ANNAPURNA DEVI ... 1

ANNAPURNA DEVI ... 1

Mere jingling of notes is not playing the sitar. There is a depth to music, an oceanic plumbing that defines indefinable music in spiritual terms. Such a fund of musical profundity was laid in store with Annapurna Devi by the maestro of modern times, Baba Allauddin Khan, and she held on to her repository with finesse and fidelity, a chaste preservation of the lineage dating back to Mishri Sen (Taan Sen) and flowing on through centuries till it found expression in the Rampur beenkaar Ustad Wazir Khan who passed it on to his delightful disciple Allauddin, the latter then pouring into the vessel that could best contain the treasure of the ages, his divine daughter Annapurna.

Annapurna, born Roshan Ara to Allauddin Khan and Madina Begum in Maihar, was so christened by the Maihar Maharaja Brijnath Singh who was Allauddin's patron and pupil both. She was the couple's younger daughter, the elder one, Jahan Ara, having come to a tragic end in her life owing to her association with music which was not approved of by her puritanical in-laws. In consequence, Baba did not teach her younger daughter music, but as Providence would have it, her finely tuned ears picked up the nuances of music better than her elder brother Ali Akbar and she was drawn into the world of music despite human intervention to the contrary.

It so happened that Baba had been training Ali Akbar one day when he had to depart for some time on some daily chore, leaving Ali Akbar with the instruction to keep practising the taught lesson. And so he did but he kept faltering over a particular passage of the piece when younger sister Annapurna quietly stole into the room and kept correcting him by singing the phrase. Meanwhile, Baba returned and was right there behind Annapurna, witnessing with mute wonder the event. Ali Akbar froze but little sister, rapt in rendition, was unaware. When Baba held her she was petrified and started crying. Baba drew her to his room and apologised to her saying, "My daughter, I have done you a grave injustice by not teaching you music thus far. From today your training starts." And he took down a tanpura (tambura) and handed it to her. Thus, the epic musical journey began.

End of Part 1

To be continued

Written by Sugata Bose