Celebrating A Legend & His Legacy
A tall Odia luminary, Suromoni Raghunath Panigrahi has been a revered name in Indian classical music across the world for more than half a century. This music maestro was equally esteemed for his surreal compositions and spellbinding voice as loved for his ever smiling, down-to-earth persona. Never one to lobby for awards or accolades, Pandit Raghunath dedicated his life to the disciplined pursuit of music and devotion for Lord Jagannath. His mellifluous renditions also played an important role in popularising ‘Gita Govinda’.
Pandit Raghunath left a promising career as a playback singer in the Tamil film industry to travel with his wife and Odishi virtuoso, Sanjukta Panigrahi, to promote the cause of Odia dance and music. In fact, the Raghunath-Sanjukta pair was credited with putting Odia music and dance on the world cultural map. In 1982, the French government conferred the prestigious Grand Prix on him, making him the first Odia to receive the honour.
However, he was awarded the Padma Shri in India only in 2010, considered a belated honour for the legend by many.
After the death of his wife, Pandit Raghunath founded the ‘Sanjukta Panigrahi Memorial Trust’ in 1999. In 2012, his elder son, Partha Sarathi (Baboo) Panigrahi, renamed it as ‘Sanjukta and Raghunath Panigrahi Cultural Heritage Foundation’ (SRPF). He believed Pandit Raghunath had made an equal contribution if not more to promoting Odia culture and heritage.
The foundation has been organising a commemorative event on Panditji’s birth anniversary on 10 August since 2012. With artists like Hariharan taking part, the shows have been immensely successful and won high appreciation from audiences for the beautiful performances.
In line with the tradition, SRPF hosted ‘Namami Suromani’ to commemorate the 86th birth anniversary of Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi at Rabindra Mandap in the city on the evening of 10 August.
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Organised in association with the Department of Tourism and Culture and Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra Odissi Reasearch Centre, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb graced the event as the chief guest.
This year, apart from well-known artists from Odisha performing some of Suromani’s immortal compositions, SRPF organised a fusion of his songs and the ballad genre of western music, put together by Saatyaki Panigrahi and Shruti Prakash Dash.
Asked about being a part of the event to commemorate a musical giant like Suromani, Shruti exults, “As a musician in Odisha, I have grown up listening to Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi and his beautiful voice. This world will never have another Suromani. Therefore, I shall always cherish this opportunity to be a part of a tribute to the maestro. This experience will forever remain close to my heart.”
On their part, the audience too were enthralled to see Suromani’s son Baboo Panigrahi and his grandson, Saatyaki Panigrahi, performing together. “It was beautiful and quite emotional at the same time to see the legend’s family members taking forward his legacy, and that too with so much enthusiasm, humility and hard work,” says Prasanna Patra, an audience member.
The show ended on a high note with the performers being presented with plaques as a token of appreciation for their tribute to Suromoni Raghunath Panigrahi.