Renowned Hindustani classical musician Annapurna Devi passes away at the age of 92

13-Oct-2018

Renowned Hindustani classical musician Annapurna Devi passed away on 13 October at the age of 92. She was fondly addressed as ‘Ma’. She was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award. She had been suffering from various health issues.

Padma Bhushan Annapurna Devi passed away at 3:51 am on 13 October Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai. A prominent figure of Hindustani classical music, Annapurna Devi was suffering from age related issues for the past few years owing to her old age. She was born in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh in 1927 to Ustad 'Baba' Allauddin Khan and Madina Begum. She was the youngest of four children.

Annapurna Devi was first trained in classical music at home at the hands of her father, Ustad ‘Baba’ Allauddin Khan, who helped establish the Senia-Maihar gharana. Her training started when she was around five years old and she graduated from the sitar to her chosen instrument, the surbahar. World renowned maestro, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, was her sibling.

Annapurna Devi was married to renowned musician Pandit Ravi Shankar and had a son with him called Shubhendra Shankar, who passed away in 1992. She later married Rooshikumar Pandya, a management consultant, who passed away in 2013.

She remained a recluse for most of her life. Much of her time was dedicated to teaching a small but select group of students.

Her students include 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), the spokesperson said.

Popular Reads:

India Leadership Awards 2018, Here is the winners list

Global Agriculture & Food Summit 2018 to be organised by Jharkhand