Gangubai Hangal was born in 1913,Gangubai completed 86 years this Mahashivarathri.She started performing in local celebrations and Ganeshotsavas in Mumbai when she was in her mid-teens. So her performing life spans something like 70 uninterrupted years during which there is no record if a single tantrum being thrown or a single line of publicity being peddled to the press for self glorification .She has made music because she has felt duty-bound to pass on to the future generations what her guruji gave her.She has done this with unflagging sincerity and dedication, winning live and respect along the way for her transparently good nature.
At 88, she is the last of the titans and represents the quintessence of purity and nobility of Hindustani classical music. She is known for her steadfast loyalty to Gharana-parampara and stands as a beacon of light for all aspiring young artists.
It was Sawai Gandharva’s music, no more no less, that she was surrounded by maestros like Bada Ghulam Ali Khan Saheb and Amir KhanSaheb, whose gayakis she greatly admired, did she fall for the temptations of trying to imbibe elements from other styles. Nor did she ever singst of her guru’s repertoire.
My earliest memories of music are of running out of the house to listen to gramophone records in street corners. How I loved that music and tried to copy it!
My mother basics of sur, but the most important influence was my Guru, the late Sawai Gandharva. He would teach us one phrase or palta and not go to the next until we had mastered it. There were times when I would sit in a comer for hours, quite alone, just practising. Sometimes I would start crying out of frustration... but Guruji never gave up, such was his bhakti.
I believe in the gradual development and unfolding of the raga, an exposition so delicate that the listener should wait eagerly for the next phrase. My Guruji taught us to use surs like a miser parting with his money - a graceful, subtle movement so that the listener understood the importance of the placement of each note of the raga. I believe that listening is also an art, and that a discerning audience draws out the best from an artiste. ---- Gangubai Hangal
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It was Sawai Gandharva’s music, no more no less, that she was surrounded by maestros like Bada Ghulam Ali Khan Saheb and Amir KhanSaheb, whose gayakis she greatly admired, did she fall for the temptations of trying to imbibe elements from other styles. Nor did she ever singst of her guru’s repertoire.