Orissa Matters

Sankaracharya should be arrested to ensure smooth performance of Ratha Yatra

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Sasnkaracharya Nishchalananda Saraswati has again spewed venom at the State administration in a press conference at Bhubaneswar.

He has been insisting that management of SriJagannatha should vest in him and the Temple must run under his direction. He claims to be the supreme authority on Temple administration and by not consulting him, the chief administrator of the Temple has generated all the chaos.

He has tried to create panic in public mind by predicting severe disaster, as Daru selection to Brahma Paribarttan having generated wrath of the God Almighty, the Ratha Yatra would bring in catastrophe.

He has come down heavily on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over his silence on popular demand to punish the Daitas for irregularities in Brahma transfer. He has been demanding that the law of Jagannatha Temple Administration be amended obviously to quash the primacy of the Daitas in the Lord’s most important function spanning from Snana Yatra to Ratha Yatra including Navakalebar.

We have exposed in these pages the modus operandi of Nishchalanand and how for fulfilling his ambition, agent provocateurs were engaged to mar the sanctity of Brahma transfer. But Nishchalananda is silent about the agent provocateurs.

Daitas have been subjected to humiliation and motivated media reprimands so that environment to hand over SriMandira to Sankaracharya could be easier.

Religious revivalists’ demand for handing over the responsibility of SriMandira to Sankaracharya makes the matter clear. Wordy arsenals used against the Daitas in television and social media, read with Sankaracharya’s statements so far, provokes us to fear that Nischchalananda is the main designer of the Navakalebara fiasco. He can go to any extent in his design to grab SriMandira in order to promulgate rabid Brahminism to oblige religious revivalists.

The temple of Jagannatha has remained till date a citadel of applied Buddhism where the Brahmins have secondary role and Sankaracharya has no role to play. But eliminating Jagannatha’s Buddhist relevance is the only purpose of Sankaracharya.

Sri Kedarnath Mohapatra in his Khurudha Itihasa has clearly noted that the sole purpose of Sankara in establishing Gobardhana Matha at Puri and appointing his chela order in the said Matha is revival of Brahminism. To quote him: SE BRAHMANYA DHARMARA PRATIPATTI O PRASARA BRUDDHI NIMITTA PURIRE GOBARDDHAN PITHA PRATISTHA KARI TANKARA PRIYA SHISHYA PADMAPADACHARYANKU EHARA PRATHAMA PITHADHISHA RUPE NIJUKTA KARITHILE. (Page 287 of Khurudha Itihasa, 1969, published with the funds granted by Government of Orissa). Roughly it means: Adi Sankara had established Gobarddhana Pitha at Puri and appointed his dear disciple Padmapadacharya as the first chief of this center of his order in order only to revive the supremacy of Brahmanism and spread it in Orissa.

The only work of this Matha was to train the Brahmins in how to vitiate Jagannatha’s worship with Vedic method to eliminate the original method of his worship in Sabari Tantra or Bouddha Tantra.

In recording this evil design, Prof. K. C. Mishra has noted, “The priests of Jagannatha Temple learn the art of ritualistic worship from the (Sankaracharya) Matha”.

Needless to say that, the priests are the Brahmins appointed by patron kings of Brahminism, whose training was vested in Sankaracharya. One of these kings had even cooperated with the Brahmins to establish the statues of Adi Sankara and his first chela Padmapada on the Ratna Singhasana of Jagannatha. Those two statues were being worshiped along with the Lord in naked assertion of the authority of the caste-supremacists. People of Orissa had revolted against this mischief and had dragged those statues out of the Ratna Singhasana and had thrown them to the street for people to pulverize them to dust under their feet.

Though Khurudha Itihasa attributes this to Chaitanya’s movement (page 288), the fact that, under autocratic rule of the then Gajapati king, this deracination of Sankaracharya-statues from Jagannatha’s Ratna Singhasana had happened, is no small admission of history that people of Orissa had freed the Jagannatha Temple from the evil design of Sankaracharya in a heroic fight against their own king.

Since then, Sankaracharya has been kept out of Srimandira.

In recording this, Prof. Mishra writes, “The system (of training priests by Sankaracharya) is no longer in vogue in the temple” (K.C. Miashra, The Cult of Jagannatha, page 125)

This being the reality, Nishchalananda’s claim of authority on Jagannatha system is nothing but impudence.

He and the Brahmin officials in nexus with him have cunningly created chaos in this Navakalebar. Gajapati has acted a patron of Brahminism by being hand-in-glove with Nishalananda.

As there is every logical reason to apprehend that he may use any further tricks to derail the smooth performance of the Car Festival, so that the religious revivalists would get new grounds to demand for handing over the SriMandira to Sankaracharya in order to extinguish applied Buddhism in vogue in the Temple system, it is necessary that the Crime Branch be asked to study all his statements – print and visual – on records so far, and to take necessary precautionary steps to ensure the Ratha Yatra completing the cycle peacefully.

He should be arrested if his tongue is not tamed. Jagannatha culture is to be preserved at any cost.

Oriya Print Media Condemns Rangabati Remix

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Rangabati remix, which has committed offence against Orissa’s State Anthem too, has been condemned by every Oriya who honors the distinction of Orissa in maintaining archaically significant specimens of her artistic and literary excellence.

There was a time, when culture vultures in neighboring states were claiming superiority over Oriya language. The issue was settled in Linguistic Survey of India where it was declared that the “Oriya language can boast of a rich vocabulary in respect of which neither Bengali nor Hindi nor Telugu can vie with it”. Years after, Bengal’s famous linguist Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee compared Oriya language with the languages of her neighborhood and declared, “Of these three speeches – Oriya, Bengali and Assamees – Oriya has preserved a great many archaic features in both grammar and pronunciation; and it may be said without travesty of linguistic truth that Oriya is the eldest of the three sisters, when we consider the archaic character of the language (I.H.Q. Vol. XXIII, 1947, p. 337).

So, the strength of Oriya lies in preservation of its unique works of literature, the speaking part of which is Orissa’s folk songs like Rangabati. Its uniqueness has been tampered with under filthy design of the avaricious rich under the banner of M.Tv.

This is blatant assault on the very libretto of the immensely popular song of Orissa by a gang in song business. This is song industry’s offensive onslaught on archaically important Rangabati song as well as on the State Anthem Vande Utkala Janani. YouTube is a platform where videos on incest sex spreads in unfathomable speed. No wonder the Rangabati remix is getting massive hits in YouTube. As incest sex is not the proof of legality because of hits the videos thereof gain in the internet platform, so also Ragabati remix, despite the heavy hits in YouTube, is not legal.

Every Oriya, conscious and proud of his/her belonging to Orissa, the unique land of preservation of her literary and musical distinction as mentioned supra, should wake up against this nefarious mischief of the new gang of tin pan alleys that has made and spread the Rangabati remix.

Eminent Editor Rabi Kanungo Condemns the Mischief

There is a brilliant editorial on the mischief in 9th July edition of Orissa’s major daily Suryaprava, authored by its editor Rabi Kanungo. He has held the supporters of the remix as similar to a son who presents to his mother a different person as his father after implanting his head on the neck of that man. As people of Orissa are keeping their eyes on the mischief, I am putting here the copy of the said editorial.

Rangabati in Remix: Nasty Tricks of Avarice Kills the Song, Affects Creative Property Right, Attracts Legal Action

Kedar Mishra

“It was a “crazy” day in court on Thursday. The Roshans — Rakesh and brother Rajesh — were censured for dishonesty but they ensured the Friday release of their latest film Krazzy4” – the Times of India reported on 11 th April 2008. The report was based on a judgment delivered by Justice D.G. Karnik of Mumbai High court in favor of a young musician called Ram Sampath and clearly told in the verdict that “Music composer Ram Sampath has proved that he is the owner of copyright and that the four tracks in Krazzy4 are a copy of The Thump (the music he created for a television commercial for Sony Ericsson)… None of the Roshan’s defense arguments has any merit.” Taking note of the young music composer Ram Sampath’s argument, the court had ordered Roshans to pay Rs 1,77,34,600 (the amount after tax deductions) on the very day of the verdict. It was a big moral victory for a young music composer against a big banner like Roshans and that had brought Ram Sampath and his singer wife Sona Mohapatra into limelight.

Later celebrating their victory over Roshans, Ram and Sona in a talk show with veteran film commentator Komal Nahta articulated their idea on intellectual property and creativity and there, Sona said, “ intellectual property and creativity something you should value and the source of creativity needs to be respected and any civilized society needs to start with that”.

One must appreciate their courage and conviction to protect the intellectual property rights and creative dignity.

But it was story of 2008.

In 2015, the story has drastically changed.

The couple who fought for intellectual property right and got a huge amount as compensation are now violating others’ intellectual property rights and humiliatingly distorting a folk artiste’s creative property.

Blatantly violating the intellectual copy rights act 1957 they have hijacked the lyrics, tune and flavor of a song which was created and composed by a group of folk musicians from Orissa whose Rangabati has remained synonymous with ecstasy of exquisite folk music, making Orissa a referral point beyond her geographic limits.

A short History

“Rangabati rangabati Kanakalata
Hasi pade kahana katha”

[O colourful lady! O Rangabati!
You are like a golden creeper.
Talk to me with your smile.

Thus enters Rangabati to reign over a living empire of music.

A hit song of 1970s, Rangabati spread like wild fire throughout the state of Orissa and transgressed geographical boundaries and become hugely popular allover India. As P.Sainath, veteran journalist wrote, “Rangabati captured huge areas beyond that State. The Golden Creeper spread through Chattisgarh, then entwined much of the Hindi belt. There was a time in the 1980s when no self-respecting truck driver hit the road without the cassette. Tea shops reminded clients of their existence with the song blaring. No one knows how many vinyl records were sold, but it made gold disc status within its first three or four years of play. As for the cassette version, its sales were in countless lakhs. It generated a fortune in revenues for both music companies and pirates.”

Rangabati was a song first recorded in All India Radio, Sambalpur station in 1975-76 as a Sambalpuri song sung by young singer duo Jitendria Haripal and Krishna Patel. It was a duet song specially penned by Mitravanu Gauntia, a much respected lyricist from All India Radio.

Soon a music company – INDRECO recorded and released the musical disc of Rangabati from Kolkota and the song becomes a household chant in the eastern part of India.

Though it was a song based on folk tune and beats, it was not from a pure folk genre. It is an original creative work by Pravudutta Pradhan, a brilliant drummer and musician from Sambalpur
Here it would be apt to say that there is a little controversy over its composition. At least there are three claimants to take credit as composer of this highly popular track. Somehow, the copy right as composer of this song is now in the hand of Sri Pradhan.

Other claimants Pradip Patra and Ramesh Mahanand were surely a part of this classic composition.

From the day of its release Rangabati becomes an instant hit and surpassed time as a classic track of timelessness.
Rangabati is a song very close to heart and soul of the Oriya population and we grew up with its dreamy words and pensive melody. With this song one can also see a long standing struggle of its singer Jitendria Haripal.

Plotting a Musical Murder

In a dramatic twist Sona Mohapatra and Ruturaj Mohanty, originally residents from Orissa, established as singers in Bollywood, pickedup Rangabati to present in Coke studio arguably to take the legendary song to a larger audience. In their presentation they described the song “Rangabati is Orissa’s most popular folk song from the Sambalpur region and the composition has been known to the locals since time immemorial. The song reached a larger public and became a popular household song after it was recorded for the first time in the mid 70’s in the voices of Jitendra Haripal & Krishna Patel with additional lyrics by Mitrabhanu Guintia & re-arranged by Prabhudatta Pradhan”.
It was categorically informed to the audience that it was a folk song which was rearranged and rewritten by Rangabati team which was factually incorrect.

Rangabati is a song originally written and composed by the team injecting folk tunes and rhythms into the song and it is very much a creative and intellectual property of its lyricist Mr.Mitravanu Gauntia and music director Mr.Pradhan.

It is unfortunate to see that Ram Sampath who was fighting to regain his intellectual and creative property rights with Rakesh Roshan & Co is now depriving team Rangabati from their creative ownership.

Ram Sampath used original music track and lyric of Rangabati for Coke Studio without taking prior permission from the lyricist and the composer.

Gross Violation of Laws

In the name of remix and rap, Ram Sampath, Sona Mohaptra and Ruturaj Mohanty have grossly violated the Copyrights Act and also defaced the musical track and distorted the lyric.

Sona has take just 30% of the song where there are a dozen of pronunciation mistakes and by using nonsense words she makes the song a mockery.

The words and feel in the song are totally out of place.

Though an Oriya girl, Sona Mohapatra makes one wonder if she understands her own language and the melody of her own roots.

The argument that they have taken the song to a larger audience makes hardly any sense.

Original Rangabti track is hugely popular even today and it needs no irresponsible and unethical promoters from Bollywood.

Ram Sampath’s act termed illegal has been challenged in the court of law and hopefully law will take its own course.
Strong protests and angry voices against the mischief indicate to what extent the avaricious misconduct of Sampath and his collaborators has hurt the non-sophomoric Oriya population.

“Really Disappointing”

Talking on the distortion and humiliating presentation of Rangabati, Ramesh Mahanand, a veteran Sambalpuri music composer and one of the members of the core Rangabati team said, “It’s really disappointing that Rangabati song was performed so ridiculously. Where were the M.tv musicians? Music arrangement is so substandard let alone singing.

In the past, I have watched several excellent Music programs of M.tv. It seems, Rangabati song is willfully humiliated by the M.tv and team.”

A crusader has finally set his new venture to crucify the poor and deprived class of musicians from their intellectual and creative property rights.

Ram Sampath, who was a fighter himself, is now indulging in a devilish effort to deprive team Rangabati from its legal and ethical rights. Sona Mohapatra and Ruturaj Mohanty are arguing in their defense like school children and offering a hugely popular song a “Remix status” which has no takers.

(Kedar Mishra is a freelance journalist, art critic, poet and scholar)

Coke Studio’s “Rangabati” is an insult and assault on folk music and linguistic sanctity

Prof. J.P. Das appointed to the Order of Canada

Prof. J. P. Das

Prof. Jagannath Prasad Das has been named to the Order of Canada this week. The only Oriya to be bestowed with such an honor of national order, Prof. Das remains an inspiration for Oriyas in the state and worldwide. The Governor General of Canada has awarded Prof J.P. Das for “internationally recognized work in the field of cognitive psychology, notably in the development of a new theory of intelligence.”

Association of Prof. Das with Orissa is beyond formal. After becoming the first Oriya to obtain a master degree in Psychology, he has accomplished many more feats, no doubt. After obtaining a Doctoral degree at the Institute of Psychiatry from University of London, he had been visiting professor to University of California at Los Angeles, Monash University, Oxford University and Moscow State University. Over the years, he has authored more than a dozen books which include Cognitive Planning: The Psychological Basis of Intelligent Behaviour, Assessment of Cognitive Processes, Verbal Conditioning and Behaviour and Working Mind: An Introduction to Psychology.

As Emeritus Professor at University of Alberta, Edmonton where he joined the developmental disabilities center in 1968 and remained its director for 22 years, Das was recognized so profoundly there that the center is now named after him. He possibly is the only Oriya after whom an academic center is named abroad. But his unwavering commitments towards development of Orissa always remained exemplary. In Bhubaneswar, he founded the one-of-its-kind Learning Clinic (Sisu Manovigyan Kendra), with a team comprising Dr. Namita Mohanty, Ranjita Mishra and Sambit Nanda.

In a previous interview with our editor Saswat Pattanayak, he had explained the aim of this clinic in these words, “Our idea is to assess different kinds of cognitive abilities and relate these to academic works, if the client is a child and if the client is an adult, with a history of neurological impairment. We identify the areas of cognitive functions that are weak and then modify these areas. The need is to observe how areas of intelligence are changing. We used to have a global kind of IQ and now is the time, to see how it is changing.”

The evolution of the clinic owed to a universal intelligence measurement test devised by J.P. Das-Jack Naglieri, called Cognitive Assessment System embracing PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive) scale. Today, the theories of intelligence contributed by Prof. Das and Naglieri are legendary and are widely used in many countries across the world to test intelligence, to recognize gifted/talented children and to facilitate educational interventions in the world of learning disabilities.

At Orissamatters, we wish Prof. Das all success and many more achievements ahead.

External Links:
Report at Edmonton Journal

Coke Studio’s “Rangabati” is an insult and assault on folk music and linguistic sanctity

By Saswat Pattanayak

The “Rangabati” version that is being touted as putting Odisha on the world map is instead designed to take Orissa off the map.

Credited to Ram Sampath, Sona Mohapatra and Rituraj Mohanty, this modern incarnation of Rangabati is problematic in more ways than just one. In the guise of promoting Oriya culture, what this rendition does is undermine the history of struggles behind linguistic uniqueness of Oriya itself and promotes a bunch of profiteering corporate pawns in their self-aggrandizement.

Firstly, by titling it as “Rangabati” while remixing it with “Vande Utkala Janani”, it vulgarizes the very national anthem of the Oriyas. The team behind MTV Coke has quite possibly forgotten the relevance and sanctities attached to the state anthem that played pivotal part in freedom struggles of the Oriyas. Behind the creation of Orissa as the first linguistically formed state in India, lies the power of “Vande Utkala Janani”. What is evident in the Coke Studio version is sheer deplorable trivialization of the classicism associated with the song that eventually led to preservation of Oriya language and its distinct attainment of classical status.

When Bengal and Bihar had colonized Orissa, it was not just a geographic mass that was exploited – it was a language that was denied to the people of Orissa back then. Thanks to the Utkal Sammilani and the freedom fighters associated with it, Orissa had been able to reclaim its unique glory. When Oriya was not considered as a separate language, these stalwarts had ensured that the new province would be formed precisely based on the language that was more unique and far richer than the ones that had dominated over it employing British mischiefs.

It was in 1882, long before the first Utkal Union Conference (Utkal Sammilani) was formed that Madhusudan Das (along with Gaurishankar Ray) championed the cause of Oriya people through Utkal Sabha (the Orissa Association). As its president, Madhusudan Das fought against imposition of Hindi in the place of Oriya in the official works at Sambalpur. How ironic, that today, under the garb of promoting a Sambalpuri folk song, the struggle behind linguistic identity would be so opportunistically forgotten!

In 1903, when the first Utkal Sammilani was held in Kanika, it had representation from all over Orissa – Kanika, Keonjhar, Cuttack and Sambalpur. It was proudly declared as “the Parliament of people inhabiting Oriya speaking areas, not withstanding caste, creed, language and administrative divisions.” When Bengal Government restricted Oriya officers from attending the Conference, Madhu Babu demanded that they be allowed.

When Orissa was not a political entity and Oriya was not officially a language, it was Madhusudan Das who thundered: “According to history, people from different places came to England and settled there. This union helped in the making of the English race. The English people had great contribution to the progress in Europe. We must consider this in the context of our motherland. Now looking at the suffering of mother Utkal who amongst us would be thoughtless? Hence we all being united would share her suffering and serve her. While in this deep service we must remember a statement of the Prophet Muhammad – for the spread of love one should give up impure element from the heart and allow pious blood into it. My dear brothers and sisters who want to dedicate their lives for the service of the mother Utkal must at first give up – conceit and selfishness. The race or nation is eternal, you and myself have temporary existence. The only way to progress is to give up selfishness. It will be admitted by all that the water of the river and lake coming from different direction would enter into the ocean where it would take one shape and one colour. It would be called the water of the ocean and would take the name of the great ocean.”

In such a backdrop of relentless struggle to claim Oriyas as a distinct “race”, the classicism of Oriya language inherently remained. It is in such a context that the unique diversity of Orissa remained preserved while the language is fiercely protected. And it is in this context that Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra’s “Vande Utkala Janani” is treated inviolable – as the national anthem of a race of people who battled political, economic and cultural subjugations to retain their uniqueness.

And it is in this context that it was declared on December 19, 2002 by the Speaker of Orissa Legislative Assembly, Mr. Sarat Kumar Kar that whosoever shows any disrespect to “Vande Utkala Janani” shall face penal action.

In the name of artistic freedom, experimentations and fusions, “Vande Utkala Janani” rendition has been improper at the technical level in the latest YouTube sensation, while commercially exploited to suit a corporate agenda at the level of intent.

(L-R) Singers Jitendra Haripal, Krishna Patel, lyricist Mitrabhanu Gountia and music director Prabhudatt Pradhan.

Equally deplorable is the cultural misappropriation of Jitendra Haripal and Krishna Patel’s brilliant composition “Rangabati”. Haripal is a Dalit artist duly recognized by the state for his immense contribution to folk and patriotic music. A purist practitioner of folk music, Haripal once said, “The new Sambalpuri songs use crude and indecent expressions and the pure folk we used to create have taken a backseat. I want to keep folk music safe and promote it.”

Rangabati rendition by Sona Mohapatra is neither pure nor is it keeping folk music safe. It is only using Rangabati for the purpose of self-promotion. Bereft of all patriotic feel and folk quality, the electronic appropriation by privileged caste commercial artists, of a Dalit folk singer’s most monumental contribution is at once sad and derogatory. To make matters worse, the fusion of “Rangabati-Vande Utkala Janani” not only abandons folk traditions, and replaces what Haripal once told P. Sainath in The Hindu, “simple love song in pure Sambalpuri style” for a needless mash-up with “Vande Utkala Janani”, it also infuses the non-Oriya rap between the lyrics.

Finally, there is clear case of copyright violation by the MTV’s Coke Studio which has not taken any permission from original lyricist Mitrabhanu Guintia and music director Prabhudatta Pradhan. Not only has the national anthem of Orissa been taken for granted by corporate houses, but even the folk artists and song writers are not compensated before their music are widely abused.

As Oriyas, unable to combat the assaults, atrophy and neglect of our language, many things are no longer surprising to us. But the callous indifference towards commercial appropriation of “Rangabati” as well as trivialization of “Vande Utkala Janani” perhaps indicate that we may be destined to lose both our folk heritage and linguistic historical identity, much sooner than later, if this manipulative Coke Studio production is what we falsely perceive as taking Odia to the world map.