Karnataka State Dr. Gangubai Hanagal Music and Performing Arts University

Karnataka State Dr. Gangubai Hangal Music and Performing Arts University came in to being in 2008-2009 through a separate Act of State Legislature. Since its inception, the University has been striving for the realization of the lofty ideals which prompted its founding and is, making steady progress. Another important point needs to be noted here. In the life of an individual, a period of 8-9 years is very short to make any discernible impact and it is more so in the life of an organization such as a University, to leave its imprint in the society in a profound way.

India has been a treasure house of Music and various other Art forms. The greatest of greats like Tansen, Sadanand Buva, Mallikarjun Mansoor, Pt. Basavaraj Rajguru, Pt. Panchakshara Gavayi, Pt. Bhimasen Joshi, Dr. Gangubai Hangal, Smt. M.S.Subbalakshmi were iconic musicians in their own right. Similarly, Dr. Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, Hemant Kumar, Manna De, Kishore Kumar were well-known in the field of film music. So far as instrumental music is concerned, one can recall the likes of Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pt. Ravishankar, Ustad Amzed Ali Khan, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt.Shivakumar Sharma, Dr. U. Srinivas, Veena Sheshanna, Violinist T. Chowdaiah, Pt.Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Pannalal Ghosh, Pt. T.R. Mahalingam and many others who have taken music – vocal and instrumental to the pinnacle.

Our vision is to resurrect the past glory of India in the field of music and other forms of performing arts. With the onslaught of globalization many of these art forms appear to have become somewhat superficial, devoid of their original depth and infinite fineness. Our task is to restore the heights that music and other performing arts had all attained in the past with forms on both modern and Gurukula systems. The University has made an impressive beginning moving in the direction of lofty goals it has set of itself.

The basic objectives of the University are:

• To revive learning and teaching of music in its pristine forms.
• To create awareness among the general public about the ennobling effect of music and other forms of performing arts and making the life of citizen worth living.
• To redesign or reformulate the learning, teaching process to be in tune with the expectations of the present times without sacrificing its ‘core’ values.
• To make use of the modern technology to facilitate dissemination of the knowledge of music and other art forms and make them easily accessible and acceptable to the society.
• To create adequate infrastructure for the promotion and propagation of music and other allied art forms in an orderly and scientific manner through institutional arrangement.

Traditional arts and all forms of intangible heritage of Karnataka, the Music and Performing arts constitute a veritable repository of traditional knowledge system and culture with immense potential for academic harness, public outreach and transformation of multiple modern documentation techniques.

The realization that reconstruction of these arts through pertaining, performing, promoting, and propagating identity in its entire ramification can be achieved through systematic ethnography and inter-cultural studies and that this mammoth task can only be completed through a university Endeavour in the 21st century paradigm has led to the establishment of Karnataka state Dr. Gangubai Hangal Music and Performing Arts .This University has been conceived as a nodal centre of learning as well as a major hub of intellectual exchange among scholars and the society at large.