Her excellency

“The interesting fact about Gangubai Hangal is that despite her school education which was only till standard five,she was awarded doctorate from seven universities. From 1931 till 2009 she was performing continuously for nearly 80 years with a record of singing continuously for 24 hours at Paris,” said Patil,Gangubai’s disciple.

Sharing his experiences with the musical genius,Patil added,“I was born in a theatre company and in 1976,I passed the Akashwani audition. Once when I had gone to Halyal with my mother,I went to Gangubai’s house to fetch water. That was the first time I saw her. She told me to sing a couple of Kannada recitals and told me to come back. Her guidance was like a counselor. Not many gurus of today’s generation can understand that counseling is an important aspect of being a teacher.”

Despite having listened to countless singers,it was Gangubai’s unique style that gave her the esteemed status of being the torchbearer of Kirana gharana. “The characteristic of singers of her generation such as Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was that they were emotional singers. They had undergone hardships for their love for music. Even in real life,they had to struggle with the basic necessities. It was this journey that took out the emotions in them as singers,” said Bhatkar.

“In the male dominated era,Gangubai Hangal,Mogubai Kurdikar,Hirabai badodekar,Kesarbai Kerkar were amongst very few women who imparted status to female singers. Then,women would stand and perform in front of audience. But it was these women who,with their performances earned the respect thus starting the tradition of women sitting and singing,” said Shivanand further adding,“After getting Padmavibhushan,I had asked her how it felt to be honoured with such a prestigious award and she replied- it feels good,but for me the fact remains that every performance is a test I have to pass.”