Esther Hnamte is a musical prodigy from Northeast who was recently awarded Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar. (Image: Instagram/ estherhnamte_official)
Esther Lalduhawmi Hnamte is a 9-year-old singer born on June 9, 2016, in Lunglei, Mizoram. Esther has been singing from a very young age and has gone viral due to her melodious musical ability. Her journey is said to have begun with singing at church and community events, but Esther’s major breakthrough came with her magical renditions of AR Rahman’s “Maa Tujhe Salaam” and “Vande Mataram”, which went viral in the year 2020, bringing her into the limelight.
Her performances have drawn applause from everywhere across India, that include Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah. Esther’s rendition of Vande Mataram was especially lauded and helped her build a broad fan base. This year, Esther was awarded the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2025 in the Art & Culture category, which is the highest civilian honour for children in India. President Droupadi Murmu conferred the award at a ceremony in New Delhi on December 26, which recognises her extraordinary talent and contribution to music at such a young age.
Esther has had a series of milestones in her career that helped her rise from regional music to a nationally recognised talent. Her collaborations are significant, like the widely popular rendition of “Jana Gana Mana” with the Indian Army’s Assam Rifles that has reached millions of views and cemented her position as a prodigy.
Esther was also appreciated for her performance of “Vande Mataram” in person during a visit to the state of Mizoram in March 2025, where she was gifted a guitar as a token of appreciation, highlighting a rare sincerity in her expression of patriotism.
According to reports, Esther is the fastest-growing young musician in the Northeast, as her YouTube channel has more than a million subscribers.
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