Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Nov 17:

Its been 14 long years since Odisha's legendary musician Akshaya Mohanty aka Khoka Bhai passed away on this very day in 2002 but his evergreen compositions remain alive among music lovers across the state.

Born to Bichitrananda Mohanty and Subarna Manjari Mohanty on October 12, 1937 in Cuttack, Mohanty had no formal training in music.

After completing his graduation from Ravenshaw College in 1956, Mohanty joined government services in his home city Cuttack, but quit after seven years in 1963.

His first song as a playback singer was Gori Gori Gori in the 1959 Odia movie Maa.

The Katki lad went on to compose music in as many as 106 movies. Mohanty has written lyrics of around 4000 songs and gave his voice for nearly 8000 songs.

He has penned down 100 stories out of which 70 have been published. Similarly, Mohanty has written 12 novels out of which four have been published.

Arguably the best music director of all time in Odia film industry, Akshaya Mohanty continues to be a household name in Odisha.

At a memorial meeting organised by Culture Department of Odisha government, Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi and Odisha Cine Critics Association at Rabindra Mandap here on November 26, 2002, it was proposed to establish Akshaya Mohanty school of music to which the association’s president Pradosh Pattnaik had nodded in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the dais. However, the state government is yet to take step in this regard.