Batabana Aji Jouthi by Ananya Nanda, Humane Sagar

Batabana Aji Jouthi is the kind of song that earns its place in a playlist and then refuses to leave. The arrangement here is the work of Prem Anand, and it shows genuine craft in how it builds and releases.

There are singers who perform songs and singers who live inside them. On Batabana Aji Jouthi, Ananya Nanda, Humane Sagar clearly belongs in the second group. The chemistry of a talented ensemble cast is embedded in every moment of Batabana Aji Jouthi, making it as much a performance as a song.

2019 marked the release of Batabana Aji Jouthi, and Batabana Aji Jouthi was the track that ensured the album would be remembered. The song rewards full attention but also works as company in the background — a flexibility that most tracks never achieve.

Running to 4:03, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. Songs like Batabana Aji Jouthi are the reason people fall in love with Odia music and never quite fall out of it.