She was one of the strongest contenders from Bappi Lahiri's Josh Gharana in "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007", who had held on to the contest with tenacity despite discouraging remarks from judges on some of her performances.

But Mauli Dave definitely deserved the title of Indian Shakira that her guru Bappida had given her on the show. No wonder, her elimination from the musical talent hunt this week will be yet another blow to music-lovers across the globe who relished her typically rustic nasal pitch and her power-packed performances.

A close source revealed: "Mauli was running short of votes and was finally eliminated. However, this did not go down well with Bappida as Mauli was his favourite.

For the first time, he was very upset and angry on the show, as he had much confidence about the budding singer whom he had handpicked from the US, making it to the top three. He was visibly upset about the results and expressed his displeasure over it."

Although Mauli was equally upset, she graciously bowed out without betraying her emotions.

Hailing from a Gujarati family settled in Houston, Texas, USA, Mauli came into the spotlight after being crowned Miss Teen India Texas 2007.

Her first song on "Sa Re Ga Ma" "Mayya Mayya" fetched her a standing ovation from the entire panel of judges and the studio audience. Recently, there were rumours that Mauli was seeing the host of the show Aditya Narayan and that they were spotted together on many occasions.

However, the two have never brought up this matter in public. It is learnt that Aditya went mum after Mauli's elimination was announced. "He was visibly upset but he did not express it at all," the source informed.

With just a handful of contestants remaining on the show, the judges had rightly said that each elimination would be a big loss for the contest. -Anju Gupta