‘You Inspired Millions To Reach For The Sky’

The sudden death of Prashant Tamang at 43 has sent shockwaves among his friends, family and the rest of the nation.

Meiyang Chang formed a bond with the former Indian Idol 3 winner during the reality singing show in 2007.

He pens his tribute in a moving letter to Tamang:

As I return from Darjeeling, after seeing you one last time in your city of birth, I am going through our chats, voice notes, pictures and memories and traveling back in time to 2007.

I remember the shy, lanky boy from Kolkata police, who executed a perfect knee slide on his selection on Indian Idol.

We auditioned from the same city but eventually met for the first time on the train to Mumbai.

It was easy to miss a guy like you in a loud, excited bunch — a silent, brooding, fish-out-of-water with a piercing gaze that made me wonder what was going on in your mind.

We didn’t immediately become friends but eventually gravitated towards each other, perhaps because we were of the same age (24 and oldest in the group), or because we were both untrained but passionate about singing.

Or perhaps we struck up a kinship because we saw a fellow ‘apna’ in another ‘other’.

It is to the credit of your beautiful nature that even though we were competitors, I unreservedly wanted you to win.

You and I lived in the same Mumbai house in our early working days. Even when you were on tour, you would always ask after me, encourage me, listen to my rants, insist that I take your car and not public transport so that I might be treated better at meetings and auditions.

I would tease you that though you’d won a car, you didn’t know how to drive and supported a football club that never wins.

You would good-naturedly retort with the taunt that none of that mattered because you had already beaten me in the competition and I should be privileged to be your driver.

We could say anything to each other without judgement or ego, and reveled in each other’s success over two decades.

You taught me my first Nepali songs, helped me with auditions that required Nepali dialogues.

We often traveled together to the mountains and you always took care of me and protected me.

You would follow my acting work and tell me you were proud of me… then add ‘seriously’ as an after-note in your typical deadpan manner, as if I wouldn’t believe you.

You gave me more respect than I deserved and are probably one of the handful of people in my life who I have never been angry at, except now when you’ve left us so soon.

You presented yourself with grace and honour even when pressures or controversies during and after the competition erupted.

To carry the expectations of millions must have been an unimaginable burden, and even though it weighed on you at times, you always carried yourself with dignity and determination.

You did not just make it out of millions of hopefuls, you inspired millions to reach for the sky.

Money and fame did not get to your head, and your family and friends always came first.

You forgave even the vilest of people because you hoped to see the goodness in them that was inherent in you.

You stood for representation and unity and were bringing people together from even before fame became your ally.

You had no filter on your love for people, neither did you show any arrogance for those who took you for granted.                                  I witnessed firsthand how your love story with Martha blossomed, and how you forged a beautiful family with her.

The last few years have been a series of missed catch-up opportunities but never a missed connection.

We were constantly in touch through audio and video calls, and knew what was going on in each other’s lives.

I’d joke that you better utilise this time raising your daughter like a good father and that we will meet more regularly when she grows up.

And by God, you were the most doting father.

I was over the moon when you were selected for Paatal Lok where you just killed it, and it is unfathomable that I will now see you for one last time on screen in the upcoming Battle of Galwan. 

My lasting memory of you is your absolute humility in the face of hardships as well as success.

Having to work from an early age when your father passed away, putting in interminably long hours on police duty, from making Rs 400 singing all night with the police orchestra to earning millions, and more importantly, the love of a global audience.

I don’t know how many people know this (especially the newer audiences who know you only as the cold-blooded sniper from Paatal Lok), but behind that tough exterior was one of the goofiest and nicest persons I ever met.

I know eulogies tend to be hagiographic, but for those who knew you know that you were a genuinely good man; a rare quality in today’s world.

You had the ability to laugh at yourself but never punched down at anyone.

Your poker-faced humour always had me in splits, and the memory of your loving nature and quick wit is something that’s making me smile even as I write this through tears.

You were also deeply emotional, and it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that you were the glue that held our group together, even as some of us inevitably drifted apart.

You orchestrated the final get-together in November last year that I could not make it to.

We last spoke on your birthday on January 4 that I would make up for it by meeting you this month, even though I suspected you might bail.

You did not, I’ll give you that.

You finally managed to get us back to Darjeeling to see you. Only, I never imagined it would be under such circumstances.

My hope and prayer for Ariah is that despite this untimely tragedy, she will grow up to be like her father who despite everything had no bitterness and lived life for those he cared for.

To Martha, who has always been such a positive influence on your life: It’s easy to ask her to be strong when she’s lost the love of her life, but for the sake of the memories and bond you shared, I hope she can be and will live life to the fullest for the three of you.

Prashant mero bhai…you are the finest example of how one can stay grounded and yet conquer the skies.

You taught me the lesson of brotherhood that I hope to live and propagate.

You will remain in my heart through this life and the next.

I am going to miss you and your dorky laughter.

Rest in everlasting love.

Meiyang.