Damodar Hota

Pandit Damodar Hota (Odia: ଦାମୋଦର ହୋତା; 25 December 1935 – 5 February 2022) was an Indian classical vocalist, musicologist, composer, and guru based in Odisha, India. He was an exponent of Odissi classical music (Udra Paddhatiya Sangita) as well as Hindustani classical music.

Padmakesari
Damodar Hota
ଦାମୋଦର ହୋତା
Hota in an Odissi music recital
Background information
Born(1935-12-25)25 December 1935
Puri, Odisha, British Raj
OriginPuri, Odisha, India
Died5 February 2022(2022-02-05) (aged 86)
Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
GenresHindustani classical music, Odissi classical music (Udra Paddhatiya Sangita)
Occupation(s)Classical vocalist, scholar, composer, educator

His primary research on Odissi classical music in the 1960s was groundbreaking in uncovering the historical roots, distinct ragas, talas, and lakshyanas of the music.[1] He preserved the authenticity and distinctiveness of the form through his vocal performance, teaching, scholarship, and advocacy.

Career

Pandit Hota started learning music from his mother Smt. Dandimani Devi and father Sri Gopinath Hota who was skilled in Odissi music and Mardala. He also learned from the elderly musicians of the Jaga-Akhadas of Puri and the Jagannath Temple.[2] He continued higher training in Odissi music under Guru Nrusingha Nath Khuntia.

He attended the College of Music and Fine Arts at Banaras Hindu University. For his Doctor of Music (Sangeet Pravin) degree, he was awarded the Pandit Mirashi Buwa Puraskar. Pandit Hota holds Madhyama Purna in Tabla and Visharad in Pakhawaj. A Top Grade artist of Doordarshan and All India Radio, he exemplified the ashtanga-pradhan gayaki style of the Gwalior Gharana.

He was a chief disciple of Padmashree Pt. Balwant Rai Bhatt (Bhav Rang) and Pandit Pt. Omkarnath Thakur (Pranav Rang). His compositions bear the pen name 'Swar Rang'.[3]

He served as principal and senior faculty of Hindustani vocal music at Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya.

Teaching
Oṛiśī Sangīta
Odissi music
Mahāprabhu Jagannātha
Composers
Shāstras
  • Sangītasāra
  • Gītaprakāśa
  • Sangītanārāyana
  • Sangītamuktābaḷī
  • Sangītakaḷpalatikā
  • Sangītārṇavachandrikā
  • Sangītakaumudī
Compositions
Instruments
  • Musicians
  • Glossary

Pandit Hota had been teaching music in the gurukula tradition since 1963. He was the founder and chief guru of Swar Rang, an institution of Hindustani Classical and Udra Paddhatiya Sangita. To aid teaching and preservation, he authored numerous books notating and discussing the practice, compositions, theory, and historical aspects of both forms of music. Many of the books are used as syllabus work across Odisha. From 2007 to 2016, Pandit Hota organized the annual Tridhara National Music Conference to spread knowledge of Udra Paddhatiya Sangita alongside the two other forms of Indian Classical Music.[4] In 2020, Pandit Hota established the Sri Jagannath Institute of Udra Padhhatiya Sangeet for research and training in Udra Paddhatiya Sangita (Odissi music).[5]

Personal life and death

Hota suffered from cardiac ailments in the last few years of his life. He died in Bhubaneswar on 5 February 2022, at the age of 86.[6][7]

Publications
  • Kisora Chandrananda Champu Lahari
  • Udra Paddhatiya Mela Raga Tala Lakhyana (in 7 parts)
  • Hindustani Sangeeta Lahari (in 5 parts)
  • Lakhyana O Swara Malika Lahari (part 1)
  • Srimandira Sangeeta Mala (in 2 parts)
  • Sangeet Shashtra (part 1)
  • Bharatiya Sangeeta Ra Itihasa (in 2 parts)
  • Udra Paddhatiya Mela Raga Tala O Prabandha Lakhyana (part 1)

References
  1. "Dissenting note". The Hindu. 24 April 2009. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020.
  2. Khuntia, Nrusingha Nath; Hota, Damodar (2003). Srimandira Sangitamala ଶ୍ରୀମନ୍ଦିର ସଙ୍ଗୀତମାଳା ['Traditional classical music of the Jagannatha Temple, Puri'] (in Odia). Vol. 2. Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India: Swara-Ranga.
  3. "Dissenting note". The Hindu. 24 April 2009. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020.
  4. "Archived copy". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Sri Jagannath Institute of Udra Padhhatiya Sangeet". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  6. "Noted Classical Vocalist Pandit Damodar Hota Passes Away". Pragativadi. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  7. ""Eminent Odia classical musician Pt Damodar Hota's demise"". Sambad. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
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