End Of An Era: Legendary Singer Prafulla Kar Passes Away

End Of An Era: Legendary Singer Prafulla Kar Passes Away

A prominent voice in the Odia music industry, Prafulla Kar who was a music director, singer and lyricist, passed away at the age of 83 in Bhubaneswar late on Sunday night. Kar suffered from old age-related health ailments and suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. He is survived by his wife Manorama Kar and children Mahaprasad Kar, Sandhyadipa Kar and Mahadeep Kar.

He was the only Odia music director to have won the Best Music Director in Odisha State Film Awards by the state government a record six times. Apart from movies, he also composed music for numerous Odissi dance dramas and music CDs for the Government of Odisha.

In 2004, he was awarded the prestigious Jaydev Puraskar for his contribution to Odia cinema. In 2015, he was honoured with the Padma Shri in the field of art. In 2009, he was conferred with the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi’s highest honour – Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Award. His presence in Odia cinema was not restricted to just music, Kar also played small roles in two Odia films ‘Mukti’ and ‘Thukool’.

Family members said the legendary singer’s mortal remains will be consigned to flames at Swargadwara in Puri on Monday. The funeral services will be held with state honours. The funeral will be attended by Urban and Law Minister Pratap Jena, School and Mass Education Minister Sameer Ranjan Dash and Deputy Chairman of State Planning Board Sanjay Dasverma.

Twitter swarmed with condolences for his deceased soul. 

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik extended his heartfelt condolence through a tweet.

Governor of Odisha, Prof. Ganeshi Lal, tweeted his grief. 

He also paid tribute to the legend in his residence. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also tweeted his condolence.

Member of Parliament, Aparajita Sarangi, paid her tribute through a tweet.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also extended his condolences through a tweet.