GANGUBAI HANGAL

9160/18, Deshpande Nagar, Hubli
Dharwar, Karnataka 580 020.


Take Gangubai Hangal, in her 90s and ailing, who took the gayaki of the famed Kirana gharana to great heights. After the death of her daughter Krishna Hangal, there is no musical successor in sight. Her unique musical tradition, perfected through years of rigorous riyaaz, could be lost forever.



A woman of extraordinary talent and courage, Gangubai Hangal has kept her place in the male-dominated world of Hindustani music for almost a century, writes LAKSHMI VISWANATHAN.



ON March 5, Gangubai Hangal, the renowned Hindustani vocalist, celebrated her 93rd birthday. A news item informed her rasikas that her grandson planned to open a cultural centre, designating the Hangal home as a museum for music as a tribute to this grand lady.



Gangubai is one of the four Kannadiga celebrities of Hindustani music. The others are Mallikarjun Mansur, Kumar Gandharva and Bhimsen Joshi. She may not have a high profile like the men in this pantheon. Nevertheless she has held her own and has dedicated her life to the arduous cultivation of her style of expression. Her followers know her emotional involvement with music and appreciate her personal commitment to creative endeavour.

These qualities have earned her a pride of place among the great musicians of our time. She always did justice to the Khayal in all its intricacy, taking her time over the alaap in slow tempo, and thundering her way through the fast swaras. She gave new dimensions to raga Khamaj. Durbari Kanada, which Gangubai usually began in the lower octaves, was also a raga suited to her majestic style.

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BHIMSEN G JOSHI

Kalashree, 36, Lakshmi Colony
Pune 411 030.



Bhimsen Joshi, who is riding the crest of popularity and has ridden it for the last several years, is a musical marvel. His singing invariably provides listeners with a divine musical ex- perinea. Many of his rivals admit, though unwillingly, that today there is no other vocalist comparable to him in the entire nation.



Bhimsen, who is now in his 60s, has attained proficiency and fame that astound the musical world. His voice, like that legendary philosopher's stone, turns every note into a golden one. Billions of notes that have received the golden touch of his voice have been freely showered by him on the teeming millions of his fans. His unswerving faith in an intense devo- tion to his guru have been his keys to success.



Tansen of today — this is how he is regarded by his conptemporaries. Pandit ji is considered as one of the very best singers alive today. From the very beginning of his career he has been very popular, and today without doubt holds the throne as the king of Hindustanti classical singing.



Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, acknowledged as the leading light of the Kirana gharana, drives his audience to a divine musical experience through his mystic and magnificent songs. Bhimsen, the musical legend who is riding the crest of popularity for the last several years is rightly acclaimed as the 'Raga Maestro', for the unbelievable flexibility of voice and sonorous knowledge in 'Ragas'. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is the numero uno among Hindustani classical vocalists. His unique style and mastery over ragas gained him the applause even from rivals. Joshi is the most prominent Hindustani vocalist living today. He stands undefeated and incomparable in Indian musical world.

Bhimsen Joshi never looked back. He absorbed raga after raga, imbibing all the best of Kirana Gharana. He also learnt from other gayaki styles. In one of his early concerts, a well known singer of another gharana said 'I came to see how much you have stolen from us'. He quickly became one of the most sought after concert artists. The intensity he brought to his performances made him the most popular vocalist in India.

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