Madhya Pradesh: Visually-Impaired Singer’s Epic Journey From Bundelkhand To Bollywood

The song, Main Tere Hi Bharose, from the sleeper hit Hanuman Ansh, has made him literally a celebrity in his home state of Madhya Pradesh.

Once sighted at village gatherings and on trains singing traditional bhajans to make a living, Lodhi is now being accorded a warm welcome by the VVIPs at their respective places after the runaway success of his song, making him an internet sensation.

“The song proved to be a turning point in my life”, soft-spoken Lodhi who was greeted for his success by chief minister Mohan Yadav at the latter’s official residence here on Friday, told this newspaper.

A physical disability and humble background might have broken a lesser soul into abandoning their passion midway, but Lodhi is made of different stuff- determined to let nothing stand in the way of his love for music.

Born in the obscure village of Agra in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, Lodhi evinced interest in music when he was ten-year-old.

He used to be seen singing bhajans at his village gatherings, accompanied by a tambura, a stringed musical instrument.

His fame had gone beyond the borders of his village when a relative of his introduced him to a connoisseur of art and culture of Bundelkhand who ran a page ‘Bundeli Duniya’ on social media.

The social media platform gave him wide exposure in the internet after he posted his videos on traditional bhajans and other Bundeli folk songs sung by him.

He was invited to Mumbai by the film producer to record a few tracks.

Then the fame followed him.

According to him, he has received several Bollywood offers for playback singing.

The chief minister announced that Lodhi will be given proper training in Bundeli and other folk music to hone his skill in singing.

The state government will also initiate measures to correct his visual-impairment to the best possible extent.