Teriya Fauja Magar beat 40,000 competitors to win Dance India Dance Little
Master’s competition. She was in Qatar recently to perform. By Usha Wagle Gautam
Teriya Fauja Magar, who became the first Nepali to win the Dance India Dance Little Master’s (DID Little Master) competition in June, was in Qatar on Eid al-Fitr. She performed in front of a crowd of 10,000 people.
“I want to thank you for your support. Support me more, I will bring glory to our country,” she told the booming crowd during her performance. The 11-year-old has been subject of much discussion and has been in constant demand, with Nepali expat communities all over the world vying for her time. She has even been dubbed the “daughter of the nation” in a number of circles back in Nepal.
The winner in DID Little Master is chosen by public voting. According to the producers, Teriya got 5 million votes from Nepal, 4 million from India and 112 million from all over the world to win the competition. In Nepal, a number of internet cafes had offered free internet access to people to allow them to vote for her.
Community got a chance to catch up with the star about her life before and after the win.
She said she remembers the long hours of dance practice, where she would have to wipe off the sweat from her forehead and keep at it. “I put my heart into it and now I believe that self-control can help you achieve any dream; it can take you to success.”
She went through three auditions before she was able to compete in the show. In all, she competed with nearly 40,000 other contestants below the age of 14 to win the title, according to the producers of the show.
Legendary actor Mithun Chakraborty said of her performance: “Nepal is a beautiful country, I love the nice people there and a queen from Nepal has come to participate here.”
Akshaya Kumar, another famous Bollywood star, was so taken in by her performance that he jokingly asked her to teach him her dancing steps even if “I may not be able to get them all.”
She remembers watching the previous seasons of the show and considering performing on that stage a dream. For her, it was a dream that was seemingly out of reach. “I wished I could dance like those children.”
Teriya acknowledges the role her family played in her success and said she would want to dedicate her win to her parents and grandparents. Her grandfather, she said, was the person who would take her on a bicycle to the dancing school 30 minutes away every day.
Teriya’s father works in Dubai and mother runs a canteen in the school where she studies. Her grandfather, who has served in the Indian army, was the one who made arrangements for her participation in the show.
Anita Magar, her mother, said, “It’s wonderful to receive so much attention. Mothers rarely get such an opportunity, to be identified by the work of their daughters. I am glad to be one such mother.”
She is, however, concerned about balancing dancing and studying. Teriya has a three-year work contract with Zee TV, the network that produced the show. Balancing the two will be a challenge, Anita said. For instance, Teriya's participation in the competition forced her to be away from school for five months and miss her final examinations.
But Teriya feels the entire experience was worth it. Her nationality was revealed only when she made it to the last 16. It was then that the people in Nepal started tuning into the show. After making it to the top 6, she was taken to Nepal where she was received by a large crowd at the airport and in her hometown.
The win in the finals for her was like “heavy rain that falls from sky without any prior notice.”
During her short visit to Qatar, she was felicitated by more than 20 Nepali expatriate organisations. She said she feels close with Qatar and the Nepali expatriates whose love and affection helped her win. “Really, Qatar is a beautiful place and it is interesting to find this large number of Nepali people united by a common thread.”