Annapurna Devi led a deeply reclusive life, and remained an enigma for many. But filmmaker Nirmal Chander who never had the opportunity to meet the legendary musician has made two films on her — Guru Ma in 2019 for the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and the more recent 6-A, Akash Ganga, (refers to her address in Mumbai) for the Annapurna Devi Foundation.
The latest film has been screened so far in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Delhi.
Much has been written about the life of Annapurna Devi or Ma (as she was known) — her birth in Maihar in 1927, learning music from her father Ustad Allaudin Khan (who agreed to teach only after being convinced of her extraordinary talent), getting married to Pt Ravi Shankar in 1941, and the tumultuous marriage turning her into a recluse.
To add to it, the couple’s son Shubhendra chose to leave his mother in 1970 and went to the U.S. with his father, where he died in 1992.
Annapurna Devi played the surbahar, often described as a bass sitar. The relatively few people, who heard her before she stopped performing early in her career, were amazed by her mastery of it. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
Towards the end of her life, Annapurna Devi wanted her story to be told. She had given an interview in Bengali to Tathagatha Ray Chaudhury, and had also spoken to Shekhar Sen, but that was on her father and his musical legacy. Agreeing to this movie was a sign of her total trust and dependence on disciple Nityanand Haldipur, who looked after her like a son. Annapurna Devi’s superiority as a musician is traced in the film through the accounts of disciples Vinay Bharat Ram and Carnatic singer Shakuntala Narasimhan, who describes Ma’s last concert with Pt. Ravi Shankar in 1955 at the Music Academy. Annapurna Devi broke her vow to never play in public again only once — for a performance in Calcutta in the mid-1960s.
Ustad Allaudin Khan. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
According to Jyotin Bhattacharya’s book on Allaudin Khan, the ustad told his daughter that she need not play for people if she did not wish to, and should devote her music to the divine. However, Nityanand Haldipur says, Ma felt that the audience had got used to the diluted music of panditji and bhaiya (Ustad Ali Akbar Khan) that her music, which was what Baba taught her, won’t satisfy them.
Nirmal Chander shares that the Annapurna Devi Foundation gave him total freedom in the making of the film. “Nityanand did not even see the rough cut. It is a blessing to get such trusting producers,” he says. The film, however, narrates Annapurna’s life through Nityanand’s eyes — he is present in almost every frame, interviewing even Oliver Craske, who, as Ravi Shankar’s biographer, attempts to present the other side of an incident in their marriage.
Sitar maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar . | Photo Credit: PTI
The 80-minute film covers several aspects of Annapurna’s life, including her stormy marriage (which ended in divorce in 1982), teaching techniques, extracts from her diary in Bengali, and excerpts from an audio interview. But there is a lot that remains untold.
Annapurna Devi with Pt. Ravi Shankar at a jugalbandi concert. | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Annapurna Devi Foundation
Nirmal Chander says she did not set out to make a biographical film. “For me, the film is about her legacy of teaching.” Yet it sticks mostly to her personal life and does not engage significantly with any disciple other than Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Basant Kabra, Vinay Bharat Ram, Hemant Desai and Nityanand Haldipur. This could be because Nirmal’s earlier film Guru Ma had focussed on her disciples and music.
Work on 6-A, Akash Ganga began 10 days before Annapurna’s death in 2018. There is not a single shot of the musician as Nirmal was not granted access. But there are shots of her room, which were taken after her death. One wonders why her wish for privacy was not respected.
The film dwells on the untold story of Annapurna Devi, as narrated by her disciples. Her diary might reveal more, but Nityanand, as chief trustee of the Annapurna Devi Foundation, has decided to not make it public for now. So, even after watching 6-A, Akash Ganga, Annapurna Devi remains an enigma.
