Odisha govt renames Bilung village as 'Rangabati Bilung' after popular Odia folk song

In recognition to the popularity of the famous Odia folk-song 'Rangbati', the Odisha government has renamed the Bilung village in the Bamra Tehsil of Sambalpur district to 'Rangabati Bilung'.

"The government has renamed the village of Mitrabhanu Gountia, lyricist of Odisha's popular folk song 'Rangbati' to 'Rangbati Bilung'. Respecting the creativity of these great lyricists, the government's move has made the popularity of the song even more widespread and timeless," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.

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The Odisha government issued a notice in this regard on Wednesday after receiving a 'No Objection Certificate' from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Revenue and Disasters Management Department.

Mitrabhanu Gauntia, the lyricist of this song, was born in the Bilung village and has composed about 1,000 Sambalpuri songs. He also received the Padmashree Award in 2020 in addition to Odisha State Sangeet Natak Academy Award and Akashvani National Award for music.

The song was first recorded in All India Radio (AIR), Sambalpur in 1975-76. The Indian Record Manufacturing Company Limited (INRECO) recorded this song in disc format in 1976, which was finally released in 1978-79. Jitendra Haripal, the male singer of the song, received Padma Shri in 2017.

The song has been recreated in various regional languages in India and the song is very popular in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar as well as Chhatisgarh.

(With ANI inputs, image source: PTI)

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