Padma Shri and ‘Rangabati’ fame Jitendriya Haripal undergoes surgery

Padma Shri and Sambalpuri song ‘Rangabati’ fame Jitendriya Haripal was hospitalised and underwent surgery at a private hospital on Tuesday following his illness.

As per reports, Haripal felt unwell on Monday and was rushed to a private hospital in Sambalpur. During the treatment, he was diagnosed with a urinary tract problem.    

After surgery, he is recuperating, hospital sources said.

Speaking to the media about Haripal’s condition, Dr Dilip Nanda said, "After medical tests, it was known that Haripal has urinary as well as hernia problem. He was admitted on Monday. He was operated in the morning.”

Nanda added that his condition was fine as all his vitals were okay.

Rangabati, A Major Milestone

The super hit duet song Rangabati catapulted its lead singer Haripal into the limelight in the 70s.  Haripal and female co-singer Krishna Patel lent their voices to the song. Having sung over 1000 songs, Haripal is tagged as one of the most popular Sambalpuri singers.

For his contribution to Indian music, he was honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award of the country in 2017. 

The Sambapuri folk song which was written by lyricist Mitrabhanu Gountia, broke several records after it was aired on All India Radio (AIR) Sambalpur’s Suramalika programme in 1975-76. Its music was composed by Prabhudatta Pradhan.

In 1978-79, the song was re-recorded in disc format at the Indian Record Company, Kolkata. Most significantly, it was the first song from India which was aired on BBC London, and VOA in 1979/80.

It was in 2017 when the Odisha government recognized the contribution of the lyricist and renamed his village Bilung in Sambalpur as ‘Rangabati Bilung’.