ANNAPURNA DEVI ... 3
The legacy lives on. Though her only son, Subhendra Shankar (Subho), died an untimely death at age 50 after having given up his prodigiously promising musical career just when he seemed to be maturing into the brightest star in the firmament of Hindustani classical music, the legacy lives on. Annapurna Devi was born on a full-moon day and has left behind a lunar legacy of shining crescents in the otherwise darkened sky of Hindustani music. True to her promise and the trust reposed in her by Baba Allauddin Khan, she matured not only into one of the finest virtuosos but has left behind a galaxy of stars in the world of instrumental music from Pt. Nikhil Banerjee to Pt. Nityanand Haldipur, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia to Pt. Basant Kabra, Ustad Ashish Khan to Ustrad Bahadur Khan, to name but a few, that has saved the best elements of the Senia-Maihar musical tradition from its demise after the passing away of Baba Allauddin. No wonder Baba had saved his best musical culture for his gifted daughter who when she played the surbahar, Baba said, "When Annapurpa plays the surbahar, it seems Goddess Saraswati Herself plays it." However, not all of her disciples have been perfect adherents of her musical style, which brooks no compromise to please the audience, save one who towards the end became more than a son to her as he dedicated his years to serving her ailing Guru Ma in the last years of her life till she passed on to Gandharvalok. This was Nityanand Haldipur, the flautist fertile who stayed with her in her Akash Ganga apartment, serving her day and night till she became one with the harmony of the heavens. This was her son in the truest sense and this is the last lingering link of the purest Maihar musical tradition of Baba Allauddin and Ma Annapurna that is still lighting up the firmament with the soft strains of the Bihag as I pen these lines. Now listen to his delightful rendition of the raag as learnt from her adorable Guru Ma.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95VCynPVabw&fbclid=IwAR33CMN5pDSgk18ED0xbJDkY15h4PPd9twalJV-Oqvvhk5H_ZR9risAjWys
Written by Sugata Bose
Photo : Left to right - Pt. Basant Kabra, Pt. Nityanand Haldipur, Shree Suresh Vyas and Shree Raja Angara, all of them disciples of Ma Annapurna.
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