First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"The school of life was my education — the only one I could have. I learnt on the move’"
"One day, when my mother came back from a trip,” Oumou recalled, “she saw that I had managed to clothe all her children in brand new clothes"
"But mum, I sing now. I earn plenty of money in the streets"
"It was a very hard childhood, but thanks be to God, all is well now. It gave me an incredible character. I can face up to any obstacle"
"I tried to be myself and stay close to womanhood. There were plenty of critics, but it was all very minor compared to the success"
"Sometimes I would shut myself away"
"I would sing to console myself. I had no mother on whose shoulder I could rest my head for comfort. There were no stories at bedtime. So I sang. And I cried a lot"
"You can lose your lucky star / Or you can take care of it / You must not spoil it"
"I begin with myself. I try to show a good example. I thank God for this fortune, and I try and help younger artists move up the ladder in an attempt to give benefit t those who haven’t had the kind of opportunities I have"
"Oumou Sangare embodies this alluring dichotomy like no one else. She’s the epitome of tough femininity; beautiful, elegant, determined, independent, talented…and, well, hard"
"Her voice makes you stop the car and peer skywards in wonder."
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.