Sai Prasanna Behera is only nine years old but has already started making his presence felt in the world of singing, dancing acting and painting. Besides, Sai regularly participates in recitation and debate competitions and is also an amateur model. The little champion shares the secret behind his success with Orissa POST.
Born to Sanjay and Pushpalata Behera, the Class IV student from Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir, Sundarikhala, Dhenkanal, was smitten by the singing and dancing bug at the tender age of four. “We really feel proud when someone says that our son is gifted. I spotted his talent when he was four years old and decided to groom him. I started accompanying him to different singing and dancing competitions. The best thing was that he had no stage fright and was very comfortable performing in front of a large audience,” says Sanjay.
Gradually, Sai started participating in more competitions. And most of the time, he would come back home with an award. Today, he has more than a 100 awards in his cabinet. “Be it singing, dancing, skits, or debate competitions, he is comfortable doing everything. However, he has a special weakness for dancing for which we have enrolled him in Shivay Dance Academy, where he is learning the art from Shiva Ranjan Behera,” adds Sanjay.
That said, Sai is an equally brilliant student and is a favourite with his teachers. Ask him how he manages to balance all these things along with studies, and Sai says, “My parents do all the time management for me. They have been extremely supportive. They encourage me at every step and I try to give my best shot at everything I do, including academics.”
Getting exposure at an early age has helped Sai a lot. He loves the stage but never neglects his studies. “I know studies are a priority and I have to give it equal importance,” says Sai, adding, “It was really a proud moment for me when I was given the Sisu Pratibha Samman by a prominent organisation. This gave my confidence a boost. Since then I have won a number of awards like Little Smart Champ, Little Master and Mahima Nrutyakala Samman.”
Besides, Sai also won the Best Actor and Best Dancer awards at the All India Drama and Dance Competition, held at Cuttack. In 2018, he won the prestigious Jatiya Nrutyakalamani Samman. “I really felt special after winning the Nrutyashree Award at the International Dance and Music Festival in Kathamandu. It was a grand affair which saw participants from Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Korea, Malaysia and Mexico. I had never thought that I would beat them all to win the first prize,” says Sai, who has also won other awards like Ambedkar Pratibha Samman, Guru Gangadhar Smaraki Samman, Kalashree Samman and Nrutya Gourab Samman.
Sai’s achievements in school make his parents equally proud. He won the gold medal in International Olympiad of English Language and bronze medal in International Olympiad of Mathematics.
“He also won the Nrutya Gourab Samman at the 27th International Theatre Olympiad and Festival held at Cuttack. He performed traditional dances such as Chhau, Ghumura, Ghudki and Paika at the fest and danced to the popular Odia number Mo Odisha. He will soon be performing in Iran. We never put extra pressure on him because he is sincere in everything that he does. Today, I really feel proud when people in my locality identify me as Sai’s father. I hope he keeps doing well in life,” says Sanjay.
BRATATI BARAL, OP
