My ex-husband Ravi Shankar: Legendary musician; petty, manipulative husband

Sitar Maestro Ravi Shankar passed away on 11 December in San Diego. For a young generation, which has very little appreciation of classical music, Ravi Shankar is perhaps one of the few names that come to mind and was not only a sitar maestro but in some ways the father of world music. But few of us have heard of Annapurna Devi, the first wife of Ravi Shankar, a woman whose musical talent perhaps overshadowed that of her husband. She, however, remains a recluse and hasn’t given a public performance for decades. For many true classical music connoisseurs and critics, Annapurna Devi was the greater genius. [caption id=“attachment_561850” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ravi Shankar in this file photo. AP[/caption] Post Ravi Shankar’s death, and nearly a week of gushing remembrances, an interview with Annapurna Devi given to Man’s World in 2000, has resurfaced, evoking less known memories of the great man. The essay is definitely a must read, and is available here. Annapurna Devi was the youngest daughter of the great Ustad Allauddin Khan, who was also Pandit Ravi Shankar’s teacher and the article points out that she is considered to be one of the greatest living exponents of both the surbahar and the sitar. The musician (who only responded via letters with the interviewer and never meet him face to face) paints a less than flattering picture of Shankar as a man insecure of the genius of his own wife. She is quoted as saying, “Whenever I performed, people appreciated my playing and I sensed that Panditji was not too happy about their response. I was not that fond of performing anyway so I stopped it and continued my sadhana.” She also took an oath before her father and guru and goddess Shardama never to perform in public again, in order to save her marriage. Annapurna Devi and Ravi Shankar had a son Shubho Shankar, who was also trained in the sitar. She also blamed her husband for stealing Shubho away from her and ruining his career. She’s says:

“I know Panditji is very image conscious. Maybe he feels that the recently published book on me has made some dent in his image and his articles are an attempt to salvage his image and assuage his guilt for the gross injustice he did to his son. Shubho realised this during the last months of his life and refused to see his father. Shubho could have been a great artiste; he was close to it. If he had continued his taalim he would have played great music. But a combination of factors prevented it.

In all fairness Man’s World article also presents Ravi Shankar’s view, presented in the form of past interviews where he has talked about his wife’s sexual jealousy, and how she was too controlling and often cruel to their son Shubho. But this essay marks a rare piece where Annapurna Devi has herself spoken out. There is no doubt that Ravi Shankar was a great musician and will remain so. And he certainly had a colourful reputation as a ladies man. What is more damning are the allegations of petty ego and emotional manipulation which hurt his image as a great man, and not just a great musician. Shankar certainly wasn’t the first genius who was a terrible husband. Albert Einstein, who was married to fellow scientist Mileva Maric, has been revealed as yet another petty husband. Einstein who realised that his marriage was failing, imposed conditions such as You will not expect any intimacy from me, nor will you reproach me in any way and You will stop talking to me if I request it for them to stay together. (More on that here .) The revelations made by Annapurna Devi– if accurate – are hardly shocking in an age where we no longer expect our heroes to be perfect. But perhaps there is a lesson in for women in search of a life partner: Geniuses need not apply.