While my sitar gently weeps
This exclusive first excerpt from a book on Hindustani classical music legend Annapurna Devi documents the tragic aftermath of her marriage to Ravi Shankar
On 5 April 1999, an interview of Panditji (Pandit Ravi Shankar) was broadcast on Indian television, which I recorded on my VCR. I brought the tape to Ma’s house and showed her the interview. Needless to say, Ma confirmed the obvious, that what Panditji claimed was not true... Nityanand and I suggested, “Once, just for the record, your version should be published; otherwise, the falsehoods Panditji is spreading would come to be regarded as historical truths.’
“Show me the draft statement and I’ll think about it,” she said, and went away into her room... the draft statement was finalized. Though I had taken the initiative, the question was in whose name the article should be published... Back then, I did business with a few overseas clients who knew nothing about the sitār or Indian classical music, so I had nothing to lose by authoring this article... Ma decided in my favour, and the following article was published under my name in several newspapers and magazines:
Enigma of a Recluse by Atul S. Merchant - April 5, 1999. Pandit
Ravi Shankar being interviewed by Mr Prananjay Guha Thakurta. Both consummate professionals. Well researched questions, savvy answers. And then suddenly a googly by the interviewer:
I have always been intrigued by one question. Your first wife Annapurna Devi, the daughter of your Guru, is supposed to be a very wonderful musician. But I have always wondered why she never performed publicly? Maybe you can throw some light.’ The one-time dancer cannot control the choreography of his face muscles. Few seconds of that and the man is in control. ‘I think it is better if she could answer this herself... as long as we were married I used to force her to play along with me and give programs... And after we separated she didn’t want to perform... it is her own will that she has stopped. This is very sad because she is a fantastic musician.’ ...
The lady in question Smt. Annapurna Devi is a recluse. An enigma... Annapurna Devi was born to Madina Begum the wife of Ut. Allauddin Khansaheb on the auspicious day of Chaitra Purnima. The ustad was away on a tour so his disciple Raja Brijnathsingh, the Maharaja of Maihar, named her Annapurna as there is an ancient ritual of worshipping Goddess Annapurna on the day of Chaitra Purnima... Baba’s older daughter Jahanara had suffered at the hands of her in-laws because she pursued music. Baba did not want to teach music to Annapurna for this reason. But Annapurna’s genes were programmed... Once, while Baba was away for a stroll, her brother Ustad Ali Akbar Khan was practising his lessons. Annapurna noticed a mistake in her brother’s playing and was correcting it... when Baba happened to enter. He stopped, listened, and summoned her... Baba was in tears as he held her. ‘Here is the tanpurā, I’ll teach you all I know.’
And teach he did, prompting Ustad Amir Khansaheb to observe wryly, ‘Annapurna Devi is 80 percent of Ut. Allauddin Khan, Ali Akbar is 70 percent and Ravi Shankar is about 40 percent.’...
Udayshankar, the legendary dancer and the eldest brother of Ravi Shankar invited Baba abroad. Ravi Shankar was a dancer in the troupe. Young, debonair and a man about
town. And here was Baba, traditional, orthodox, disciplined and demanding. But Ravi Shankar loved music and there was instant chemistry between the two. Ravi Shankar left Paris, shaved his head, came to Maihar, and became Baba’s disciple... It was Udayshankarji who later approached Baba for the hand of his daughter for Ravi Shankar. One would think that the marriage of two of the most gifted... musicians would be an ideal marriage. But that was not to be.
While Ravi Shankar played sitār for a jugalbandi with Ali Akbar Khan, both Ravi Shankar and Annapurna Devi played jugalbandi on the surbahār... The audience waahwaahed more to Annapurna Devi’s playing and the reviews had an obvious tilt in her favour. She also played solo recitals in Delhi, Calcutta, and Chennai. And maybe it was Ravi Shankar who became nervous. Maybe his ego was too fragile to accept his wife’s superiority... In order to redeem her marriage, Annapurna Devi vowed not to play in public and dedicated her life to teaching Baba’s music to deserving disciples...
...even after her separation from Ravi Shankar all was not well in Annapurna Devi’s life. Shubho, their son, was initiated into sarod by his illustrious grandfather Baba but later Ravi Shankar made Shubho switch to sitār. Since Ravi Shankar was mostly away on concert tours, Shubho stayed with his mother Annapurna Devi who started giving him rigorous tālim. Soon rumours started making the rounds that Shubho was going to be a better player than Ravi Shankar, that it was Annapurna Devi’s revenge... Ravi Shankar... summoned Shubho to play for him and a few others... And before Annapurna Devi could comprehend what was going on, Ravi Shankar lured Shubho away to the land of milk and honey... Shubho was discouraged from pursuing music in the States. Shubho barely managed to survive by doing odd jobs such as a waiter’s... After a long hiatus, Ravi Shankar started teaching sitār to Shubho. Shubho’s solid tālim by his mother helped him accompany his father in concerts. Rumour has it that when Shubho played his passages, microphones were deliberately turned down. Soon Shubho felt alienated from his father and stopped accompanying him... The tragedy of it all was that Shubho went into depression and was later admitted into a hospital for pneumonia. The financial help was not forthcoming from his father. Ravi Shankar’s rationale: he had his own family to support. Soon after, Shubho died.
After the article came out, I did get some threatening phone calls... I paid no heed to them. During one of our Saturday rendezvous... Ma said, “...As your Guru Ma ,my blessings are with you... You may or may not become millionaires, but Shārdā Ma will always provide you for your needs.” Saying this, she went away to her room...