Odisha’s Legendary Musician Prafulla Kar Passes Away At 83

Bhubaneswar: Legendary musician Prafulla Kar breathed his last at his residence at Satya Nagar in Odisha capital around 10 pm on Sunday, family sources said.

The 83-year-old had been suffering from old-age-related health ailments for quite some time. His last rites will be performed at Swargadwara in Puri on Monday (tomorrow), the sources added.

Musician, singer, lyricist, writer and columnist, Kar became a household name in Odisha with his song ‘Kamala Desha Rajakumara’ and went on to score music in over 70 Odia films and numerous Odissi dance dramas and ballets, besides four Bengali films. Known for his mellifluous voice, he sang in hundreds of film, radio and album songs.

Kar has been a patron of Odisha’s rich cultural traditions and recorded Odia Bhagabat and Odia Chhanda, a rare collection of traditional Odia songs. ‘Prabhukrupa’, a devotional music album directed by him in the voice of Anuradha Paudwal under T-Series banner, recorded sales of over 10 lakh cassettes. His composition ‘Collection of Geet Govindam’, rendered by Vani Jayaram, was also a huge hit.

Well-known singers like Usha Mangeshkar, Kavita Krishnamurty, Suresh Wadkar, Md.Aziz, Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar, Vani Jairam, S Janaki, Chitra, Yesudas and S P Balsubramanyam have rendered their voice to Odia music under his direction. This apart, he has introduced more than 20 playback singers to the Odia film industry.

Kar has the rare distinction of being awarded best music director in state film awards eight times, six in a row.

The veteran Odia musician received Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, in 2015 for his contribution to the field of arts. He was conferred with Jayadeva Award in 2004 for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Odia cinema.

Among his books published is a compilation of selected devotional songs ‘Aniya Mala’ and ‘Krupajal’.