Gopalakrusna Pattanayaka

Gopalakrusna Pattanayaka (Alternatively spelled Gopalakrishna, Pattnaik; Gopāḷakruṣṇa Paṭṭanāyaka, ; 1784-1862) was an Odia poet & composer of Odissi music. His Odissi songs in various traditional ragas and talas are widely sung across the state, as well as other allied traditional artforms of Odisha, such as pala. The 20th-century Odissi musician, vocalist & binākara Apanna Panigrahi, also from the poet's hometown, was well-known for his renditions of Gopalakrusna's lyrics. Some of the most iconic Odissi songs, such as Syamaku Juhara Tara Premaku Juhara Ma, Jala Ani Jai Kali Kalindasutaku, Sangini Re Rasarangini Re, Kadamba Bane Bansi Bajila Re, Uthilu Ede Begi Kahinkire, Ki Nadare Prana Sangini, Manasija Mana Mohana are creations of Gopalakrusna. Many of his songs are popular abhinaya items in Odissi dance.

Early life

Born in 1784 in an aristocratic Karan family of Paralakhemundi, Gopalakrusna's father Banabasi Pattanayaka was in the service of the Gajapati kings of the powerful princely state of Odisha. His mother's name was Lalita Dei. Ancestor of Gopalkrishna’s family was Mandhata Patnaik who was brought to Paralakhemundi by then Gajapati ruler of Paralakhemundi kingdom of Ganga dynasty to manage state affairs and administration, Mandhata Patnaik had migrated from Jajpur along with other Karanas and Paikas (soldiers), Mandhata Patnaik’s family was honoured as Kamsakabati Karanas in Jajpur, a descendant of Mandhata Patnaik was Banabasi Patnaik who served as the chief revenue officer of 21 villages of Paralakhemundi kingdom and received immense landed properties as Jagirs from the Gajapati Ruler, he was also an efficient and skilled Sanskrit grammarian of his time. Banabasi Patnaik was the father of Gopalakrushna Patnaik. At the age of twenty, Gopalakrusna was married to a young girl by the name of Hira Dei. In the early days of his life, Gopalakrusna remained in the service of the Gajapati king as a panjia karana, an accountant-scribe, after his father’s death he succeeded him as the chief revenue officer of the kingdom. Gopalakrushna Pattanayaka was also a skilled fighter and trained in warfare and Swordsmanship, a sword used by him is still preserved in the Kanakadurga (Istadevi or tutelary deity of Parala Rajas/kings) Temple, he sported a long moustache and used the title Varma in his poetry. Gopalakrushna Pattanayaka had also defeated and driven out sixteen cavalries of invading Pindari forces (renegades from the Maratha army) from Karana Sahi (Karana community villages) of Paralakhemundi kingdom with his sword.

Life as a Poet

Later, after training from the virtuoso musician poet Bakrabak Chakrapani Pattanayaka, his fame as a poet and musician grew and the king subsequently offered him an exclusive position in the court to encourage his musical & literary pursuits. Kabisurjya Baladeba Ratha and Utkala Ghanta Jadumani Mahapatra were his contemporaries. Another Odissi musician, the poet Haribandhu was inspired by Gopalakrusna to write lyrics and set them to music. Haribandhu is credited with documenting a significant number of Gopalakrusna's songs, as the poet himself was not concerned with preserving his songs. Gopalakrusna would sing impromptu, overcome by divine inspiration and Haribandhu as a child would follow him, noting everything down onto a palm leaf. link=https://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AC%AB%E0%AC%BE%E0%AC%87%E0%AC%B2:Odissi_poet_Gopalakrusna's_handwritten_Gitagobinda_Pothi.jpg

Legacy Gopalakrusna's writings have been published as anthologies more than once. The first significant anthology was made by the poet's own great-grandson, Ramakrusna Pattanayaka in 1919. Before Ramakrusna's anthology, smaller collections of the poet's work had appeared in bits and pieces in Damodar Patnaik's Sangita Sagara (1889-1903) and Gobinda Ratha's Chaupadi Chandrodaya (1895). The Gajapati press in Paralakhemundi had also published small booklets of the poet's work in the early 1900s. Subsequently, larger anthologies have been collated and published by Babaji Baisnaba Charana Dasa (195-60), Kabichandra Kali Charan Patnaik (1959), Saroj Kumar Panigrahi (1969) and Dr. Krushna Charan Behera (2002).