Mumbai

A big fan of Binaca Geet Mala, Jagdish Mudaliar grew up singing old Hindi songs along with the programme, and is now a karaoke singer. His all-time favourite singers are Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey & Mukesh 

Anita De Rakshit

From Jamshedpur

A former banker, Anitaji is an avid traveller and has her own channel on YouTube. She is  trained in Rabindra Sangeet and likes to tune into music by Hemant Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Geeta Dutt.

Padma Lal

From Mumbai

An unplugged performance by Padma Lal made her the editor’s choice winner. With her busy schedule, Ms Lal makes sure there is always place for music in life.

Lt Col Ramesh Ramiah (Retd)

From Bengaluru

Lt Col Ramesh Ramiah served  with the Madras Regiment for 25 years. He runs Art Studio Aakruti at Bangalore where he dabbles in creating oil paintings, writing Hindi poetry and singing Hindi songs on Karaoke

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KV Laxminarayan

KV Laxminarayan finds immense joy in music.  He plays the tabla and mridangam, and is a member of the karaoke club Baar Baar Rafi in the garden city 

Dr Ravikant Gupta

From Dehradun

A gastroenterologist, music is meditation for Dr Ravikant Gupta. He likes to play the bongo, traveling and endoscopy is his hobby. He enjoys tuning into music by Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi and Hemant Kumar. 

Shishir Shah

From Mumbai

Music is meditation and a way of being grateful. Shishir Shah believes in the art of expressing via music. His all-time favourite singers are Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle.

Dr Farooq Adam

From Mumbai

A paediatrician and neonatologist, singing is Dr Farooq Adam’s hobby. He enjoys singing when he is with friends and likes to tune into old Hindi songs.

V Muralidharan

From Chennai

A management consultant, V  Muralidharan grew up with music and it is close to his heart. He plays the keyboard, mouth organ and a bit of flute. He likes to tune into music by Mukesh, Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar.

Gurinder Mohan Singh

From Mumbai

A passionate businessman, Gurinder Mohan Singh has been singing since he was young. He enjoys listening to evergreen Hindi songs and finds joy in performing when he is with his close friends and family.  

Vaishali Sabnis

From Mumbai 

It was a childhood dream to sing. Vaishali Sabnis has been singing for past 10 years. She likes listening to music by Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Mohammed Rafi. She enjoys cooking, embroidery and was into to sport while growing up.

Aylur V Jayaraman

From Bengaluru

He was born in Kerala, raised in Mumbai and now lives in Bengaluru. Music is life to him and he enjoys karaoke. He looks forward to learn table and his all-time favourite singers are Mohammed Rafi, Yesudas and Kishore Kumar.  

Triloki Nath Dubey

From Bhopal

A retired Chief Engineer, music is his passion. Mr Triloki Nath Dubey is a diehard fan of old Hindi music from 50s and 60s, and classical. He enjoys travelling and cricket. He likes to tune into music by Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar. 

Uday Suryavanshi

From Kolhapur

Music has been his passion since he was 10 years old. Uday believes that music is the way to life and he wishes to sing till his last breath. Kishore Kumar is his all-time favourite singer and he enjoys retro music. A big cricket fan, finds joy in TV debates and loves watching shows like Indian Idol and the Kapil Sharma Show.

Anuja Kulkarni

From Mumbai

A pathologist, Anuja Kulkarni plays the keyboard and enjoys dancing. Her all-time favourite singers are Asha Bhosle, Geeta Dutt and Lata Mangeshkar.

Jameela Mulki

From Bengaluru

An actor and artiste, Jameela Mulki is a Bharatanatyam dancer and a multi-linguist – Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayali, Bengali, Marathi and Hindi. She enjoys singing and every aspect of music.

Dr Ananth Prabhu Kumble

From Mangaluru 

A general surgeon who has a talent of singing in different voices, Dr Ananth Prabhu Kumble always wanted to learn the tabla while growing up and has a keen interest in acting, in fact he has even acted in a movie. He likes to tune into old melodies of Shankar Jaikishan and Mohammed Rafi. he is also part of a karaoke club and enjoys sports.

Radhika Hathi

From Mumbai

Coming from a family of singers, Radhika Hathi has sung all her life. She worships Lataji and enjoys listening to old Hindi songs. Her favourite music composers are Shankar Jaikishan and SD Burman. She is a carrom player, finds joy in family get-togethers and her kitty parties.  

Karanjit Singh Bajwa from Ludhiana wasn’t able to join the Grand Finale because of connectivity issue, but he was our Editor’s Choice winner in Group B

You can send in your Entries for Season 2 of Seniors Have Talent

Visit https://seniorstoday.in/seniors-have-talent