Our Voice
If music is a language then Guru Annapurna must be considered a master for her skills of this means of communication are unsurpassable, wonderous. If poetry is the supreme expression of inspiration, Guru Annapurna Devi is one poet who holds such power. Her creations are sublime, she is poetry in person.
Largely unknown to the public, Guru Annapurna Devi was born Roshanara Khan and the daughter of the late Guru Allaudin Khan, the founder of “Senia Maihar Gharana” which can be translated in to Senia Maihar School. Father and daughter both, charismatic personalities of immense talent and musical abilities who have contributed richly to the classical music of India.
Legendary Sarod maestro and considered a “national living treasure” in India and the USA, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Sitar virtuoso Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee,Sarod Maestro Pandit Aashish Khan Debsharma, and Flute Maestro Pandit Hari Prashad Chowrasia, to name just a few, were among her students; men who have learned at her feet and achieved universal fame.
The Bharathiya way of teaching “Guru Shiksa-Parampara” is a Guru or Maestro as teacher who imparts knowledge on a one-to-one basis to one or more learners; it represents the traditional relationship between the master artiste/craftsman and pupil in India.
The pupil becomes a disciple of the guru as the learning procedure proceeds and the unique style of the artiste transmitted from generation to generation constitutes “Parampara”. The Maestro-pupil relationship covers not only the learning of the art but a life experience absorbed with the years lived at the Maestro’s residence that constitutes his “house” or “Gharana”.
In the post-modernist world today, culture has become the property of the media, and institutional learning produces a standardised uniformity to the alarming decline of craftsmanship, personality and creativity.
We could sum this up as “more is less”.
The creative fields deserve the greatest consideration where craftsmanship is the executed with great proficiency and pride to gain nobility.
For many years now whenever I thought about our Gurukul Siksha, Guru Annapurna Devi’s image would come first to mind and with her an ever-growing respect for her achievement.
Now I feel the time is right, this a unique opportunity to contribute to see that she receives the homage, respect and acclaim Guru Annapurna Devi is due by music lovers world-wide.
It is fundamental to ensure the concerted efforts and support of all the other authentic classical Gharana artistes as well, the legions who have upheld the rich traditions and heritage of India.
We want you to support our proposal by signing our nomination of Guru Annapurna Devi (born Roshanara Khan) of Maihar, for a Nobel Prize for her contribution to literature, since 1997 Nobel Foundation Commitee extend the prize for literature to include drama awarding this for work done “to eco the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden”. The noble art of poetry and music that communicates to the millions cannot but be awarded to Guru Annapurna Devi.
The proposal has been already made on behalf of the hundreds of Gharana professionals, Singers, Musicians, Dancers, Artists and Craftsmen across the Indian subcontinent to The Nobel Foundation.
“Every signature is a step closer to our goal.”
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Ananta Kumar Sarkar