Jitendra Haripal Biography - The Living Legend Behind Odisha's Immortal Song "Rangabati"

Full Name: Jitendra Haripal (also known as Jitendria Haripal)
Date of Birth: September 13, 1947
Origin: Western Odisha, India
Community: Dalit (Ganda caste), Western Odisha
Profession: Singer, Folk Artist, Cultural Icon
Languages/Dialects Sung: Sambalpuri (Kosli), Odia, Bhojpuri, Chhattisgarhi, Dhakia Bengali
Career Start: 1971 (All India Radio)
Songs Sung: Over 1,000
Major Awards: Padma Shri (2017), D.Litt. Honoris Causa - Utkal University of Culture (2015)
Wife: Mallika Haripal (deceased)

Who Is Jitendra Haripal?

There are singers who achieve fame. And then there are singers whose voice becomes so deeply woven into the cultural identity of a people that separating one from the other becomes impossible. Jitendra Haripal belongs firmly in that second, rarer category. The man whose voice gave life to "Rangabati" - the most celebrated Sambalpuri song ever recorded - is not merely a popular artist. He is a living monument to the resilience of folk music, the dignity of the Dalit artist, and the extraordinary power of a single, perfectly rendered song to transcend generations, geographies, and every barrier that the world can place before it.

Born on September 13, 1947, into a poor Dalit family in Western Odisha, Jitendra Haripal's journey from landless poverty to a Padma Shri - India's fourth highest civilian honour - is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of Indian folk music. It is a story built on no formal training, no institutional support, and no financial safety net - only an inherited gift, an unbreakable love for music, and a voice that the universe seemed to have fashioned specifically to carry the soul of Sambalpuri folk culture to the world.

Early Life: Born Poor, Born Musical

Jitendra Haripal was born on September 13, 1947, in a poor Dalit family in Western Odisha. His community - known as the Ganda caste in the region - had long been associated with traditional music-making, and it was within this hereditary musical tradition that Haripal first found his calling. He dropped out of school and never received formal training for songs, instead borrowing his musical skill from his father, Mandhata Haripal, who was a talented musician himself. Being very poor, he could not afford a teacher. His family was landless, and their only property, in every meaningful sense of the word, was singing.

This is perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of Haripal's story - that everything he became as a musician was absorbed, not taught. He listened. He observed. He inherited. In his own words: "I know the raagas but not their titles. It is only when people tell me that the song you have sung is in this or that raaga that I get to know the names." It is the confession of a man whose musicality is not theoretical but bone-deep - the kind of knowing that no classroom can teach and no certificate can confer.

Beginning of a Career: All India Radio, 1971

Haripal began his music career in 1971, performing for All India Radio, where he achieved the "Senior B High" artist grade. This was not a small achievement - AIR grades were the primary benchmark of artistic credibility in an era when radio was the dominant medium through which folk music reached audiences across India. His inclusion as a "Senior B High" artist placed him among the most recognised folk performers broadcasting from Odisha.

His first song recorded and broadcast was "Bhalu Palala Patarake," followed by "Hai Kustan Hai Kustan," "Mandal Bajila," "Lenjera Ghanti Delana," and many more - a steady stream of Sambalpuri folk songs delivered through the radio waves that reached homes, fields, and marketplaces across Western Odisha. Each song added to his reputation. But none of them could have prepared either him or his listeners for what was about to come.

Rangabati: The Song That Stopped a Train

In the mid-1970s, Jitendra Haripal lent his voice to a duet that would become the most iconic song in Sambalpuri - and arguably Odia - music history. "Rangabati" was written by lyricist Mitrabhanu Gauntia, composed by Prabhudatta Pradhan, and sung by Jitendra Haripal and Krishna Patel. The song was first recorded for All India Radio in the mid-1970s.

The song - a lyrical, playful, deeply musical conversation between two lovers - captured something timeless about the spirit of Western Odisha. It was at once festive and tender, rooted and universal. The Sambalpuri folk song broke several records after it was aired on All India Radio Sambalpur's Suramalika programme in 1975-76. Its reception was immediate, electric, and total.

In 1979-80, it became the first song from India to be broadcast on BBC London and Voice of America (VOA). The song that began in the folk traditions of a small region of Odisha was now reaching listeners across continents.

In 1976, the song was re-recorded at the Indian Record Manufacturing Company (INRECO) in Kolkata. However, a dispute over authorship of the tune stopped the release of the disc. Haripal fought the legal battle tenaciously and won. The disc was finally released in 1978–79.

The song's popularity generated one of the most extraordinary moments in Indian musical folklore. A crowd that recognised Haripal at Batapur railway station refused to allow the train to depart until he sang "Rangabati." The driver eventually asked him to sing a few lines so that the train could continue its journey. It is an anecdote that captures, better than any award or chart position, just how deeply this man's voice had entered the hearts of ordinary people.

Struggles Behind the Fame

Success, when it came, brought with it a cruel series of contractual and financial hardships that would test Haripal's spirit repeatedly. Owing to the song's popularity, the cassette company signed him for three years with the option of a two-year extension. The company later went into lockout, closed, and was transferred to new ownership. Under the terms of his contract, he could not perform for other labels, and his royalties stopped. He received only around ₹10,000.

According to him, "Music is not a safe source of earning." Hence he worked as a construction labourer and did other odd jobs at various times. Even years into his fame, the financial rewards of his extraordinary contribution remained cruelly disproportionate to his cultural impact.

Even after being in the limelight, in 2001, his family was not in good financial condition. Their family troupe used to make little money. They lost all their instruments in heavy rain and used to hire or borrow. The man whose song had stopped trains, played at Republic Day parades, and been broadcast on the BBC was, at various points in his life, borrowing instruments simply to keep performing.

Musical Versatility: Beyond Rangabati

Though "Rangabati" remains his signature, Haripal's musical identity is far broader and more eclectic than a single song can contain. Although he rose to fame because of "Rangabati," which was in pure Sambalpuri dialect, he has not restricted himself to Sambalpuri folk music only. He used to listen to folk music from everywhere. He is a versatile musician who understands and sings folk songs of various dialects such as Sambalpuri (Kosli Language), Bhojpuri, Odia, Chhattisgarhi, and Dhakia Bengali music.

He has sung over 1,000 songs and is regarded as a top exponent of Sambalpuri language music. His vocal range, his instinctive feel for folk melody across languages, and his ability to honour the emotional truth of songs in dialects not his own place him in the rarest category of folk artists - those for whom music transcends linguistic boundaries while remaining utterly authentic.

The Rangabati Legacy: A Song That Belongs to Everyone

Over the decades, "Rangabati" grew far beyond its origins. The song is popular in Odisha and most parts of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. It was played in Odisha's tableau during the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi in 2007. During the 7th World Water Forum at Daegu, South Korea, Korean dancers danced ecstatically to its tune. It has been recreated in Telugu for a film, and a Nigerian singer released a cover version.

However, the song's remixing - most controversially on MTV Coke Studio in 2015 - caused considerable pain for Haripal. He said openly: "I do not believe in art politics. I am more than happy to see others taking this classic to an all-new level. But modifying it without the consent of the original singers is completely unacceptable." His quiet dignity in the face of this exploitation only added to the immense respect his peers and fans hold for him.

Awards & Recognition

2007 - Felicitated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
2012 - Brand Ambassador for Western Samurai, Rourkela T-20 team, Odisha Premier League
2015 - D.Litt. (Honoris Causa) from Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar (alongside Krishna Patel)
2017 - Padma Shri - India's fourth highest civilian honour, awarded by the Government of India for his contribution to Indian music

"Rangabati" became the first Indian song to earn three Padma Shri awards for its creators - Jitendra Haripal (2017), lyricist Mitrabhanu Gauntia (2020), and co-singer Krishna Patel (2023) - within under a decade. It is a distinction without parallel in Indian folk music history.

Family & Personal Legacy

Haripal's youngest son Prabhat is a well-known percussionist, his daughter-in-law Minu is a popular singer, and his granddaughter Ghungroo loves folk dances. Music, it seems, flows in this family like the rivers of Western Odisha - unstoppable, life-giving, and eternal.

Jitendra Haripal's life is a testament to the truth that greatness does not require privilege. It requires only the courage to keep singing - through poverty, legal battles, contractual betrayals, and the bittersweet pain of watching your greatest creation fly far beyond your reach. The voice that sang "Rangabati" is still, decades later, the voice of Odisha. And that is a legacy no court, no remix, and no royalty dispute can ever take away.