Gangubai Hangal (5 March 1913 – 21 July 2009) was an Indian singer of the ''

khayal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfo ...

'' genre of

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

from

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

, who was known for her deep and powerful voice. Hangal belonged to the Kirana gharana.

Early life

Gangubai Hangal was born in

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

to Chikkurao Nadiger, an agriculturist and Ambabai, a vocalist of

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It ...

. Hangal received only elementary education and her family shifted to

Hubli Hubli, officially known as Hubballi, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad dist ...

in 1928 so that Gangubai could study Hindustani music. She began to train formally aged 13 with Krishnacharya Hulgur, a kinnari (stringed instrument like a veena)player, studying

. From Hulgur, Gangubai learned sixty compositions in one year before he stopped teaching her after an argument about his fees. She also learned from Dattopant Desai before studying under

Sawai Gandharva Ramachandra Kundgolkar Saunshi, popularly known as Pandit Sawai Gandharva (19 January 1886 – 12 September 1952), was a popular Hindustani Classical vocalist from Karnataka. He was a master in the genre of Kirana Gharana style. He was the f ...

, a respected guru. Hangal could only study sporadically under Gandharva when he returned to his home, but she received an intensive training of three years after he relocated permanently to Hubli.

Musical career

Hangal's mother's family was considered to be of low social status and for women of her generation singing was not considered appropriate employment; Hangal struggled against this prejudice and made a career. She performed all over India and for

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

stations until 1945. Hangal had initially performed light classical genres, including ''

bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam ( Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

'' and '' thumri'', but concentrated on '' khyal''. Later, however, she refused to sing light classical, saying she sang only ragas. Hangal served as honorary music professor of the Karnataka University. She gave her last concert in March 2006 to mark her 75th career year. Krishna Hangal, her daughter, would often provide her vocal support in concerts. Krishna-bai Hangal, who predeceased her more famous mother, was herself a performing musician who presented concerts. Gangubai Hangal had overcome bone marrow cancer in 2003, and died of cardiac arrest at the age of 96, on 21 July 2009, in

, where she resided. She had her eyes donated to increase awareness for organ donation.

Personal life

Hangal married at age 16 to Gururao Kaulgi, a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

lawyer. They had two sons, Narayan Rao and Babu Rao, and one daughter, Krishna, who died from cancer in 2004, aged 75.

Death

Gangubai died on July 21 in 2009. The

state government declared two days of mourning for Hangal. A state funeral was announced for 22 July in Hubli by the district commissioner of the

Dharwad district Dharwad is an administrative district of the state of Karnataka in southern India.The administrative headquarters of the district is the city of Dharwad, also known as Dharwar. Dharwad is located 425 km northwest of Bangalore and 421&n ...

Awards and honors

Gangubai Hangal 2014 stampsheet of India cr

Gangubai Hangal received a number of awards, which include: *Karnataka Sangeet Nritya Academy Award, 1962 * Padma Bhushan, 1971 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

, 1973 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Academy. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Academy and is "restricte ...

, 1996 * Padma Vibhushan, 2002 In 2008, The State Government of Karnataka decided to name the proposed Karnataka State Music University, Mysore after Gangubhai Hangal. Subsequently, the ''Karnataka State Dr. Gangubai Hangal Music and Performing Arts University Act, 2009'' has been passed by the State Legislature. Presently the Karnataka State Dr. Gangubhai Hangal Music and Performing Arts University operates from Mysore, Karnataka. Gangothri — the birthplace of Gangubai Hangal — has been converted into a museum by the Government of Karnataka. Dr Gangubai Hangal Gurukul in Hubli trains artists in traditional Guru-Shishya parampara to become performing artists. In September 2014, a postage stamp featuring Hangal was released by India Post commemorating her contributions to Hindustani music.

References

External links

*
Gangubai Hangal page at Vijaya Parrikar Library of Indian Classical Music

Gangubai Hangal auf culturebase.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hangal, Gangubai 1913 births 2009 deaths Hindustani singers Kannada people Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts People from Dharwad Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Kirana gharana Indian women classical singers Karnatak University faculty Indian women songwriters Singers from Karnataka All India Radio people Women Hindustani musicians 20th-century Khyal singers 20th-century Indian singers All India Radio women Women musicians from Karnataka 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers