She challenged the thin-voiced norm laid down for women singers

Nurses at the hospital where Gangubai Hangal spent her last days used to call her 'cutie pie'.

At 97, Gangubai was so full of good cheer and optimism that she would wave the nurses at Lifeline Hospital over to her bedside and teach them lines from a song she had learnt at school.

The nurses loved her spirit, and had become very fond of her. "About a year ago, she travelled to Goa and sang at a public event for about 20 minutes," said Deepa Ganesh, a journalist researching Gangubai's life for a biography.

A young Gangubai, part of the collection of the Museum of Classical Music at her residence in Hubli (courtesy: Frontline)