BHUBANESWAR: Legendary Odia playback singer and the last surviving member of the golden generation, Pranab Patnaik passed away at his Bhubaneswar residence on Friday. He was 88 and survived by his wife Kasturi Patnaik and two sons.
The celebrated singer, who was the part of the golden troika of Akshaya Mohanty and Prafulla Kar, ruled the heart of Odia people for over five decades.
Born on January 20, 1938, Patnaik received formal training in music under Guru Kunal Adinarayan before beginning his professional career. He made his debut in 1958 with the Odia film ‘Maa’ and went on to lend his voice to more than 200 films.
Apart from playback singing, Patnaik was also devoted to Odissi music, folk, bhajans, semi-classical compositions, Hindi songs and ghazals. He was also closely associated with All India Radio. Patnaik’s musical collaborations crossed regional boundaries. He also shared the microphone with great singers like Vani Jairam, Hemlata, Usha Mangeshkar, Bhupinder Singh and S Janaki.
His last rites were conducted at Khananagar crematorium in Cuttack with full state honours.