Palla artiste Gopabandhu Nath with the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi award. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, April 2: Veteran palla artist Gopabandhu Nath received the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi award a few days ago at a ceremony in the capital.

The exponent has carried forward the legacy of the dying art form for many years. Having dedicated 60 years of his life to this art, the 77-year-old is positive that palla, which was once the most popular form of entertainment in Odisha, will see a new dawn soon.

Although Nath felt that the appreciation came a bit late from the Akademi, he was happy to see that his contribution was not forgotten.

“I am glad that this year many artistes who have solely preserved dying art forms have been given the Akademi award,” he said.

Nath, born in 1935, started his journey in the world of this art form at the age of 17 in 1952.

“My guru Harekrushna Nath trained me in palla. This art includes Odia, Sanskrit, Hindi and Bengali literature for its renditions. Vedas, Upanishads and ancient prose and poetry are intricately woven to construct the songs and dialogues for palla. It is one of the best ways to preserve and popularise ancient literature,” he said.

The number of artistes performing palla is not even a handful today. Lamenting about the loss of interest in this art form, Nath said: “Palla was the most popular form of mass communication even until the seventies. It lived beyond Bhagabat Tungi and Gita Abhinaya, which are almost completely lost now.”

The doyen of palla said that it came from the merger of Hindu and Muslim cultural unity.

“Palla singers perform standing on a stage around which are four pillars and a dome. This is inspired from the tombs of peer’s or Muslim saints. Hence, we use the term Satya peer that replaces Satya narayana in our dialogues,” said Nath.

Palla, that was popular all over the state and mainly in the undivided Cuttack district, Puri, Balasore, Keonhar and Mayurbhanj, has today been reduced to only a few groups that do not even get regular opportunities to perform.

“One of the main reasons palla lost its popularity is because of the advent of television and other forms of communication. Neglect on part of the government has also reduced the interest in this art form. But finally, we hope some work is being done. Starting this year, we have received pensions from the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi though it was only a meagre Rs 1,000,” he said.

Nath suggested that palla, owing to its rich history, must be regarded as a separate art form and not merged into the category of folk arts by the Akademi. He said that he would continue to perform till his last breath.

“My wife Sabitri and family members have supported me thick and thin and that is the only reason I could continue to perform palla all my life. I will perform till the day I die,” said Nath.