Sribali Das, a Class IV student of DAV School (Unit-8), Bhubaneswar, is multi-talented. Sheis a singer, dancer, model, anchor and playsseveral instruments.
Recently, she won the Princess category at the beauty pageant ‘Junior Model International 2019’held in Kerala and will now participate in the World Final of the event to be held in October in Dubai. She also bagged the Best Talent and Best National Costume titles at the pageant.
Sribali was just four when she performed on the stage for the first time. She has so far showcased her dancing and singing skills in nearly 250 stage shows across the state. However, she came into the limelight after her music album Sai Baba, Bhola Babagarnered over3.6 million views onYouTube.
Born to Manoj Das, a senior official in a public limited company, and homemaker Lipsa Das Patnaik, Sribali has always been a good student. Last year, she got an award for scoring 98 per cent in her academics.
Proud father Manoj says, “Sribali is a gifted kid. We have never forced her to sing or dance. We observed that she was interested in singing and dancing so we enrolled her at the Odissi Dance Academy where she could learn the nuances of classical dance under the tutelage of Odissi exponent Aruna Mohanty. Later, she wanted to learn music and we arranged for singer-cum-composer AbhayaMalla to teach her music and keyboard. Under his guidance and direction, Sribali recorded her first music album Sai Baba, Bhola Baba. But she has not received any training formodelling and anchoring. She became interested in both after watching beauty competitions on YouTube.”
He continues: “Many contestants inthe age group of 7-9 participated in the national-level Junior Model International 2019 in Kerala. She didn’t receive any training for the event. So, it was surprising when she won in the Princess category. She walked the ramp at Junior Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2017 inKolkata which was sponsored by US Polo Assn Kids and stole the show. Since then, she has taken part in manyshows. She is also the winner of contests like Miss Petal, Little Miss Odisha-2016, Little Miss Odisha International 2018 and India’s Talent Samrat, 2018. For the final round of the Junior Model International 2019, I have asked Odisha Fashion Villa to groom her. Besides, if things go as per plan, she will release her second album on YouTube soon.”
Sharing some memorable moments, Sribali says, “The release of my maiden music album will remain one of the most memorable days in my life. It brought me overnight popularity among music lovers. Besides, I cherish the moment when my name was announced as a winner at Junior Model International 2019, a national-level competition.”
Sheadds,“Without the blessing of the Almighty and support from my parents and grandparents, the win at Junior Model International would have beennext to impossible. My family has always encouraged me and boosted my morale when I felt low.”
Despite being good in singing, dancing and other extracurricular activities, Sribali wants to be an IAS officer in future. “I am very passionate about dancing and singing, but I would like to be an IAS officer,” says Sribali who loves to spend time with her grandparents.
RASHMI REKHA DAS, OP
