Bhikari Bal

Early life and education

Bal was born on 25 May 1929 in Sobala village under Gogua in the Gangapada block of present-day Kendrapara district, Odisha. He lost his parents, Ramachandra Bal and Gellharani Devi, while still very young, and was brought up by his stepbrother Dhaneswar and his wife. He completed primary school and went on to Gogua High School, where he studied up to the ninth class.

His musical grounding came from the village jatra (folk theatre) troupe, in which he picked up singing, acting and the harmonium.

Music career

After the jatra years Bal taught music at the Gokulachandra Sangeeta Sadan before moving to Cuttack, where he became an Odissi vocalist at the Kalabikash Kendra and trained under the Odissi exponent Balakrushna Das. In 1963 he was graded an A-grade singer at All India Radio, Cuttack, and his radio broadcasts carried his voice across the state.

His popularity rose sharply in the early 1970s. His repertoire spanned Odissi music, Jagannath bhajans, recitals from the Gita Govinda, and traditional forms such as champu and chhanda, along with folk songs. He sang the verses of older poets including Gopalakrushna, Dinakrushna, Baladeva, Banamali and Salabega, as well as lyrics by later writers such as Prasanna Samal, Arabinda Muduli and Srikant Gautam. Because most of his songs reached listeners through radio between about 1970 and 2000, release dates for many of them are not recorded.

Notable songs

Among the songs associated with him are "Kotha Bhoga Khia" and "Sathie Pauthi", which were popular in the early 1970s, and "Prana mitani bareh chahan re", one of his early broadcasts. Bhajans such as "Kotha bhoga khia", "Nauria kari de pari", "Jagabandhu he gossain" and "Shreemandire jayi shreejagannatha nku" were still being performed in his memory at a 'Legends of Music' concert in Bhubaneswar in 2022.

Film playback

Bal lent his voice to Odia films including Bhakta Salabega, Agni Pariksha, Mathura Bijaya, Abhilasha, Amar Prem, Kie Kahara and Srikrushna Rasa Leela. Odiapedia's film database credits him in nine Odia films, among them Mana Akasha (1974), Anutap (1977), Tike Hasa Tike Luha (1981), Bhakta Salabega (1983) and Abhilasha (1984).

Awards and honours

He received the Odisha State Film Award for best male singer for Mathura Bijay (1979 awards) and again for Tike Hasa Tike Luha (1981 awards). The Gajapati of Puri conferred on him the title "Bhajan Samrat", and in recognition of his devotional service he was granted special privileges in the Jagannath Temple at Puri, where he was counted among the servitors for offering chamara seva to the deity. A public campaign sought a Padma award for him, but sources do not record that he received one.

Personal life

Bal married at the age of 20. His elder son, Ashok Bal, performed his last rites.

Death and legacy

In his last years Bal was bedridden for about a year with age-related ailments and was treated at SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack; after public criticism the state government offered him financial assistance. He died there late on 2 November 2010. He was cremated at Swargadwara in Puri with a guard of honour and gun salute, and the Jagannath Temple administration sent a sacred khandua cloth to cover his body.

His bhajans, particularly his renderings of the old devotional poets, have remained widely heard in Odisha, and he is still referred to by his title "Bhajan Samrat".