‘Teachers here always helped me explore my talents’

He says he is genetically gifted, to which there is no denying after watching him win accolades after accolades during singing competitions. Meet Ayaan Imam, class VIII student at Apeejay School, Nerul who is shining bright in the world of sur and taal.  

Read edited excerpts here. 

Tell us about your achievements in singing at school so far. 

I was in class IV when I participated in a singing competition virtually. I was nervous but still gave my best and won the 2nd prize in the year 2020. The following year, when I was in the class V, my spirits were high. I was highly motivated and I even won the 1st prize that year.

Who inspired you to sing?

My inspiration for singing was my mother. Even as a toddler, it was mother who taught and still teaches me everything that I know including studies. I heard her singing during a karaoke and found that she has a great voice. I thought to myself, if she can sing, so can I. So I asked her to teach me singing and from that day she started teaching. The first song which I learnt from her was Tu kitni achhi hai by Lata Mangeshkarji.

Who is your favourite singer? 

Generally I don’t follow any singer on social media but I like to listen to the song of Mukesh picturised on Raj Kapoor like Kehata hai joker and Dunia banane wale.

How did Apeejay support you in your singing talent? 

The school helped me a lot to redeem my singing talent by motivating me to participate and taking practices constantly. The teachers had a significant role in this too.

Where did you train yourself for singing? 

As I have said before that I learnt singing by my mom and some by my dad too.I didn’t go to any classes to learn music.

Do you plan to pursue singing in future?

No, I won’t be pursuing singing in future professionally. According to my mother ‘one should not participate to win the prize but to become a good performer and to entertain the audience’. So I’ll try to give my best performance every year.