Sambalpur: Popular Sambalpuri Song ‘Rangabati’ Singer Krishna Patel has been honored with the prestigious Padma Shri Award

Sambalpur: Dr. Krishna Patel received the Padma Shri from the hands of President Draupadi Murmu at the Varnadhya ceremony held at the Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with many ministers and dignitaries were present on the occasion. Union Home Minister Amit Shah hosted him for dinner at Sushma Swaraj Bhavan in the evening. Home Minister Amit Shah along with Kendra Ashwini Vaishnav, Piyush Goyal were prominently present. Along with Krishna Patel, his brother Shrikant Patel, sister-in-law Madhusmita Patel, young entrepreneur Tularam Kolet and his wife Sumita Chaini were present on the occasion. On the invitation of the Government of India for the Padma Shri honor, Krishna visited New Delhi on the 2nd April.

Their accommodation was arranged at Hotel ‘The Ashok’. Krishna met President Draupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan and presented a photograph of Goddess Maa Samleswari, the goddess of Sambalpur. After receiving the Padma Shri, Krishna Patel said in his response, “It is an honor to receive the award in such a beautiful environment, Very happy for that”. She said that Western Odisha’s folk art and culture has received this honor and called upon the youth not to run after gaining popularity overnight but to stick to the tradition of music. A concerted effort is needed to preserve art culture. She said that efforts should be made to preserve the folk songs and instruments of tribal areas.

3 Padmashri to Rangabati Song

Written and recorded in the 1970s, Rangabati has gained fame and popularity in the last half century like no other Indian song. It is probably the only song in India for which not one or two artists have won the Padma Shri. Earlier, the singer of Rangabati Dr. Jitendra Haripal and lyricist Mitravanu Gauntia received the Padma Shri. Today, its singer Dr. Krishna Patel has also received the Padma Shri. Sri Gountia’s Rangabati was first recorded in 1975 in Akashavani Sambalpur. It was later recorded by INRECO Company. Lord Dutta Pradhan composed the music for this song.

Starting from Western Odisha, this song has found a place in the minds of the people of Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh etc. Generation after generation has changed, but the demand has not decreased but has continued to increase. Korean artists danced to Rangabati tune at the 7th World Water Games in South Korea. On National Population Day 2007, the song ‘Rangabati’ was played in Odisha’s advertisement.

Subsequently, Rangabati has been remade in various Indian languages and films. Rangabati song was featured in the Bollywood movie ‘Kaun Kitne Pani Me’ directed by Padma Shri Nilamadhav Panda. For M-TV Coke Studios, Ram Sampath remade Rangabati with his wife Sona Mahapatra and singer Rituraj about which there was a dispute. Later, famous Bollywood singer Shankar Mahadevan sang this song at the opening ceremony of the Asian Athletics Championship. All the 4 artists of Rangabati were honored by Shri Mahadevan and the government on the stage.