The Origin Story Of “Banaste Dakila Gaja”

The Origin Story Of “Banaste Dakila Gaja”

Like any other region we Odias also have folk songs which have existed since time immemorial. And when the ‘Raja’ festival comes, ‘Banaste Dakila Gaja’ is a song that comes to every Odia’s mind. Although there are several singers and composers who have tried to recreate this song in their own way, have you ever wondered about the origin of this song?

My City Links talked with veteran actor and everyone’s favourite Odia Kuna Tripathy, popular music composer Prem Anand and trending Ollywood singer Pragyan Hota to find out some facts about the song. Here is what they shared with us.

Tripathy has earlier discussed this song and its origin with some music veterans. He said, “The book published in the name of Maguni Mohapatra says that it is written by him. However, being a ‘Loka Gita’ (folk song), there is no proof that he has written it. From a very old time our Odia people used to sing this song during Raja festival every year. Few years back when we were researching this song, we found out that it has been collected by Chakradhara Mohapatra. Later Maguni Mohapatra printed and published it during the 1950s.”

“There are other famous songs in Odia like ‘Dha Re Baia Dha’ and ‘Jhul Re Hati Jhul’, where we can’t find the original lyricist, but we know who has compiled and published it. Kunjabihari Mohapatra has compiled two such books, one is ‘Loka Gita Granthabali’ and the other is ‘Loka Gapa Granthabali’, where you can find such folk creations from olden times,” he added.

Prem Anand feels every folk song is immortal as it connects communities and people closely. He said, “Folk songs like this are there in our blood. For example one of the ancient songs composed by me titled ‘Chaturbhuja Jagannath’ is being loved by the audience so much that I can guarantee it will have no expiry. In ancient times the lyricist was the composer and singer. So it’s hard to find the original writer, singer or composer of any of them as there are no archives for them.”

Sharing her childhood memory Pragyan said, “I remember when we were kids, I and Aseema di (singer Aseema Panda) used to participate in a Raja event called ‘Raja Mauja’ at Dhenkanal every year. There were no limitations and I remember singing for about half-an-hour in one go in the event and most of them are our folk songs. ‘Banaste Dakila Gaja’ is probably one of the most favorite songs of all of us, which is specially made for Raja. We even used to tease each other by putting new lyrics and singing it in our own way (chuckles).”

“Previously my paternal grandmother Binodini Hota used to make me listen to all these songs when I was a kid, later when I grew up my maternal grandmother Sarala Mishra also helped me a lot in learning about our folk songs. So songs like this are connectable with generations,” she signed off.