Singer Arun Panda performs at a cultural evening in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 3: He nurtured his passion for singing despite being busy with administrative responsibilities. Bureaucrat-turned-singer Arun Panda’s dreams came true when he launched his Odia audio album Duiti Tarara Rati — A Night of Two Stars recently in New Delhi.

Introduced to playback singing by none other than the legendary musician Akshay Mohanty, Panda had always made sure he indulged in his musical pursuits.

“Even as a child, I was mesmerised by music. When I grew up, I would sing on stage at school and college. Busy with academics, I never got a chance to be trained in music, something I lament till date. Yet, I was fortunate to be chosen by stalwart musician Akshay Mohanty to sing a song for the Odia film Hasa Luha Bhara Duniya in around 1990. That experience instilled faith in me that I could be a singer,” said Panda.

Though Panda used to perform devotional songs at bhajan concerts in the late 1990s, he had to leave for USA for five years till 2002 and was out of touch with Odia musicians who used to guide him.

“Mohanty passed away the same year I returned. I was sad and regretted not having been in touch,” he said.

However, seeing his zeal for music, noted musicians and singers such as Bhikari Bal, Prafulla Kar, Raghunath Panigrahi, Pranab Patnaik and Sikandar Alam guided him and helped him with devotional song albums.

Duiti Tarara Rati is an ensemble of songs penned by well-known lyricist Devdas Chhotray. Omprakash Mohanty, a composer in the AIR cadre, has composed music for the album.

“The album Duiti Tarara Rati-A Night of Two Stars has modern Odia lyrics that are romantic, sensitive, soulful and also full of fun. The music is contemporary and should easily appeal to the young audience. The eight songs for the album were recorded in 2010. Sa Re Ga Ma released the album last week,” said Panda. “We are planning to organise a special launch in Odisha in a few months,” he said.