'''Suramani' Pandit'' Raghunath Panigrahi (; 10 August 1932 – 25 August 2013) was an

Odissi music Odissi music (, ) is a genre of Indian classical music, classical music originating from the eastern state of Odisha. Rooted in the ancient ritual music tradition dedicated to the deity Jagannatha, Odissi music has a rich history spanning over ...

Guru, vocalist, composer and music director. He is most known for his renditions of Jayadeva's

Gita Govinda The ''Gita Govinda'' (; IAST: ''gītagovindam'') is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and ''gopis'' (female cow herders) of Vrindavan. The ''Gita Govinda'' is organiz ...

and his vocal support for his wife, the Odissi danseuse

Sanjukta Panigrahi Sanjukta Panigrahi (24 August 1944 – 24 June 1997) was a classical dancer from India, who was the foremost exponent of Indian classical dance Odissi. Sanjukta was the first Odia woman to embrace this ancient classical dance at an early age a ...

. Raghunath belonged to a family associated with Odissi music for centuries, members of which were 19th-century Odissi poet-composer ''Sadhaka Kabi'' Gourahari Parichha and ''Gayaka Siromani'' Apanna Panigrahi who was the royal musician (''raja-sangitagya'') of Paralakhemundi. He started his musical training from his father Pt Neelamani Panigrahi, who had been collecting traditional Odissi melodies of the Gita Govinda from the Jagannatha Temple of Puri. Later, Raghunath continued learning Odissi music under Pt Narasingha Nandasarma and Pt Biswanatha Das. He was widely known as 'Gitagobinda Panigrahi'. He also sang in popular Odia,

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

movies. Raghunath left a promising career in film music in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

to provide vocal support to his wife,

, a legendary Odissi performer and composer. He made a lifetime contribution of promoting, propagating and popularizing the life and works of

Jayadeva Jayadeva (; born ), also spelt Jaideva, was a Sanskrit poet during the 12th century. He is most known for his epic poem ''Gita Govinda'' which concentrates on Krishna's love with the ''gopi'', Radha, in a rite of spring. This poem, which presen ...

and the cult of Lord Jagannatha. Sanjukta-Raghunath played for many years from the 1960s until the 1990s. After the death of Sanjukta in 1997, he was associated with the Nrityagram and gave music for many of their productions. He formed the 'Sanjukta Panigrahi Memorial Trust', in 1999, to promote the cause of Odishi dance. Since 2001, every year on her birth anniversary, the trust has been giving away scholarships to budding dancers, and awards excellence in the field of Orissi dance.

Personal life

Raghunath Panigrahi was born on 10 August 1932 in Gunupur, Rayagada,

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. He started his musical training first under his father, Sri Nilamani Panigrahi, who later put him under the tutelage of Odissi music exponent Pt Narasingha Nandasarma of Puri. He met his future wife dancer

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

Kalakshetra Kalakshetra Foundation, formerly simply Kalakshetra, is an arts and cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art and crafts, especially in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and Gandharvaveda music. Based in ...

dance school, subsequently they married in 1960 and had two sons.Sanjukta Panigrahi, Indian Dancer, 65
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 6 July 1997. He died on 25 August 2013 in Bhubaneswar at the age of 82.

Filmography

Awards

* Title of Sur Mani 1968 * He received an award from the government of France in the 1980s. *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

,1976 * State Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1993 *

, 2010 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Akademi. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Akademi and is "restricte ...

* Jayadeva Samman- 2008 * Lifetime Achievement award of Banichitra Awards, 2008 * Degree,

Doctor of Literature Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

Ravenshaw University Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw College, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The u ...

, Odisha, August 2013 * Degree,

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. The university was established in 1943 and was operating from Ravenshaw College ...

, Odisha, 2011 * Degree,

Berhampur University Berhampur University is a public teaching-cum-affiliating university in Brahmapur, Odisha, India. History Berhampur University was established on 2 January 1967 as an affiliating University by the Odisha Act 21 of 1966. Lingaraj Law College ...

, Odisha, 2010

References

External links

* * - A song by R. Panigrahi in

from Aval Yaar {{DEFAULTSORT:Panigrahi, Raghunath 1932 births 2013 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 20th-century Indian male classical singers Odissi Indian male playback singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award People from Rayagada district Indian classical composers Bollywood playback singers Singers from Odisha Odissi music Recipients of the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi award