The birth centenary celebrations of the late Hindustani musician Gangubai Hangal was a low-key but warm affair here on Wednesday, with some senior musicians remembering the heights achieved by the Kirana maestro and the simplicity of her life.
At a function organised by the Department of Kannada and Culture and the Karnataka Sangeeta Nritya Academy, musician Vinayak Torvi said, “I cannot illustrate how she sang because I cannot sing like her, and words cannot describe the depth of her music and her personality.”
He said that the deep and powerful voice of Gangubai, which she acquired after a surgery, widened her musical horizons rather than becoming a detriment. “Raags such as Miyan ki Malhar or Darbari Kanada, which are traditionally sung by only male singers, acquired a new meaning in her full-throated voice,” Pt. Torvi said. She belonged to a generation of musicians who saw music as slow-paced contemplation, rather than an exercise in fast-paced taan s aimed at winning applause, he said. “She and others of her generation like Mallikarjun Mansur were people who patiently dug deep to discover gold,” he said, and added that it was a style that combined the accuracy of mathematics with intense emotion.
Pt. Torvi recalled how Gangubai had travelled to Bangalore from Hubli by a train in second class to inaugurate a music forum in memory of his guru, Gururao Deshpande. “She was running high temperature, and yet sang that day,” he said. Pt. Torvi recalled the warmth with which Gangubai treated anyone who went to her house. The event had a photo exhibition put together by her grandson Manoj Hanagal and a documentary screening on Gangubai, who was born March 5, 1913. Artistes paid musical tribute to Gangubai at the event.
Minister of State for Kannada and Culture Umashree did not turn up for the event, with the calendar of events for the Lok Sabha elections announced early on Wednesday.
