Banamali Dasa (; 1720–1793) is an Indian medieval Odia ''bhakta''-poet & composer of

Odissi music music () is a genre of classical music in India, originated from the eastern state of Odisha. The traditional ritual music for the service of Lord Jagannatha, Odissi music has a history spanning over two thousand years, authentic ''sangita-shas ...

from the state of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. "''Dinabandhu daitari''", "''Kede chanda jane lo sahi''" and "''Manima he etiki maguni mora''" are some of his notable writings that are used in

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

, public gatherings and in Odissi dance. Banamali's compositions (especially ''chaupadis and jananas'') are set to traditional Odissi ragas and talas & are extremely popular in the

repertoire. He is considered to be the foremost poet of the medieval Odia bhakti-literature Started with writing rustic devotional Poetry, he later began to compose "''bhakti''"-poetry which gained larger acceptance and popularity among the other contemporary poets of his time. Typically, his poems are eyewitness accounts, and their simple, fervent language is much appreciated.

Early life

As Dasa's birth and death are unrecorded various researchers speculate various years. In a research publication, researcher Janaki Ballabh Mohanty has cited his birth year around 1720-30 and death year as unknown whereas in other publications has his birth year as 1720 and death year as 1793. He was born in a Karana family, what is proved by one of his earlier poems where he explicitly mentions his surname Pattanayaka, used by the karanas (scribes) of ancient Odisha. The surname is in use till now. He spent most of his life in Puri.

Music

Banamali's creations are frequently sung in classical Odissi music concerts & enacted in the ''abhinaya'' part of Odissi dance. He is known to have composed over 400 songs, ''Odissi'', ''Chhanda'', ''Bhajana'', ''Janana'', ''Chautisa'' and more. He is not known to have written any single ''kavya'', rather a huge number of individual songs. The Ragas used by Banamali in his works are unique ragas of the Odissi music tradition. Some of them are ''Asabari, Bangala, Bangalasri, Baradi, Basanta, Basanta Kedara, Bhairaba, Bhairabi, Bhatiari, Bhupala, Bibhasha, Chakra Kedara, Chinta Kedara, Dakhina Kamodi, Desa Baradi, Desakhya,

Dhanasri Dhanasri () is a rāga belonging to the tradition of Odissi music. Falling under the ''meḷa'' of the same name, the raga uses ''komala gandhara'' and ''komala nisada'' swaras and is traditionally associated with the ''karuṇa rasa.'' The raga i ...

, Dhipa, Gadamalia,

Gujjari Gujjari () is a rāga belonging to the tradition of Odissi music. Falling under the ''meḷa'' Karnāta, the raga uses ''komala gandhara, komala dhaibata'' and ''komala nisada'' swaras and is traditionally associated with the ''karuṇa rasa.'' T ...

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, Jayanti, Jhinjoti, Kalyana, Kamodi, Kaphi, Karnata, Kasmira,

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, Kedaragouda, Khambaja, Khanda Bangalasri, Kolahala, Kousika, Krusna Kedara, Kumbha Kamodi, Kumbha Kedara, Kusuma Kedara, Lalita Kamodi, Lalita Kedara, Madana Kedara, Madhusri, Malaba,

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, Mangala Baradi, Mangala Kedara, Marua, Matiari, Mohana, Mohana Kedara, Mukhabari, Nalinigouda, Natakurangi, Paraja, Pattamanjari, Punnaga, Purabi, Ranabije, Rasakadamba, Rasakedara, Saberi, Sankarabharana, Saranga, Sauri, Sindhu Kamodi, Soka Kamodi, Sri, Suratha, Todi, Todiparaja.''

Selected works

Poetry

* "''Dinabandhu daitari''" * "''Manima he eitiki maguni mora''" * "''Kede chanda jane lo sahi''" * "''Dukhanasana he sukha na paili dine''" * "''Jaya Jagannatha he Jasoda kumara''" * "''Ke Murali Bajauchhi Brundabane Go''"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasa, Banamali 18th-century births 18th-century deaths Odia-language poets 18th-century Indian poets Poets from Odisha Indian male poets 18th-century male writers Odissi music composers