Bengaluru, 12 May (HS): It was a small gathering of close relatives and family friends who had assembled from nearby and far-off locations within the city and from outstation places. The joyous occasion was the observance of the Mehendi rituals for Ms Neha, daughter of Mrs Indira Priyadarshini and Suresh Hadagali, on the eve of her marriage to Kiran.

A family of singers: The colourful evening was enriched with the singing of Hindi and Kannada film songs by most of the Hadagali family members! To begin with, Sadananda Hiremath from Bagalkot started the singing show and was later joined by Mrs Sharada, also from Bagalkot and now settled in Bengaluru. Both sang many solo and duet songs, followed by the family members of the Suresh Hadagali family. As the evening began to unfold into a musical extravaganza, the situation paved the way for showcasing the musical talents of the Hadagalis. Slowly, one by one, they began to move towards the make-shift stage and entertained the music-loving audience.

Daughter, brother, cousin...Prakash Hadagali, a retired outstanding scientist of the prestigious Bhabha Atomic Research Centre(BARC), Mumbai and the elder brother of Suresh Hadagali, regaled the small crowd with several songs. Suresh Hadagali took over from his brother, sang a few songs, only to hand over the mike to Ms Srushti Hadagali, his second daughter. Then came Ravindra Hadagali, from Hubballi, and a cousin of Suresh Hadagali.

Whistling songs! Ravindra Hadagali is also well known for whistling songs, while his own relatives took a dig at him, attributing the practice of whistling during his school/college days, developing into a specialised talent of his own! The family list of singers is not yet over. Prof Babu Jattakar, former principal of College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat, and co-brother of Suresh Hadagali, sang the Kaanada Kadalige...of late C Ashwath fame. Dr Santosh Potadar, another relative of Suresh Hadagali, was also instantly inspired to sing a few songs. Not to be left behind, a few enthusiastic guests also stole the show. However, Mrs Sharada and her aged mother dancing along with singing turned out to be extremely fascinating!

Babul Ki Duwayein opens up tear gates: Prakash Hadagali's rendering of Babul Ki Duwayein, a sought-after typical marriage number, literally turned the festive atmosphere into a gloomy one as tears started rolling down the cheeks of Ms Neha, her parents, relatives and womenfolk. Prakash Hadagali was also no exception, although he managed to complete the song in an emotionally choked voice!

A dream come true: Prakash Hadagali is basically a native of Bagalkot, having completed his Mechanical Engineering degree from Basaveshwar Engineering College. He was a brilliant student all along throughout his career. After that, he worked for less than a year as a lecturer in the same college. Then he got an opportunity to join BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre) in 1986. It was actually his dream to join BARC, though he never really thought he would make it. Says Prakash Hadagali, With God’s grace and my parents’ blessings, I got selected. The recruitment process at BARC is very tough and totally unbiased, but I managed to clear it.

A great opportunity to work with eminent scientists: At BARC, I had the opportunity to be closely associated with many eminent scientists, including former and present chairman of the Department of Atomic Energy.

It was a great experience working with them and many other distinguished nuclear scientists, he recalls.

Contribution to several strategic projects: Prakash Hadagali recalls, I also contributed to several departmental scientific projects, international collaborative projects, stage 1 and stage 2 nuclear program projects, Cryo Technology projects, Astro Physics, and developmental activities of the department. I worked at BARC for about 37 and a half years. My journey there was very fulfilling and memorable.

Passion for singing from childhood: Alongside my professional life, I have always had a passion for singing since childhood. My father used to sing, and I picked it up from him. My brother Suresh also shares the same interest. However, I never pursued singing professionally. I used to participate in school competitions, and later it remained more of a hobby—just humming and singing casually, recollects Prakash Hadagali.

More like an Ekalavya approach: He also becomes candid about his passion during his official tenure, Due to work pressure, especially meeting targets, singing became a way to relax. During weekends, I would sometimes sing with friends. I never had any formal music training, but I learned by listening to others and picking things up on my own, much like an Ekalavya approach.

Secret busted during the retirement function: At the same time, Parkash Hadagali admits, This is how I spent my time in BARC. However, my singing passion was brought to light at my retirement function! My bosses and subordinates told me, Why didn't you tell us earlier? Otherwise, for the last thirty years, we could have enjoyed your singing. In BARC functions, you never sang?...and things like that.

Outlet in a small circle of friends: When inquired about the outlet for singing, as he hardly made it known among his colleagues in the BARC, Prakash Hadagal's crypt reply was, It was restricted among the friend circles, a small group of friend circles only. Just one year before retirement, I started opening up for other avenues of singing, but I have never thought of starting my own YouTube channel, although many well-known people keep suggesting it.

I still have to learn...Prakash Hadagali has been singing, maybe for more than fifty years, yet he humbly submits, I am yet to learn, first let me learn properly, and if found okay, things like a YouTube channel can be thought of later on! You also need people to enjoy whatever you intend to sing! It is very easy to make a claim and proclaim about one's singing, but all those things will only make sense if there are eager listeners!

I know nothing: Prakash Hadagali continues to remain grounded, humble to the core, and unperturbed, irrespective of his lifetime spent in singing all along! When quizzed as to how he can assert himself in learning, despite having already completed more than 50 years of singing, Prakash Hadagali coolly submits, It is like I know nothing! Actually, there were opportunities to make a career out of singing, but I never thought of that. Maybe, had I learnt properly, there could have been a singing career too. However, it didn't happen as I didn't learn anything formally, like the usual career-oriented musicians. You may call it laxity or lack of patience, although I gave it a try for two or three times. In music, you need a lot of patience, but we want it to happen fast; perhaps we were always behind shortcuts, because we were not able to undergo such time frames!

Nishita is a better singer than me! When an attempt was made to know how his singing journey for more than five decades was, Prakash Hadagali admitted, Yes, it is very much satisfying on the whole. It is highly satisfying and literally a stress buster and a sort of outlet from your day-to-day activities. You also get to know so many things, and I was also able to learn so many things... Nishita, our daughter, is a better singer than me; she is a software engineer, happily married and settled in the US and also a very good dancer, a fantastic dancer, and a very good singer. But again, she doesn't practice much to develop into a professional singer and dancer!. She got many awards for her singing and has given many dance shows.

It was very nice working in BARC: Prakash Hadagali becomes elated on his tenure with the BARC, and informed, It was fun and very nice. One should get an opportunity to work in BARC.

BARC work is diversified, unlike other private companies: Prakash Hadagali shared his viewpoints on the big difference between working in BARC and other private companies, If you need to make a comparison, BARC work is much more diversified, unlike the private companies. For instance, in private companies, by and large, you need to keep doing the same type of work even for a prolonged period of 30 years, 40 years, and so on! However, it is altogether different in BARC, as we have done a variety of projects to make a note.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti