Annapurna Devi was a genius. Daughter of Ustad Allauddin Khan, Annapurna Devi embraced Hinduism and became, as if like Devi Saraswati, a perfect exponent of the surbahar. Doyen of the Maihar Gharana, she evoked the respect of even her illustrious elder brother, the late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, whom Baba Allauddin, the founder of the Maihar Gharana, had adorned with the title 'Swar Samrat'. Estranged wife of Pandit Ravi Shankar, Annapurna Devi distanced herself from public concerts to allow her husband the limelight he sought and which he feared would shift focus on to his more gifted wife if both performed before the world. Thereafter, the naturally reclusive Annapurna Devi completely withdrew into her shell so far as public performance was concerned and devoted herself to her lifelong pursuit of musical perfection. She trained many talented musicians and led them on to rare levels of excellence to continue the grand legacy of her father as her single-minded objective in life. The great Ustad Allauddin Khan had once remarked on hearing Annapurna play the surbahar, 'Annapurna plays the surbahar like Devi Saraswati.' My words dry up here as I my heart fills up to behold in my mind's eye the father (Baba Allauddin) train the daughter (Annapurna) that first day when he was so taken aback to hear her vocal rendition of a complicated piece of the sarod which her elder brother (Ali Akbar) was failing to successfully reproduce on the instrument. Thus began her tutelage at the feet of her father who had initially refused to teach her music on the ground of his disappointment with his eldest daughter Jahanara who was disallowed to pursue music post-marriage by her in-laws although she was proficient at it, courtesy her lessons at the feet of her father. The barrier broke that day and then followed a torrent of musical training whose fruition was the mature genius of Annapurna Devi. Our salutations at her feet.
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