Zee shows-off singing sensations in style

It was an interesting coincidence that Zee decided to unveil its final ten contestants of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge, the day the Fame Jodi was to be announced by Sony! But taking no points away from the awesome ten, this was an evening that will be remembered by the media (at the press conference held at Hilton Hotel in suburban Mumbai) for a long time to come. One thing that was noticeable was that there was no effort on part of the channel to make the event a glamorous one -- contestants were not dressed in desginer wear, nor were they dolled up to look good. They were there to do what they did best -- sing! And sing they did -- melodious numbers, without any hoopla accompanying them. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the show was the slice of India that it offered. The participants were from different parts of the country -- Assam, Kolkata, Chamba (Himachal Pradesh), Jaipur, Lukhnow, Mumbai and as far as the UK. The format of the show too seemed as fair as a reality show can afford to be -- the judges along with the mentors, have now chosen the best ten and two more will be added to the list by what is called the brahmaastra, and from then on they will be at the mercy of the viewers who will be voting in. This is the best that a reality format can do to get the cream de la cream! With Fame Gurukul coming to an end, and Indian Idol just about getting started, this is the perfect time for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa to gain some momentum and reach a climax and basically cash in on the reality craze -- and with the kind of talent that they have at their disposal, they will have no problems reaching their goals! The show is divided into four gharanas, headed by a magical mentor. The mentors have eight contestants that they can train and groom, but one by one they are eliminated by celebrity judges. After a final screening, now there are ten of the best who will now be scrutinised by the viewers. These are the contestants who are still in the race-- Aadesh Srivastava is one of the luckiest menators in the fray with four contestants - Himani from Faridabad, Rakhtima from Kolkata, Ramachandran from Hyderabad and Rajiv from Himachal Pradesh. Rajiv is a cook in his hometown, Chamba and he has followed his dream of becoming a singer. He had treck down a sliding hilly road to reach the bus stop from where he made his way to Mumbai. Himani has already recorded a prestigious song with her mentor Adesh Shrivastav. Himmesh Reshammiya's gharana has just one contestant -- -- Vineet, who is a trained classical singer. Himesh has alreday made Vineet sing for him in Kalpana Lajmi's Chingari .Vineet started learning music at the age of 5 yrs Jatin- Lalit gharana has two contestants in the race -- Sharib and Sawananda. Sawananda, who's from UK, left her husband behind in London so that she could participate in Challenge and realize her dream of becoming a singer. Ismail Durbar has Twinkle, Nihira and Debojit as his representatives.Nihira has lent her voice to the hit song Dhadak Dhadak from the movie Bunty Aur Babli. Debojit is a civil engineer from Assam.