Unforgettable Gangubai (Tribute)

I wondered what language we would speak in or for that matter, whether there would be any conversation at all. I had been told that her short term memory was nearly non existent while her recollection of things that happened long ago was crystal clear. The short term memory loss was perhaps mother nature’s way of being kind to her since this helped her to forget the heart breaking event of her daughter Krishna’s demise a few years ago. Krishna Hangal, affectionately called Kittakka by those who knew her and loved her, spent her entire life as her mother’s shadow, disciple, friend, source of support and constant companion. (One can hear her melodious voice give a sweet contrast to her mother’s powerful contralto in most of the Gangubai Hangal recordings available in the market.)After having been so familiar with her booming voice, I was so shocked to see that she was such a tiny little woman, when viewed from up close. There are some grandmothers who exude warmth and kindness and others who command the respect due to a matriarch. Gangubai ji was one of those rare personalities who combined both naturally.  I had read about the hardships she had to face in life, being born of a Brahmin father and a courtesan mother, not being legally married to her own Brahmin husband, the social stigma she had to face and so on and didn’t know quite what to expect; whether she would be arrogant, bitter or philosophical. The moment I told her I was a Carnatic musician, the ice was broken and she exclaimed “My mother was also a Carnatic musician!” with the enthusiasm of a child. There was a huge big photo of her mother Ambabai there, which quietly exuded an ethereal kind of beauty that certain old black and white photographs do. “But” she continued “She stopped singing when I started learning Hindusthani music because she didn’t want me to get both the styles mixed up.” This was the perfect opening and I asked her “Do you think that learning both is a bad thing ?”  She said “One has to be thorough in one system after many many years of practice before exploring the other system. I am very familiar with Carnatic music now and think that both the systems are equally great. But my heart was in Hindusthanimusic right from the beginning.” I said that these days it was a fashion for many students of Carnatic music to learn Hindusthani too. “Yes” she quipped. “But the thing is, how many of these fashions will last ?”

Certainly a valid point, coming from someone who had “lasted” for more than nine decades in this world with more than seven of them as a professional musician. Drawing a parallel with my own Veena guru, the late Prof.K.S.Narayanaswamy who was from the same generation as Gangubai ji, I wondered how many of the legends from the past she had mixed and moved with and asked her “Have you met Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan?” This opened the floodgates and out came the anecdotes. She told me about how she was given a junior slot to perform when she went to Calcutta for the first time and was sulking and pouting when Khan Saab told her “Just sing and show them what you are capable of and make them regret the fact that they gave you the junior slot.” She was upgraded instantly as predicted. Rather than sit star struck in the presence of a legend like her, I gently asked her about so many of my own personal favourites from the past. K.L.Saigal, Ustad Amir Khan, Kesarbai Kerkar, Gauhar Jaan, D.V.Paluskar; and the very mention of each of these names would send her into raptures. It seemed as though she was becoming younger and younger by the minute, while talking about them. What was intended to be a brief, formal visit, turned into a warm, hearty and animated conversation that lasted several hours, interspersed with little bouts of singing, to illustrate some point or the other. She remembered when and where she sang what, the music she heard, the people she met and even the amounts of money that were paid to her for concerts that happened more than six decades ago! She was one of those special persons who would leave a lasting impression on one, even if one were to have interacted with her just once, as I found out from my own experience.