Krishna Patel

Krishna Patel is a folk singer from western Odisha who carried Sambalpuri songs to audiences far beyond the region, above all through the duet Rangabati. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2023 in the field of art, from Odisha ^[1].

Learning from her mother

Patel was born on 29 November 1958 in Kuchinda in Sambalpur district ^[2]. Her mother, a singer, was her first teacher, and as a child she practised traditional forms such as chaupadi and janana ^[2]. She later trained under several gurus, including the folk singer Fakir Mohan Pattnaik ^[2]. All India Radio, Sambalpur, accredited her as a B-grade artist and later upgraded her to A grade ^[2].

Her first broadcast song was the Sambalpuri Ja ja kala bhamara, and songs such as the duet Aye malti sunaguri re with Jitendra Haripal earned her the name “Nightingale of Western Odisha” ^[2].

Rangabati

Her biggest hit was Rangabati, the duet with Jitendra Haripal first recorded for All India Radio, Sambalpur, in the late 1970s and re-recorded around 1979–80 for a Kolkata record company ^[2]. It made both singers famous, is said to have been played on radio stations abroad, including the BBC, and was featured in Odisha’s tableau at the Republic Day parade ^[2]. The Odisha government holds a Rangabati Utsav every year in the song’s honour ^[2].

She has represented India at the Festival of India in Moscow in 1987 and at festivals in the Andaman Islands, Puducherry and Bali ^[2]. The Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi honoured her in 2002, and Utkal University of Culture gave her an honorary DLitt in 2015 ^[2].