The song for which he gave the voice along with co-singer Krishna Patel went viral in 1979 even in the absence of the concept of social media during those days.
Original singer of Sambalpuri folk song Rangabati of world fame Jitendra Haripal did not lobby for Padma Sri conferred on him this year or honorary doctorate awarded by Utkal University in 2015. “I have no regrets for not becoming affluent. My family is happy struggling to meet our both ends with our earnings through an orchestra,” he says.
He also does not feel sad for Sona Mohapatra of Odisha and R.P. Patnaik, playback singer of Andhra Pradesh for rendering their voice to Rangabati song, a popular one of Sambalpur of Western Odisha from where he hails.
“I felt very happy when Bollywood singer and director Shankar Mahadevan sang the song at Asian Athletics Championship held at Bhubaneswar in July,” says Jitendra who spoke to The Hindu during his visit to the city to take part in ‘Nuakhai’ celebrations conducted by Utkal Sanskrutika Samaj on Saturday.
Rangabati known for its unique rhythm and tuning is still popular and has become a must at wedding, cultural and social functions pan India and abroad. With tremendous passion for folk songs, the Odisha government recognised him after a detailed story appeared in The Hindu in 2001 on the plight of Dalit singer, a prominent exponent of Sambalpuri songs who lived in penury in a slum.
Born on September 13, 1947, he began his career as a part-time singer of All India Radio. He gave his voice to the song for AIR in 1976-77. After its popularity rose, Indian Record Manufacturing Company signed an agreement with him and released the audio in 1979-80. The company later turned bankrupt and the rights of the song changed hands to various firms. Though he was supposed to get 5.5% of collections as royalty, he totally received about ₹15,000 only in the first couple of years.
“I and my wife thereafter had to earn a living by becoming daily wage labourers and collecting burnt coal from the railway station. Only after the article published in The Hindu, the Odisha government came forward to recognise me and the then cultural secretary Arvind Padhi took the initiative to organise some programmes for me,” he points out.