Bhubaneswar: In a bid to pay tribute to the world famous song ‘Rangabati’ and its lyricist Mitrabhanu Gauntia, Odisha government Wednesday renamed Gauntia’s native village from Bilung to Rangabati Bilung.
It has seldom happened that a village has been named after a song.
After obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Science and Technology, the Odisha government renamed Bilung under Bamra Tehsil in Sambalpur district as ‘Rangabati Bilung’ with effect from July 22, said a notification issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department.
According to the notification, all the rules and instructions in force in this regard shall be amended accordingly by the concerned authorities.
Notably, 77-year-old Gauntia had received the Padma Shri in 2020. Earlier, in 2017, ‘Rangabati’ singer Jitendra Haripal was conferred with the award.
Gauntia has also received the Odisha State Sangeet Natak Academy Award and Akashvani National Award for music.
Gauntia was born in the village Bilung and has composed over 1,000 Sambalpuri songs.
‘Rangabati’ was first recorded in All India Radio (AIR), Sambalpur in 1975-76. After its wide popularity, the Indian Record Manufacturing Company Ltd. (INRECO) recorded this song in disc format in 1976, but the disc was finally released in 1978-79.
‘Rangabati’ has the unique distinction of being recreated in many other regional languages of India and the song is very popular in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar as well as in Chhatishgarh.
During the 7th World Water Forum in South Korea (2015), Korean dancers danced to the tune of ‘Rangabati’. Before that, the song was officially recognized and played on the tableau of Odisha, during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi in 2007.
A one-hour documentary on the song was produced by Doordarshan, Sambalpur. But, ‘Rangabati’ is no more a song. This unique chart buster which celebrated its silver jubilee in the year 2004 has become a part of our ethos and part of our panoramic culture.
Notably, Sambalpur Collector, Revenue Divisional Commissioner and Board of Revenue had recommended to rename the village. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also approved for the same. And finally the revenue village renamed Rangabati Bilung after getting nod from Government of India.
PNN
