"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 remained a lifelong fan. The beauty of Shuddha Kalyan lies in the swaras of mandra saptak and in the meends relating to nishad andmadhyam, which she could exploit well with her bass voice."

“Three minutes then seemed a terribly long time limit.”

“At the age of 16 she went to learn under the legendary Sawai Gandharva, who also taught Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Firoze Dastur.”

“He belonged to a respectable family and I wanted him to continue to belong there.”

“He did not practise law and so whatever money I earned, I just placed before him. He invested in business--trucks, cars--but lost everything. I could not bear to see him unhappy. Often he would disappear from home for months on end. The bank people would come and harass me, ask for my property as I was unable to repay the loans. This happened several times. I had to sell everything I had. I will never forget or forgive myself for not being by his bedside before he died. I had a programme in Bombay, but I did not want to go. He insisted because we needed the money. While I was performing, he died.”

“If Gangubai sings it touches the sky and if Krishna sings it touches the heart.”

“But there was a strong bond between us artistes in the old days. I remember when Siddheshwari Devi was laid in bed with paralysis, we went to meet her and asked her if she needed help. She asked me to sing Bhairavi for her. She listened with tears in her eyes.”