Maid meets star singers

Maid makes dream come
true meeting with pop stars

She is a an Indian housemaid in Kuwait for the past 8 years, taking care of 3 children of a house in Hawally, having her entertainment limited to watching TV. They are the stars of the popular Indian reality show - the winners the maid believes her prayers for them had helped them to win. After the show was ended last October, the winners became globetrotting stage programmers and the maid continued her house chores as usual - except this past weekend. Now Annu Thomas, 42, has something to cherish the rest of her life. She met with the stars, Joby John and Anju Joseph who came to Kuwait last Friday for the Syro Malabar Cultural Association Christmas New Year celebration, chatted with them for more than an hour over an Arabic, Indian lunch.



People going crazy when they meet a star is nothing new for Joby John, the Star Singer winner. At a shopping mall in Dubai, he said, a 50 something woman admirer hugged him calling him 'My son'. The 10 million worth house winner, famous for his melody numbers, is the son-next-door type, winning hearts of the millions of viewers when the show was running for a year, thanks to his poor economic background and humble nature. He shared with the maid his hard upbringing, how he found solace in soulful melodies and his future plans to produce, direct and act in music albums.
Unlike Joby who did not have sound background lessons in Indian classical music because of his hard background, Anju Joseph, the runner-up, is more popular for her classical rendering, an area she has been learning since she was a first grader. Now a final year English literature degree student, and despite her tight stage programs, she travels many kilometers to a famous musician, in her native Kerala for her weekly classical music lessons. Joby, 27, senior among his co contestants, is an Economics degree holder and music, he says, is his food and soul.

Annu was overjoyed to talk about the meeting. "I asked Joby what would have happened if he did not make it and he said something which I couldn't focus on because I was too busy thinking of my second question", she said. Her second question was what did he think make him win and the star singer said, God's mercy.
Anju Joseph disclosed her intimacy with and influence of her mother, Mini, a singer at heart but who could not make it to the limelight because of cultural reasons. Anju's father's side is full of musicians, including her music teacher aunt. "I have been offered film roles", Anju said, "but my family said not until I complete my education".

The meeting took place during a friendly lunch organized by a music lover Indian businessman George Sebastian at his Riggae residence.