Gangubai Hangal quotes

It was a great experience. Unfortunately those days are over. Nowadays, you seldom see an artist listening to another artiste. Also, the sangeet jalsas, would go on for hours. I remember the tickets were priced at 50 paise for sitting on the ground and a rupee for a chair! All this may sound quaint today. (Gangubai Hangal)
But there was a strong bond between us artistes in the old days. I remember when Siddheshwari Devi was laid in bed with paralysis, we went to meet her and asked her if she needed help. She asked me to sing Bhairavi for her. She listened with tears in her eyes. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
It's a hard life, she said, and not everyone can bear the hardships that are part of a life of music. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
Three minutes then seemed a terribly long time limit. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
He did not practise law and so whatever money I earned, I just placed before him. He invested in business--trucks, cars--but lost everything. I could not bear to see him unhappy. Often he would disappear from home for months on end. The bank people would come and harass me, ask for my property as I was unable to repay the loans. This happened several times. I had to sell everything I had. I will never forget or forgive myself for not being by his bedside before he died. I had a programme in Bombay, but I did not want to go. He insisted because we needed the money. While I was performing, he died. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
He belonged to a respectable family and I wanted him to continue to belong there. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
In Calcutta, when the organizers saw me, they insisted that I first sing in a private sitting a night before my concert was scheduled. I couldn't understand why they couldn't wait till the next day. Nisar Husain Khan Saheb took me aside and explained that the organizers had doubts about what I, a frail girl at that time, was capable of! I sang and was greatly appreciated. In fact, I was awarded a gold medal by the Maharaja of Tripura. At the same concert, I kept remembering my mother who was no more, and just then felt a hand on my shoulder. When I turned around, I saw K. L. Saigal, who said, 'bahut surila' (very melodious). I was happy but then very upset that a strange man should touch me! View quote
Gangubai Hangal
I learned 60 compositions in drut laya within a year. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
It was 12.30 in the night when I got two congratulatory telegrams - Indira Gandhi's and Jagjivan Ram's. Who has ever sent congratulatory telegrams to me? I went and woke him (Uncle) up and he came and sat with me. What did we do? We cried till dawn. Because of music...all that we had gone through...The joy was real. But we thought of the past. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
The greatness of this lady lies in her simplicity--it is this that draws her to both old and young alike. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
It took me back more than 40 years when I first heard her at a Sangeet Mahotsav organised by the state government in Bombay, as it was called then. The khayal in Shuddha Kalyan captured me and I remained a lifelong fan. The beauty of Shuddha Kalyan lies in the swaras of mandra saptak and in the meends relating to nishad andmadhyam, which she could exploit well with her bass voice. (Gangubai Hangal)
Music, for Gangubai, was an expression of faith and the note had to be searched and discovered each time a phrase was attempted. ...In her case, a penetrating search for the note was more important than ornamentation. She could never achieve the sweetness, smoothness or the delicate artistry of tones that the Kirana was noted for, but with inherited talent, scrupulous cultivation and years of struggle what she achieved was unbelievable. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
Gangubai included in her performances such lighter genres as Marathi bhajans, and thumris. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
Her circumstances did not deter her from pursuing with single-minded devotion to be a worthy disciple of the inimitable Sawai Gandharva. It is ironic that although she was educated only as far as the fifth standard, she was conferred honorary doctorates by four universities, received 50 awards and 24 titles and was felicitated by nine prime ministers and five presidents. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
Throat surgery left her with a masculine voice, but the doyenne of the Kirana gharana turned it into an advantage through years of hard work. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
I remember stealing fruit from our neighbour's mango trees. More than the act of stealing, I remember the neighbours being horrified that a singer's daughter should step into their compound. I would be thrown out. Incidentally, the same people invite me over to their house today and call me 'Gangubai' with great respect. There are so many incidents that I will never forget--I remember singing for the Belgaum Congress session which was attended by Gandhiji--my only paranoia throughout the programme was that I would be asked to eat my food separately. View quote
Gangubai Hangal
Few know that Hangal had recorded ghazals in 78 rpm vinyl records in her early days. K L Saigal, the famous singer-actor, had once remarked that she was bahut surila ("very melodious") after attending her concert in Calcutta. It was through sheer saadhana that she turned her androgynous voice to advantage, imparting a certain majesty without sacrificing melody. View quote
Gangubai Hangal

Gangubai Hangal

Occupation: Indian Singer
Born: March 5, 1913
Died: July 21, 2009
Quotes count: 17
Wikipedia: Gangubai Hangal