Noted Odia Bhajan singer Santilata Barik Chhotray dies, Odisha CM announces cremation with full state honour
Bhubaneswar: Noted Odia Bhajan singer Santilata Barik Chhotray died today while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar.
According to her husband Basant Chhotray, the well-known Odia Bhajan singer breathed her last at the age of 63 this evening after battling serious health complications. The singer, who is a household name across the state, was undergoing treatment for quite some time.
Basant further informed that the iconic singer’s body is kept at her house near Bindu Sagar in Bhubaneswar where people can visit and pay their last tributes.
Later, it will be taken to Puri to perform the last rites at the Swarga Dwara, most probably tomorrow morning.
‘Jagannath Tume Bada Chhalia,’ ‘Thaka Mana Chala Jiba,’ ‘Mun Je Deula Bedha,’ and ‘Kaaliare’ are some of the best known songs of Santilata Barik Chhotray who was born on October 1, 1960, in Khurda and was a student of Odisha Sangeeta Mahavidyalaya.
Meanwhile, a pall of gloom descended among the music lovers especially among the bhajan singers who paid their tributes to the deceased singer. Several eminent personalities also condoled her demise.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his deep grief over the demise of the eminent singer and announced that the she will be cremated with full state honour.
Ms Kalinga