BHUBANESWAR: Noted playback singer Nirmala Mishra, who lent her voice to several Odia songs, breathed her last at Kolkata in the wee hours of Sunday. A Sangeet Sudhakar Balakrushna Das awardee, which was conferred upon her for her lifetime contribution to Odia music in 2011, Mishra was suffering from age-related ailments. She was 81 and suffered a heart attack.
Born into a family of musicians in West Bengal, Mishra debuted in the Odia film industry as a singer in ‘Shri Lokanath’, music for which was directed by legendary musician Balakrushna Das in the 1960s. She carved a niche for herself in the Odia music scene with her rendition of several unforgettable songs like ‘Nida Bhara Rati’ from the movie ‘Anutap’, ‘Aji Aakashe Ki Ranga Laagila’ from ‘Shri Lokanath’, ‘Jochhana Luchana’ from ‘Adina Megha’, ‘Jaa Jaarey Bhaasi Jaa’ from ‘Chilika Teerey’, ‘Mo Mana Binara Tare’ of ‘Manika Jodi’ and much more.
Film historian Surya Deo said in her career in Odia music industry spanning two decades between the 1960s and 80s, she sang in all major films and worked with almost all music directors including Das. “Her first song Aji Aakashe Ki Ranga Laagila from Shri Lokanath was extremely popular and then she went on to give musical hits in every film that she did afterwards,” he said.
Mishra sang duets with eminent singers like Akshaya Mohanty, Pranab Patnaik, Sikandar Alam, Shantanu Mohapatra, among others. Some of her golden hits were from films like ‘Shri Lokanath’, ‘Aparichita’, ‘Manikajodi’, ‘Ghara Sansara’, ‘Adina Megha’, ‘Abhinetri’, ‘Ghara Bahuda’ and ‘Stree’. Apart from Odia films, she sang devotional songs for All India Radio and Gramophone.
Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and people from all walks of life condoled her demise. Expressing his condolences, Governor said that Mishra gained popularity by singing some of the most mellifluous songs of Odia movies of yesteryears.Stating that her songs will be etched in the hearts of music lovers forever, the Chief Minister said her death is an irreparable loss to the Odia music industry.