Singing with pride: Meet the Chandigarh-origin man who recited the National Anthem at Australian cricket grounds
A student of DAV Model School, Sector 15, and later Government College, Sector 46, Saroch pursued masters in Indian Classical Music (vocal) from Panjab University before enrolling in a healthcare course in Australia
It was a dream come true for Ashutosh Saroch, a native of Chandigarh, as he recited the Indian National Anthem to the crowds at Gaba Cricket Ground and Allan Border Field Cricket Ground in Australia’s Brisbane where the Indian men’s cricket team led by Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur-led women’s teams took on their Australian counterparts last week.
Forty-year-old Saroch, who grew up learning Indian classical music in Chandigarh, had migrated to Australia in 2010 for better career opportunities.
A student of DAV Model School, Sector 15, and later Government College, Sector 46, Saroch pursued masters in Indian Classical Music (vocal) from Panjab University before enrolling in a healthcare course in Australia.
It wasn’t easy for the music enthusiast, who had noted Punjabi singer Satinder Sartaj as his senior, to make the switch to healthcare.
“I didn’t want to give up my passion for singing. So, as soon as I reached Brisbane, I joined Brisbane Baba’s music band,” he said.
“I honed my singing and music skills through this band. It was later in 2019 when six of my friends and I made our very own band named Infusion. As a matter of fact, I wrote to Cricket Australia back in 2019, asking if we could recite the National Anthem at the Gaba 2021 January Test match. But back then, due to the raging pandemic, we were denied permission. And what we manifested in 2019, came true now,” he said.
The band played outside the stadium at Gaba.
Recalling his experience at the matches, Saroch said, “It was a great experience being the only singer singing the Indian National Anthem at the start of both games in front of such a huge crowd. It was like a dream come true.”
The 40-year-old also has a cricketing connection. Two decades he used to play for a club named Prudential Cricket Club in Chandigarh as an all-rounder. His passion for cricket continued in Brisbane too, as he joined the Southern Knights Cricket Club for which he still plays.
“It was surreal to see Indian cricket greats like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill from close quarters. I mean these guys won the T-20 World Cup for India just a few months ago, I was in awe. I shared a hello with Shubman and Virat also,” shared Saroch, who has been a nurse with the Queensland Healthcare System for nine years.
