On a breezy afternoon in Kolkata, where café chatter blends with honking yellow taxis and the scent of old books and fresh kathi rolls lingers in the air, a heartwarming scene was spotted on Park Street few weeks ago. A boy with a guitar stood still amid the bustle. He wasn’t busking for fame or spectacle. He played because it was the one thing that made him feel alive and the one thing that brought him closer to his dream of studying at the Berklee College of Music in the United States

As his fingers moved across the strings and his voice wove through the street noise, people slowed down. Some paused. One filmed. The video travelled far, and with it, the name of 15-year-old Debraj Bhattacharya. But behind the calm exterior of the now-viral busker lies a story shaped by personal loss, quiet grit, and the unwavering love between a father and son.

Holding on to music after loss

Debraj grew up in a home where music was ever-present. His mother, a singer herself, filled their small home with songs — until cancer took her away. Debraj was young when she passed, but the memory of her voice and love for music stayed on. It became a lifeline. A way to hold on to something that loss had almost taken away.

His father, Debashish Bhattacharya, once worked with a major production house but left it all to raise his son alone. “The transition was hard, but I made sure I stood by him and his dreams. We only have each other, and that’s enough for me,” tells The Better India

Their home was not just about survival. It was about nurturing a dream. “People may think........

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