Gangubai Hangal

"The greatness of this lady lies in her simplicity--it is this that draws her to both old and young alike."

"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."

"I learned 60 compositions in drut laya within a year."

"It is a myth that music rides on a great voice. Gangubai disproved it every living moment of her life. Indian classical music is neither a perfect piece of poetry nor a premeditated symphony. It does …"

"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 …"

"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 remai…"

"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 b…"

"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…"