‘All I wanted was to revive Ganga Lahari’

Gangubai Hangal’s granddaughter Vaishnavi Hangal maintains museum was not broken open

The row over alleged breaking open of the lock of Gangubai Hangal Museum of Music took a new turn on Saturday with Gangubai’s granddaughter Vaishnavi (Anita) Hangal announcing that the museum would remain closed for the next two months and any further programme at ‘Ganga Lahari’ (Gangubai Hangal’s residence) would be held with the consent and in the presence of her father Baburao. Addressing a press conference along with Mahesh Hangal (Gangubai’s second son Narayanrao’s son) and family friend and Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Mutalik and others at ‘Ganga Lahari’ on Saturday, Ms. Vaishnavi. however, maintained that the museum was not broken open as her uncle Mr. Narayanrao had the museum’s key. On Monday, at a press conference in Hubballi, Gangubai’s eldest son nonagenarian Baburao had alleged that his daughter (Ms. Vaishnavi) and her husband Mahesh Talakad had broken open the museum to his utter shock. He had also lodged a complaint with the Hubballi police. However, no case has been registered yet. Throughout the press conference, Ms. Vaishnavi maintained that she did not break open the museum against her father’s wish and would lock the museum and return to Mysuru where she runs music school named after her grandmother Gangubai Hangal. “Any decision on reopening the museum, or continuing Gangubai’s musical tradition at ‘Ganga Lahari’ will be taken by my father and uncle. I will abide by it,” she announced, reiterating that she had opened the museum only to keep it tidy.