The ancestral house of legendary singer Akshay Mohanty in Cuttack. Telegraph picture

Cuttack, April 23: The district administration will organise a charity cultural programme for generating funds to save Bichitra Barna, the ancestral house of legendary singer Akshay Mohanty, from auction.

This came after The Telegraph published a report on February 25, stating that a nationalised bank had served auction notice to the singer’s family members, who were at default in repaying a loan amounting to nearly Rs 10 lakh.

Cuttack collector Girish SN today said the district administration would organise a cultural programme to generate funds for the family of Akshay Mohanty, popularly known as Khoka bhai, as a gesture of tribute to the legend.

Eminent artistes, dancers and singers will present a bouquet of programmes at Saheed Bhavan on April 28.

“The funds generated from the programme will be given to the family members of Akshay Mohanty, so that they can repay the loan,” said Girish.

An official said that earlier, a committee had been formed to generate money for the cause. The cost of the ticket for the cultural programme has been kept at Rs 200 per person.

The panel will also hold a painting exhibition showcasing various instances of the singer’s personal life. Artist Utkal Keshari Singh has created nearly 30 paintings and all will be auctioned during the event.

Moreover, the district administration in association with Green Projects, a voluntary group, will release a musical CD consisting of 16 unheard songs of Mohanty. The audio CD features eight full songs and eight medleys in two tracks of 42 minutes duration. This audio CD will be presented to the audience along with a souvenir.

“The CD has many unheard songs and voice of Mohanty. It will certainly be a collector’s piece for Odia music lovers,” said committee advisor Saroj Singh.

Singh said the 88-page souvenir contained write-ups by many eminent writers, poets and other personalities, including Dev Das Chhotray and Manoj Patnaik.

“Apart from being a singer and music composer, only few know that Mohanty was also a writer. We have collected three unpublished stories and two other short stories written by Khoka bhai that are now out of print. These have also been published in the souvenir,” Singh said.

Lyrics of 81 unheard songs that were collected from Mohanty’s personal diary also feature in the souvenir. The publication of the lyrics will help the young musicians play such songs at various cultural programmes across the state.

Mohanty’s family members have appreciated the efforts. “What they are doing is definitely a gesture that deserves appreciation. Though many promises were made after my father’s demise, none has been fulfilled,” said Mohanty’s son Mitrabhanu.