“I know that I am breaking into the male bastion. Playing dhol is more than a hobby for me,” says Kirandeep. She also loves to play guitar, tabla and synthesiser. She has been pursuing training in guitar and tabla from Pracheen Kala Kender, Chandigarh.

After a performance at a college recently, singer and actor Harbhajan Mann appreciated “the dedication of the girl”.

Apart from winning accolades for her finesse in playing dhol and winning first prize in a youth festival, she has also been a topper in BA I and II in Panjab University. “She is equally good at studies. She also teaches music to some 25 students of all age groups at home. This makes us proud of her,” says her mother Bhupinder Kaur.

Kirandeep’s father Manmohan Singh, who was a tabla player in the college, said: “I have two daughters but she is my elder son. People say girls are as good as boys but she is practically proving it.”