National awardee Benzy Kumar is an autistic singer who's even appreciated by Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan!

Benzy Kumar is a 27-year-old singer from Delhi on the Autism spectrum with 12 albums under her name, 3 national awards, and has performed 1,000 shows in India as well as abroad. Her name is even mentioned in the Limca Book of World Records and she is a living example of how Autism doesn't stop you from achieving things if you have the will to do it.

Benzy Kumar was 3 months old when her mother, Kavita, for the first time, noticed something unusual about her daughter. Benzy would neither hold anything nor her eyeballs would move. She would lay still all day and give no reaction no matter what one would do. Kavita was worried, and so she consulted many doctors. "Unfortunately, at that time in India, there was not much awareness about Autism disorder, and it was something new for me, too, as I had never seen such a child in my life. So, we went to America, and that's when we were told that Benzy was a special child", she told Local Samosa. After that, Kavita and her husband shifted to Delhi from Lucknow as the medical facilities in Delhi were better.

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"One day, I noticed she was reacting to something and I was confused about what it was. Later I realized it was the sound of the tape recorder that I was holding. The doctors had explained to us that with the right training and therapy, Benzy can do much better, and so I decided to use music as a therapy for her" Kavita then taught Benzy all the Aalaaps, and after a while, she requested MM Rafee, a senior music teacher and later Guru Ram Shri Mishra to train her.

Music did wonders for Benzy, and she did not just start conversing but also ended up recording 12 albums. At the age of 9, she released her very first album titled Basic Raagas and started performing in and around the city. One of her albums, Koshish was even launched by Hrithik Roshan after Kavita presented him the CD and he found it brilliant." After meeting Benzy Hrithik suggested why doesn't she go see Ameesha Patel next? To which she replied Main.. main, meaning she called herself Ameesha Patel, and since that day we have been calling her Ameesha", laughed Kavita while reminiscing about this sweet launch.

Also Read: Meet India’s first model with Autism, Pranav Bakhshi from Delhi, who’s walking the ramp like a boss!!

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Benzy received two more national awards in 2006 and 2014 for being the first autistic child to release a music album and for being the autistic person with the maximum number of music albums in the world. She was later invited to participate in Autism's Got Talent in London in 2019, where everybody loved her. She did not win it but was appreciated a lot. Bnezy was also called on Kaun Banega Crorepati, and Amitabh Bachchan himself tweeted about her. "I thought he would not listen to the songs and had kept the CD just for the sake of it. But later at night, we received a call congratulating us about how Amit sir had spoken about Benzy on his Twitter", said Kavita.

A big fan of Lata Mangeshkar, Benzy even got a chance to meet the legend in person, and it was one surreal experience for both her and Kavita. "She always keeps Lata Ji's photo and asks to put a bindi on her forehead before every performance and says I'm Lata! So, when we met her for real, it was like a dream come true. We were in Mumbai, and Benzy sang Kuch na Kaho for her, after which Lata Ji said it was a big deal that Benzy is singing that song at such a young age which she had recorded when she was 46 years old. Lata Ji even wrote a letter, and Benzy simply loves her.

In 2010, Benzy lost her father and went into depression for two years. She had stopped singing, and it was a big challenge for Kavita to handle and take care of her during that time. "I started taking her to these shows, and after a lot of effort, she started singing back," she stated.

Right before the lockdown, Kavita started a small organization named Dhoon, where she helps special children and other kids who are into music and dance get opportunities to perform and has supported 60 kids to date. She feels it's high time parents take responsibility for their kids if they have Autism and find out their hidden talent and polish it.

Also Read: Here’s how Purple Butterfly Technologies is helping parents with the early detection of Autism!

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