BHUBANESWAR : Eminent Pala singer Prahallad Sahu breathed his last at his house in Sarua village of Khurda district on Sunday. He was 85. While he was suffering from old age-related ailments for the last few months, his last rites were performed in adherence to Covid-19 guidelines at Sarua.
Born in 1935, ‘Gayaka Samrat’ Sahu’s initial training began under the tutelage of his father-in-law Acharya Udaynath Das at the age of 18. He began singing at the age of 20 and went on to hone his craft under the guidance of Bishwanath Pattjoshi.
He learnt poetry in Sanskrit, Bengali and Hindi apart from Odia and used to incorporate them in Pala. An avid reader, he also used to read Kalidas’ poems like Raghuvansh, Kumar Sambhavam, Abhijyan Shakuntalam and use them in his performances. He was also well known for singing Balmiki’s Ramayana, Charak Samhita, Abhinav Chintamani, along with Vyasa’s Mahabharata.
Considered a custodian of the unique form of balladry, he contributed to the formation of Sri Jagannath Pala Research Foundation, the only of its kind institution in the State. For his expertise in the folk art form, he was awarded by several institutions and earned many citations. A pall of gloom descended in his village and among the Pala community following his demise. His students and members of the foundation termed his demise as a great loss to the entire Pala community.