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The unsung heroes who sang and danced their way into hearts

Dubai - Over 1,500 labourers from around 15 workers' accommodations showcased the talents of Dubai's blue collar force

Dubai's unsung heroes finally got the spotlight at Smart Idol, a competition organised to showcase the talents of emirate's blue-collar labourers.
The Smart Idol 2017 finale, held at the Sheikh Rashid auditorium on May 19, found a host of spectacular talents go up on stage from various workers' accommodations in Dubai.
Pankaj Singh Ghrti, 21, came to Dubai just eight months ago as a labourer from Nepal and worked his way up to becoming an office boy. But his real tryst with fame came on Friday night when won the Smart Idol title in the dance category. Pankaj performed a contemporary style dance on Bollywood number 'Abhi mujhe mein kahin.'.
"It was like a dream come true when I walked on to the stage and saw a 1,000 plus people assembled there. It has always been my aspiration to showcase my talent to a larger audience, but never knew how to reach there. It is SmartLife and Smart Idol that gave me this impressive stage and through this win, the NGO has reinforced my confidence in myself.''
Zulfiqar Ali, from Transguard, was crowned as the best singer in the singing category. The winners walked away with prize money of Dh5,000 each.
An emotional Zulfiqar Ali told Khaleej Times: "Smart Idol was an opportunity beyond my wildest dreams. After being chosen as one of the finalists for the finale, I would wait impatiently for Friday for the practice sessions. My singing techniques underwent a sea change with the professional mentoring given to us there and that's how I won.
"Singing is my passion, my interest and my life. I left my home country, my kids, family and friends, to work and give my family a good life. But taking care of the basic needs of our families such as food, school fees, loan installments, keeps us so preoccupied that we even forget our very self. Today Smart Idol has given me the feeling that I too am somebody and for that I feel grateful."
Zulfiqar has a big family in Pakistan and he intends to sending his full prize money of Dh5,000 back home. For him it was more about his talent being recognised and getting an opportunity to perform in front of a packed auditorium like a superstar.
For Indrani Dasgupta, project lead for Smart Idol, it was an enriching experience. "I worked alongside an amazing team with impressive talents that we unearthed from the workers' accommodations in Dubai. I can say with pride that this will prove to be a journey of complete transformation for not just the winners, but for every finalist who went on stage during our Idol finale,'' she said.
All finalists will now become a part of the SmartBand that will garner them opportunities to perform in various corporate events and functions. The first runners up in the singing category was Satpal Singh, while in the dance category Jayaseelan from Sri Lanka took the runners up position. Both the runners up were awarded with Dh2,500 cheques each.
A hardcore Michael Jackson and Prabu Deva fan, Jayaseelan, works at inventory control in Ted Baker and hopes to start dance classes for school boys.
With live orchestra, powerful performances and energetic crowd that danced and sang with the performers, not only was it a befitting celebration of the talents of the workers but also a perfect way of boosting their self esteem that surely went up several notches.
Organised by SmartLife, an NGO licensed by the Community Development Authority (CDA) Dubai, Smart Idol takes place over nine months, where more than 1,500 labourers from Dubai are auditioned from around 15 workers' accommodations with their singing and dancing talents in the preliminary rounds.
saman@khaleejtimes.com