The Glory And History Of Bande Utkala Janani

The Glory And History Of Bande Utkala Janani

‘Bande Utkala Janani’, is not just a song, it’s an emotion for every Odia. The song unites Odias all over the world and speaks of positivity and our shared humanity. This Odia ode to the motherland has been written by Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra. When Odisha became a state on 1st April 1936, this poem was treated as the state song. 

On Thursday CM Naveen Patnaik appealed to all Odias to join in singing Bande Utkala Janani on May 30 at 5:30 PM. My City Links delved into the history and details of this sonic gem of Utkala.

It has been two months since #Odisha started its war against #COVID19 with single most focus to save every precious life. The mortality rate in #Odisha is one of the lowest in the country and in the world while more than 50% of the infected people have recovered and gone home. pic.twitter.com/gX5V9t0dNW

— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) May 28, 2020

The poem envisages the land of Utkala who maintains her self-respect and dignity with confidence and strength rather than insecurity and fear. The Utkal Sammilani (a federation of Odias) was leading this movement back then which influenced the poet Laxmikanta Mohapatra, who was then a young and energetic poet. 

He wrote Bande Utkala Janani and many other songs and poems. He was also popular for his other writings like Pralaya Dundubhi, Unmada, Arya Bhaini, Bijayban, etc. All of them are patriotic songs.

President, Odisha Linguistic Movement and Chairman, Odisha Citizen Forum, Pradyumna Satapathy told My City Links that when he started using ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ as a greeting instead of hi, hello or namaskar in the year 1980, people laughed at him. Now, 40 years have passed and he still continues to do so today.

He told MCL, “I feel like this song is in my blood now. We have been fighting since 2002 and finally got the approval of the official state song in the year 2018. But yet there was no official announcement publicly. On Thursday, in a letter released by the Government of Odisha, it has been mentioned as the official song of the state. 

In the year 1992, the Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Judhistira Das proposed that assembly sessions every year should start with the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and should end with ‘Bande Utkala Janani. On 16th November 2002, on the eve of National Press Day, in a meeting at Jayadev Bhawan, we appealed for it in front of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Sarat Kar. Then a committee was made to select the portions from the lyrics which will be there and also to fix a particular composition to sing it.”

Pradyumna, who is a well-known face in Odisha for successfully continuing the Odia Linguistic moment for 878 days, told MCL about the history of the song. In the year 1912 Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra wrote this poem when he was doing his graduation. He has recited it for the first time in the ‘Utkal Sammilani’ at Balasore. Listening to this poem, starting from Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das to Utkalmani Gopabandhu, all were pleased. Then it was also recited at Bhadrak during another edition of ‘Utkal Sammilani’. Gradually it spread all over the state and became part of every Odia.