BHUBANESWAR: Noted Odia vocalist Santilata Barik Chhotray passed away due to prolonged illness at a city-based hospital on Monday. She was 63.
A household name, she had carved a special place for herself in the world of Odia devotional music. Santilata, who lent her voice to several popular Odia devotional songs, was undergoing treatment for throat cancer for a long time. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2011. Last year, she was put on ventilator support.
Born on October 1, 1960 at Khurda, she was a trained vocalist and also a certified All India Radio artiste. An alumnus of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, she had over 2,000 Odia bhajans particularly devotional songs related to Lord Jagannath to her credit, the most popular among them being ‘Hey Chaka Nayana’. Some others are ‘Kalia Mo Hrudaya Hara’, ‘Bhajare Mana’, ‘Kala Megha Bhasi Jaare’, ‘Janama Rahichi Marana Ghere’, ‘Mo Prabhu Jagannatha’ and ‘Mana Bhajatu’.
Musician Chittaranjan Pani said after passing out of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, she rose to fame for the rendition of ‘Hey Chaka Nayana’ bhajan. “She earned a special place in the world of bhajan singers through her mellifluous voice. In fact, Santilata and her friend Lata Ghosh were considered the best pair when it comes to female bhajan singers. Lata had also succumbed to cancer a few years back,” he recalled.
Condoling her death, Governor of Odisha Raghubar Das took to X and tweeted that Santilata’s contribution to Odia music, particularly Odia bhajans, was unmatched and she will be remembered forever by people of Odisha for this achievement.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said Santilata was a unique devotee of Lord Jagannath. “Her songs instilled a sense of spirituality and devotion to the supreme Lord,” he said. The chief minister expressed condolences to the bereaved family.
Similarly, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said through music, she connected people of Odisha with Shree Jagannath. Her demise is an irreparable loss to the music world, he wrote on X. People from different walks of life paid tributes to the eminent singer at her residence in Old Town. Family sources informed that her mortal remains will be consigned to flames at Swargadwara on Tuesday.