Sambalpur: Internationally acclaimed music composer of the Sambalpuri folk song ‘Rangabati’ number, Prabhudatta Pradhan, passed away at his residence here in the wee hours Monday . He was 75.
Pradhan started learning music when he was three years old. After matriculation, he went to Banaras in Uttar Pradesh to learn Tabla. He joined All India Radio, Sambalpur, as an instrumentalist in 1969.
‘Rangabatii, arguably the most popular recorded song in Odisha, earned him fame. The song was first recorded for AIR in mid-1970s. After it gained popularity, a record company from then Calcutta – the Indian Record Manufacturing Company Ltd (INRECO), recorded the song in 1976. It was released in 1978-79.
The male singer (Jitendra Haripal) of this song received Padma Shri award in 2017.
The Sambalpuri song was written by Mitrabhanu Gauntia, composed by Prabhudatta Pradhan and sung by Padma Shri awardee Jitendra Haripal and Krishna Patel.
The song won official recognition as it was played in the tableau of Odisha at the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi in 2007. Jitendra Haripal was felicitated by chief minister Naveen Patnaik later that year.
Noted singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan also enthralled the audience by singing ‘Rangabati’ at the inaugural evening of the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar. Rangabati was recreated in many other languages of India and has been recreated in Telugu for a movie.