Annapurna Devi
Annapurna Devi (born
1926) is a reclusive
surbahar (bass sitar) player and music teacher in the North Indian
classical tradition. She is the daughter of
Allauddin Khan and ex-wife of his student,
Ravi Shankar.
When Allauddin's first daughter, Sharija, got married, and a jealous mother-in-law burnt her
tanpura, Allauddin decided not to train his other daughters. One day, however, he came home to discover Annapurna teaching her brother
Ali Akbar Khan, and her talent made him change his mind.
Annapurna became a very accomplished surbahar player of the
Maihar gharana (school). She married her father's sitar student, Ravi Shankar; she was 14, he 21. The marriage lasted some twenty years, and produced a son,
Shubhendra Shankar (
1942â€"
1992). Early on, the couple would give duet concerts, but Annapurna's performances were soon to end. Rumour has it Ravi was jealous of her playing and made her vow never to perform in public again â€" in an authorised biography, Annapurna has said it was "worse than that", but declined to comment further. Be that as it may, the marriage ended some years later in divorce.
Since then, Annapurna has lived in an upper-class
Mumbai neighbourhood, rarely leaving her flat. The doorbell carries instructions that "1) The door will not be opened on Mondays and Fridays. 2) Please ring the bell only thrice. 3) If no one opens, please leave your name and address. Thank you very much. Inconvenience is regretted." Here, she has taught a select few students in late-night sessions, some famous, some not:
Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pradeep Kumar, Basant Kabra, her younger
gurubhai Nikhil Banerjee. Occasionally in the early seventies she taught Sarod player Vasant Rai's wife Kokila Rai. She is married to her student Rooshikumar Pandya. Though her music may not be heard, she continues to be thought of as a classical instrumentalists of the highest caliber.
Swapan Kumar Bondyopadhyay:
An Unheard Melody: Annapurna Devi â€" an Authorised Biography, Roli,
New Delhi,
2005. ISBN 81-7436-399-8.
*
The Viyaja Parrikar Library of Indian Classical Music has some old amateur recordings of Annapurna Devi's surbahar playing on-line.
