A new film on Annapurna Devi makes the big reveal on sitar maestro Ravi Shankar

To documentary filmmaker Nirmal Chander, who has just completed his second film on Hindustani classical music exponent, Annapurna Devi, the well-worn question about whether the world lost out on her immense talent after her self-imposed exile may be “fair” only to some extent. For, he believes her decision probably made in difficult personal circumstances at a young age, having hailed from a sheltered, traditional background and in a more conservative time, should be “respected”.

Chander never met her even after he was allowed into her Mumbai home, '6A-Akash Ganga' (which also happens to be the title of his new documentary), to shoot. But, he saw other parallel stories of her unfolding before him. Besides a foremost tragic tale that seems to overshadow her music genius of being sitar maestro Ravi Shankar’s first wife, who it is often widely speculated, grew jealous of her talent and forced her to retreat from the performing world.

“While making the film, I saw many parallel stories unfolding before me – a guru-shishya tale, Baba’s (Allauddin Khan) love for her, her completely pure dedication for her music, her guru and father,” says documentary filmmaker Chander in an interview to The Federal.

Pitch-perfect

A famous story goes that Annapurna Devi, who was born as Roshanara, at the age of ten while playing at her home in Maihar in Madhya Pradesh, admonished her young brother Ali Akbar Khan (who would go on to become a world-famous sarod player) for making a mistake while practising his music. Her father, the maestro of Maihar gharana, the legendary Allauddin Khan on hearing the exchange decided to teach her music setting aside his fears that she may face problems by learning music after she married.

Annapurna Devi went on to become an accomplished musician under her father’s tutelage and on his advice, took to playing a very rare instrument, the surbahar (a heavier sitar). There is a reference in the documentary to how the considerably hefty surbahar dwarfed her slender frame.

After her marriage at the age of 15 years to the more worldly Ravi Shankar, she did join him on stage to give joint performances. One of which was witnessed by classical vocalist Shakuntala Narsimhan, who recounts the palpable tension between the couple at the concert she had attended in Chennai in December 1955. This jarring music joust on stage between Annapurna and an “angry” Ravi Shankar apparently was a sign that all was not well in the marriage. Often, talented women bear the brunt of domestic chores, taking care of husband and children and cannot easily pursue their passion, says Narsimhan candidly in '6A-Akash Ganga', citing her own example.

Quest for truth

The protagonist in '6A-Akash Ganga', however, happens to be one of Annapurna Devi’s devoted disciples – well-known bansuri exponent Nityanand Haldipur. He is the one orchestrating this journey into his guru's melancholy-tinged life to tell her "truth". Having taken care of her before her death at the age of 91 in October 2018, Nityanand shares vignettes from her life through rare photographs, interviews with her disciples like famous flautist Hariprasad Charausia, Indian classical music scholars etc.

So, the camera trails him as he potters around the flat tucking into the leftovers of his guru’s meal seeing it as a form of blessing or when he interviews Ravi Shankar’s biographer Oliver Craske to hear the renowned sitarist's version of events of a failed marriage.

Disciples recall her infamous temper as well as her purist approach to music.

The filmmaker also accesses a personal diary written in Bengali. Here, Annapurna Devi, ostensibly suffering in her intense love for her husband, who was allegedly embroiled in amorous relationships with other women, had written that she wanted to “die”. She could no longer bear to see her loved one stoop to such low levels.

Though Chander does try to focus on other elements in this musician’s life, he addresses the subject that people want to hear in his film.

In a recorded interview Annapurna Devi had given a journalist, which Nityanand shares, she clearly makes the big reveal that she “drew back” from public performances because she saw her husband feeling jealous and insecure.

He had complained to her that newspapers were talking more about her than him, and that the accolades and applause were solely directed at her.

Commenting on her subsequent withdrawal from the music stage, Chander says, “I guess, out of love and respect she must have agreed to step back. After all she loved him, he probably also loved her. And, she was happy not to perform if it helped the marriage.” Also, he adds reflectively, “Who is to say what is right and wrong? It is a tough call, in the end, how do you negotiate these daily personal spaces?"

So, can this be the final word on the marital drama? For Chander, who wanted to steer clear of the “juicy stuff”, this confession in her own words clarifies Annapurna’s side of the story.

“ When I am introducing these elements (about her troubled marriage with Ravi Shankar) I don't use hearsay. Even Nityanand does not comment on their relationship,” says Chander. A story by Oliver Craske on Annapurna’s alleged infidelity as revealed by Ravi Shankar to him, is countered by Nityanand with his guru’s version.

“People have been reading about their life and feud from different sources, I’ve relied only on physically tangible evidence,” stresses Chander.

Further, he points out, "Finally, what happened in this marriage between two people is a matter of interpretation. Who is anyone to judge? However, in this film Annapurna is giving us some idea why she stopped playing music. Also, it is important to remember when asked why she did not start playing again after her second marriage, she said, she was not after name and fame. So, she may have naturally been not inclined to performing."

For Chander, her relationship with music is more a spiritual journey. This is difficult for the performing world to understand. "To me, what would have been worse is if she never gave back. Instead, she continued to give back to the world of music by tutoring and mentoring so many musicians," he says.

Truly, she went on to create a legion of legends like Hariprasad Chaurasia, sarod players like Amit Bhattacharya, Aashish Khan, Jotin Bhattacharya and more.

Chander, who has also edited this film along with Reena Mohan, had made Annapurna Devi's house the pivot of his film, after she had refused to be part of the film. Ten days after he started shooting she passed away – her death makes its way into the film with Nityanand doing her last rites.

With lack of archival material, just three recordings of her work, limited photos, Chander, who has earlier made 'Zikr Us Parivash Ka', on Begum Akhtar’s life, 'Moti Bagh' on the life of an Uttarakhand farmer, and an earlier 2019 film on Annapurna Devi titled 'Guru Maa' for Sangeet Natak Academy, to name a few, did not have much to work with. But, he's managed to make an immersive 79-minute film. There are still unanswered questions about her son, Shubendra Shankar who died young or her second husband, Rooshikumar Pandya or even her brother, Ali Akbar Khan.

But, clearly, any glimpse into this musician's life stirs up interest.

(6A-Akash Ganga recently screened in Bengaluru will be shown next at Mumbai's NCPA on December 1)