Bengaluru, 30 May(HS): Ravindra Hadagali is a resident of Shivapur Colony, off Gokul Road in Hubballi. He retired as the Office Superintendent of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) Development and Facilitation Office, Hubballi, on 30th April 2025, after serving for around 40 years, or to be precise, 39 years and 10 months!

Hobby of clay modelling: Post his retirement, Ravindra Hadagali has some intention of pursuing hobbies, may not be passionate hobbies, but which can still be considered hobbies. His main hobby is clay modelling, which he has pursued for more than 30 years, making Ganapati idols for his own home every year. These days, he intends to transform it into something else, like doing portraits of people and advancing in clay modelling.

Whistling songs, another hobby: Apart from clay modelling, Ravindra Hadagali's other hobby or passion is singing, especially in that whistling, songs sung by whistling. He has been trying a few songs which he is unable to sing vocally. He tries them in whistling because of high pitches or low tones. Whistling will be much more comfortable for me, so I am trying to do that. Hope I will continue in the same manner', he tells.

Father's demise led to a job on compassionate grounds: Ravindra Hadagali was studying in the second year B Sc when he lost his Dad in an accident, and he was offered a compassionate appointment in the same office where his Dad was working. Due to his educational qualifications at the time, he was offered a job as a lower-division clerk. He joined on 01st July 1985 and worked as an LDC until October 2003.

Promoted as a UDC in 2003: In October 2003, he got promoted to an upper division clerk and was posted at Kalaburagi, where they have a branch office. He served in the branch office from 2003 to 2005 for two years, and was again transferred back to Hubli.

Deputation as a secretary to the court: From 2005 to 2009, Ravindra Hadagali was working in Hubli, when he had an opportunity of deputation as a secretary to the court at the Central Government Industrial Tribunal(CGIT) at Bangalore. He served there as secretary to the court for more than one and a half years. Then his parent department again called him back. He had to go back to Hubballi. He was transferred back to Hubli in 2010, and since 2010, he has been in Hubballi until 2025.

Training at the Institute of Secretarial Training and Management(ISTM) in New Delhi: Back in his native city, he got another promotion in 2022 or 2023 and was promoted to Office Superintendent and continued in that position till retirement. Ravindra Hadagali's another major accomplishment during his tenure of work in MSME was in 2010, when he was sponsored by his office to attend training at the Institute of Secretarial Training and Management(ISTM) in New Delhi.

Secured second place throughout India in ISTM: There, almost all Central Government employees were deputed for training from the office sponsored by the Government of India. The training lasted two months, and they acquired administrative and accounts skills during that time. After completing those two months of training at ISTM, they were asked to appear for an exam, and Ravindra Hadagali secured second place across India at ISTM, which was an honour for him. After two or three months, they conducted a certificate distribution program, and they had asked him to come to Delhi. He had been to Delhi, received the certificate and award along with his officers from Hubballi, and that is one of the major accomplishments he got during his tenure in MSME.

To the office even after retirement: By and large, Ravindra Hadagali had a very good reputation in his office, and for all these 40 years, he enjoyed serving in MSME. Even to date, that is, even after one year of retirement, he will be asked to come to the office to help his erstwhile colleagues. He keeps going to the office frequently and at least twice or thrice a week. He will be going for about two to three hours, helping them out with their administrative and accounts work. He makes that gesture as a matter of courtesy, for the advantage of being in Hubballi and as he retired from the same place. Perhaps had he settled down somewhere else other than in Hubballi, it wouldn't have been possible.

Q: How did you develop this passion for whistling? Ravindra Hadagali: When I was in school and college, I used to hear the Binaca Geetmala, Chhaya Geet, Aapke Farmaish in Vivid Bharati and all. I used to hear Hindi songs, old Hindi songs. But maybe I did not remember the lyrics of the songs, but I could catch the tune, and I used to whistle along with that song. So one fine day, I realised that maybe I could sing a whole song on a whistle. Then I started trying that. So past two to three years, I have been singing off and on. It's not regular; off and on, I have been singing this.

Q: But, how did it take momentum to keep singing or whistling regularly?Ravindra Hadagali: Somewhere during Corona, we started again with this. As I told you earlier, in Corona we had free time. We used to work from home, and we had free time. We were never allowed to go anywhere outside. No other recreation other than sitting at home and on the phone! So, our college classmates and all made WhatsApp groups, and to pass our time, we started singing. Then I explored my capacity to sing these songs on the whistle. Then I have sung around three or four full songs, maybe.

Q: How many songs can you whistle?

Ravindra Hadagali: I think five to seven songs only I might have sung. But I have been trying vocal songs also because I am not that conversant in vocal songs. That is high-pitched, and I cannot accommodate high pitches. My voice will not permit me to sing high pitches. I will try the songs, which are in lower pitches.

Q: Did you receive any training or guidance? Ravindra Hadagali: No, no, no, it's just our own passion which has kept me singing and whistling. My own passion and my own... I did not have any formal training in music or anything.

Q: What about similar interests or hobbies among members of the family? Ravindra Hadagali: Family group, yeah, of course, many of my cousins and all sing. They sing very well; my paternal uncles also used to sing. My paternal auntie, that is, my father's sister, was a very good singer. She used to sing very good songs. So I thought maybe I have something in my genes, and I thought of singing. Even my brothers, one brother especially, who is in America, is passionate about singing, and he sings.

Q: What about your kids; are they also into the habit of singing?Ravindra Hadagali: Kids, not much. I have two kids, one daughter and one son, and neither of them is too inclined towards singing. They are not. But of late, I have seen that my son caught up with my whistling and all. I think he has started whistling slightly. And I have told him, okay, if you want to sing, you can sing, but you have to do it regularly, and you have to practice it.

Q: What's he doing, studying?Ravindra Hadagali: No, he finished his studies just last year as a B. E in Mechanical Engineering. He is working with Volvo in Bengaluru as a trainee engineer right now. So I have told him, if you want to whistle songs, then you need to practice them. Practice is the basis. Yes, yes, practice is the main thing. You have to keep singing because of the variations in the whistle, holding your breath, controlling the breath and letting it out, controlled leaving the breath. Those things will contribute.

Q: But have you thought of singing in public other than the classmates/friends and relatives group? Ravindra Hadagali: No, I am not confident enough. I have sung at no doubt in office functions, and many other events like that. For instance, I used to sing the welcome song/prayer song during the retirement function or some other events of my colleagues or something. Likewise, with my colleagues, whenever we used to go out and go to a resort or somewhere, on an outing. We used to have karaoke, and we used to sing. Not professionally, but for one's own enjoyment, I can say.

Q: So what is your advice to budding singers who would like to sing by whistling? Ravindra Hadagali: One is their passion; first and foremost is their passion and their inclination or their intuition to sing. First is that, they should have a motivation to sing first. Thereafter, they have to train up their voice and if it is good, if they have formal training from a music teacher or somebody. If they have a basic musical background, then they can aspire to sing well...

...Srushti sings very well: As you know, my cousin brother Suresh Hadagali's daughter is singing very well. Srushti sings very well, and she has formal music training. She sings very well. And one of my brother's daughters is also singing well. She had formal training, and she used to sing. But of late, she has stopped, because she is, I mean, pursuing her professional studies now; she has stopped singing as of now. But she sings well, and even her mother sings well. Yeah, her mother is good at singing. That is my brother's wife, who is staying in Mysore; she too sings very well.

Q: Looking back, do you regret that you couldn't take it to professional heights?Ravindra Hadagali: No, because this was not a passion and was just a hobby. I didn't realise until recently that I could whistle nicely. Otherwise, I did not know that I would be singing or I would be whistling so proficiently or conveniently. Of late, only I came to know, but now at this age, I don't think I can, I mean, go for a professional kind of work.

He couldn't pursue studies like any other student of his age: Prof Babu Jattakar, former Principal of College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat and a cousin of Ravindra Hadagali, opines: Due to the sad and untimely demise of his father, Ravindra Hadagali was left with no choice but to take up the job offered on compassionate grounds. Hence, he couldn't pursue studies like any other student of his age...

...Challenge of running the family show: Although he was compelled to begin working at a tender age, such an adverse predicament was no deterrent in shouldering the enormous challenge of running the family show! To all his siblings, Ravindra Hadagali was not just an eldest brother; he also donned the roles of a father, well-wisher and head of the family par excellence to ensure that all other siblings completed their education, got jobs, married and settled well in the journey of life...

...Toiling day and night: To accomplish such a hazardous uphill task, Ravindra Hadagali worked day and night. His job used to get over by the end of the day, yet his working hours continued even after office hours, as he used to keep running towards the local court offices to undertake typing assignments for additional income to meet the domestic expenditure and requirements.

तेन विना तृणमपि न चलति is an old saying in Sanskrit, meaning Without him, not even a single grass can move, highlighting the importance of divine grace in our lives. Likewise, if a family is considered a chariot, the couple are construed as two wheels of the same. The series of accomplishments of Ravindra Hadagali on the domestic and official fronts would not have been made possible without the active, equal, befitting contributions, painstaking hard work, patience, large-heartedness and sacrifice of Mrs Swati Hadagali, ever since their marriage in 1998.

Woman behind the family's success: The proverb behind every successful man, there is a woman is a hundred per cent true in the case of Ravindra Hadagali. Mrs Swathi Hadagali literally became a caretaker, well-wisher, elder sister and guardian to the whole family, taking utmost care of Ravindra's brothers and sisters. She not only ensured hassle-free education to them, but also led from the front to get them married. Even after marriage, some of them stayed back for multiple years, which wouldn't have happened but for Mrs Swathi's generous, accomodative nature and manners; these days, an unimaginable characteristic in the so-called joint families! Last but not least, Ravindra Hadagali's mother was around 62 when he got married. She continues to enjoy the best of health to date, and it goes without saying, the efforts and sacrifice of Mrs Swathi have paid rich dividends.

Siblings' gesture in return: The siblings of Ravindra Hadagali have also been reciprocative when they got an opportunity to express their gratitude; they have resolved to leave their parental house to the guardian of the family! May their tribe increase.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti