Legendary Classical Musician Annapurna Devi Passes Away

On Saturday, October 13, legendary Hindustani classical musician Annapurna Devi passed away at Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai. The hospital officials have confirmed the news of her demise. She was 91.

A Padma Bhushan awardee, Devi was a prominent figure of Hindustani classical music, who played the Surbahar. Annapurna Devi was suffering from various health issues for the past few years owing to her old age, a spokesperson of Annapurna Devi Foundation in Mumbai said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to Twitter to condole her death.

Saddened at the passing away of Annapurna Devi, the founder of Maihar Gharana. My condolences to her family and admirers

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) October 13, 2018

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Devi's Family Background

Devi was born in Madhya Pradesh's Maihar town to Ustad Allauddin Khan and Madina Begum. The youngest of four children, she was the sister of World renowned Sarod maestro, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

Annapurna Devi  popularly addressed as 'Ma', belonged to a music family.  Her father Ustad Allauddin Khan's contribution to Indian classical music resulted in the Senia-Maihar gharana. Devi first received her training in classical music at the hands of her father, Ustad ‘Baba’ Allauddin Khan. She started training when she was five and graduated from the sitar to her chosen instrument, the surbahar.

She was married to renowned musician Pandit Ravi Shankar and together they had a son, Shubhendra Shankar, who passed away in 1992. Devi later married Rooshikumar Pandya, who passed away in 2013.

A recluse, Annapurna Devi had dedicated to teaching a small but select group of students. Popular names such as Aashish Khan (sarod), Amit Bhattacharya (sarod), Bahadur Khan (sarod), Basant Kabra (sarod), Hariprasad Chaurasia (bansuri), Jotin Bhattacharya (sarod), Nikhil Banerjee (sitar), Nityanand Haldipur (bansuri), Peter Klatt (sitar), Pradeep Barot (sarod), Sandhya Phadke (sitar), Saswatti Saha (sitar), Sudhir Phadke (sitar), Suresh Vyas (sarod) are among her students.

Here's how the internet has been paying tribute to her:

Sorry to hear of the passing of classical musician and surbahar exponent Annapurna Devi. A legatee of her father and guru Baba Allaudin Khan, she was a rare talent and a generous teacher. Her life will always serve as a poignant inspiration for women artistes #PresidentKovind

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) October 13, 2018

RIP Roshanara Khan, better known as Annapurna Devi. The surbahar maestro, married to Ravi Shankar for 21 years who stopped performing publicly to save her marriage. The film Abhimaan was probably based on their marriage. pic.twitter.com/WtppfhCTr1

— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) October 13, 2018

RIP Roshanara Khan, better known as Annapurna Devi. The surbahar maestro, married to Ravi Shankar for 21 years who stopped performing publicly to save her marriage. The film Abhimaan was probably based on their marriage. pic.twitter.com/WtppfhCTr1

— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) October 13, 2018

Renowned Hindustani classical musician Annapurna Devi passes away | RIP Annapurna Devi, one of the greats. https://t.co/6yrPFCAQEC

— Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta (@readingkafka) October 13, 2018

RIP Roshanara Khan, better known as Annapurna Devi. The surbahar maestro, married to Ravi Shankar for 21 years who stopped performing publicly to save her marriage. The film Abhimaan was probably based on their marriage. pic.twitter.com/WtppfhCTr1

— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) October 13, 2018

Annapurna Devi, the daughter of Allaudin Khan, and the wife of Ravi Shankar was theoutstanding musician of her generation.
Her husband couldn't handle her talent. she stopped performing in public.
She is also Hariprasad Chaurasia's guru#RIPhttps://t.co/C7DVScNcYN

— Harini Calamur (#StayHome) (@calamur) October 13, 2018

Feature Image Credit: The Indian Express

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