Gangubai's journey to become doyen of Hindustani music

Hubli, July 21 (PTI) Gangubai Hangal's journey to
become one of the most acclaimed exponents of Khyal Gayki of
the Kirana gharana represented a triumph of an artiste who
fought social stigma that had tagged her as a hereditary
courtesan.

The young Gangubai took up to singing when many from
her gender shied away from the profession and was dubbed
'gannewali' besides being at the receiving end of casteist
remarks.

Singing came naturally to Gangubai whose mother
Ambabai was a singer and musician in her own right.

Following the footsteps of her mother, Gangubai
married Gururao Kaulgi, a Brahmin lawyer as women of her
community had the option of settling down with a patron.
Kaulgi was much senior in age to Gangubai who was 16 when the
alliance happened.He later remarried.

After her initial lessons in music given to her by
Ambabai, it was Krishnacharya who taught Gangubai the basics,
covering about 15 ragas.

But a serious guru-shishya relationship was formed
with Pandit Rambhau Kundgolkar who was called Savai Gandharva
in Maharashtra for his mastery in Hindustani vocal music and
particularly the Kirana gharana.

Gangubai's musical upbringing under him started around
1937 when he came back to his native Kundgol, a distance of
about 30 km from Hubli.

Living at Kundgolkar's house to learn music was
another disciple who was to become famous in later years and
whom Gangubai called Bhim-anna alias Bhimsen Joshi. He became
her Gurubandhu.

Gangubai used to travel from Hubli to Kundgol by train
every evening, accompanied by her uncle Ramanna.

Crowds in the vicinity jeered her and the faces
craning out of windows greeted her with contempt whenever she
visited Kundgolkar's place. But she remained stoical and never
allowed her passion for music to be subdued by the social
ridicule.

The stage debut for the vocalist who subsequently
reached peak of popularity with her sonorous voice with a
touch of masculinity, took place in Mumbai, at the erstwhile
Bombay Music Circle. She was heard with great curiosity by
several eminent musicians.

After the Mumbai debut, Jadden Bai, the mother of film
actress Nargis, persuaded her to participate in a music
conference in Kolkata where she was awarded a gold medal by
the Maharaja of Tripura.

Gangubai later recalled that at the concert, "I kept
remembering my mother who was no more. And just then I 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".

On her guru Kundgolkar, Gangubai recalled that "Our
respect for him was so great that there was no question of us
asking him to teach us something particular. This was not
because of our blind devotion but the innate belief that he
knew what was best for us".

Her evolution as a vocalist unfolded during the annual
All India Music Conference that showcased the best in the
music world in those days.

The likes of Kesarbai, Bismillah Khan, Allauddin Khan,
Siddheshwari Devi and many others would come for nine days
from December 25 to January 1 every year and hear each other
sing.

A remarkable feature of this Kirana gharana exponent
was her exceptional stamina as she kept actively performing
even at the age of 75 with a voice which many branded as more
manly than the best male voice.

In a reflection when she was awarded the Padma
Bhushan, Gangubai said "I stayed up the whole night and
remembered all the things one would like to forget---- the
mental traumas, the pain and the suffering. What a happy
moment and such unhappy thoughts".

This perhaps sums up a life marked by contradictions
with an equal measure of fulfillment and agony. But for her
audience it was only an ecstasy that lasted over six decades.
PTI HBJ