BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s recent announcement of Rs 30,000 monthly honorarium for Padma awardees of the state has come as a ray of hope for Jitendra Haripal, the voice behind Odisha’s cult folk song ‘Rangabati’.
The money would help him buy medicines for his paralysed wife and repair his small ramshackle hut at a slum in Stationpada of Sambalpur’s Khetrajpur. The hut shelters his 13-member family.
Haripal’s rendition of ‘Rangabati’ put Odisha on the global map and also fetched him the highest civilian award Padma Shri in 2017. Yet, the recognition hasn’t yet helped him secure a decent life.
Haripal earns his livelihood by singing at events and attending as guest but the work flow is limited to just four or five months in a year. He is often accompanied by his younger son Pravat, who is also a musician, and his daughter-in-law, a singer. Singing fetches the Padma awardee Rs 6,000 to Rs 15,000 per show and the government provides him Rs 1,200 as artiste pension.
Haripal, being very selective of events, said he does not perform at music shows which are dance-oriented and vulgar in tone. “Which is why, I can muster only five to six performances in a year,” he said.
While he lost his second son Pratap to an accident some years back, Haripal’s elder son Paras, an auto-driver, contributes to the family income. “However, our combined earning is not sufficient to meet the basic needs of the large family. Forget education of my grand-children or medicines for myself and my wife,” he said.
His wife Mallika suffered a fall a month-and-half back and has been paralysed since.
Haripal himself had two surgeries recently, the funds for which were donated by some Good Samaritans.
His hut has been lying dilapidated for a long time and every monsoon, he has to cover the damaged thatched roof with tarpaulin sheets. But what worries him the most is the ownership of the land. Although his forefathers have been residing at Stationpada for over 10 decades, Haripal is yet to get patta (record of rights) for the land. “I have approached many collectors for help, but in vain. If there is an eviction tomorrow, we do not have anywhere to go,” he said.
Since 2019, Haripal received Rs 10,000 as monthly financial assistance provided by the previous BJD government for Padma Shri awardees belonging to economically weaker sections. But the allowance was stopped in January this year after former chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced to provide Rs 25,000 monthly honorarium to Padma awardees from April 1. The enhanced honorarium never reached.
The condition of 106-year-old Gopinath Swain, who was awarded the Padma Shri this year, is no different. A resident of Govindpur village under Seragada block of Ganjam, he lives with his grandson Amit, who runs a small shop in the village.
Although Swain - the singer of a popular folk dance Krishna Leela - has a concrete roof over his head, he has not received any government allowance so far. His poor financial condition, notwithstanding.
Swain lost his son Gantayat 14 years back and his daughter-in-law Saraswati during the Covid pandemic. All he gets is an artiste pension of Rs 2,500 which is not enough to even meet his medicine expenses.
“We need at least Rs 280 to Rs 300 per day for medicines. Recently, he was admitted to SCB Medical at Cuttack after Culture minister Suryabanshi Suraj helped facilitate his treatment. Although I am managing his medicines from my meagre income, it is difficult,” said Amit.