Grand musical tribute to Surbahar Doyenne Guru Maa Annapurna Devi

A month since the world f Indian music grieved the loss of surbahar doyenne and stalwart master GuruMaa Annapurna Devi, under whose tutelage emerged a multitude of musical stars of this century, her disciples and gathered to pay tribute at a grand concert of music and dance.

Organised by Vrindaban Gurukul has been established by world renowned flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia on the sprawling Cricket Club of India lawns, the concert had the literally the who's who of the the business, glamour and political circles of Bombay in attendance to watch some of the biggest legends of the world of Hindustani classical music and dance take the stage. The concert saw a unique ensemble of the maestros coming together on stage to pay their respects to this revered goddess of music with their performances. The line-up of illuminaries included: Pt. Birju Maharaj (kathak); Pt Shivkumar Sharma (santoor) and Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute) with Ustad Zakir Hussain (tabla)– they presented Raga Durga; Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (sarod) with Pt Yogesh Samsi (tabla)– presented rare ancient ragas like Hansakinkini, Dhani and Zila Kafi; one of the most sought after voices on the concert scene Kaushiki Chakraborty Desikan sang raga Durga and flautist Pt Nityanand Haldipur who not only spent years caring for Annapurna Devi in her final years but also performed the last rites like a son presented Marwa. As master of ceremony Harish Bhimani's rich baritone left a an indelible mark on the evening.

“We called the concert Aaradhya which means 'Worshipped,' signifying the exalted status of GuruMaa Annapurna Devi in the hearts of her disciples like me,” the flute legend Pt Chaurasia told DNA. Ths foremost disciple of the doyenne and world-renowned flautist added, “The world might call her as 'maestro Baba Allaudin Khan's daughter', 'sarod maestro late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan's sister', and 'Bharat Ratna sitar maestro late Pt Ravi Shankar's estranged wife,' but she was much more than those tags. She was my mentor, mother and master who shaped my life.”

The emotional legend explained: ““I lost my mother at a very young age. Guruma for me was the mother I never had. She fed me, took great care of me and even reprimanded me when necessary. She nurtured my spiritual and musical journey. She played the surbahar while I played the flute. But what I learnt from her was music. She opened my eyes to a treasure trove of knowledge and rich ornamentation applied in Hindustani music.”

Padma Bhushan Annapurna Devi or ‘Ma’, as she was popularly addressed, was born in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh to Ustad ‘Baba’ Allauddin Khan and Madina Begum in 1927. She was the youngest of four children; the world renowned maestro, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan was her more visible sibling. Annapurna Devi learnt from her father, whose inestimable contribution to Indian music resulted in the Senia-Maihar gharānā (style). Her training started early – at around five years old – and she graduated from the sitar to her chosen instrument, the surbahar. She remained a recluse for most of her life; much of her time was dedicated to teaching a small, select group of students like Aashish Khan (sarod), Amit Bhattacharya (sarod), Bahadur Khan (sarod), Basant Kabra (sarod), Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute), Jotin Bhattacharya (sarod), Nikhil Banerjee (sitar), Nityanand Haldipur (flute), Peter Klatt (sitar), Pradeep Barot (sarod), Sandhya Phadke (sitar), Saswatti Saha (sitar), Sudhir Phadke (sitar), Suresh Vyas (sarod) and several others.

Meanwhile:

The concert had its 'moment' too when sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was performing. Just when he had finished briefly presenting the Hansakinkini and Dhani ragas the orgnaisers thought he was done. Harish Bhimani, the compere came up on stage thanked him and was beginning to announce the next performance when the maestro stopped him. “Why are you in such a hurry to shoo me off the stage when I'm not yet done?” Bhimani had no choice but to beat a hasty retreat after which Khan saab sang and played the Raga Zila Kafi leading to much applause.

When he was done, Bhimani reappeared. This time respectfully asked the sarod maestro: “Ijaazat hai? (May I?)” to which he broke into a charming smile to say: “Ijaazat hai.”