Ravi Shankar (born April 7, 1920) is best known for being a virtuoso at the sitar. A disciple of Ustad Allauddin Khan (founder of the Maihar Gharana of Hindustani classical music), Pandit Ravi Shankar is one of the best-known Indian musician.
He was generally unknown outside of India until the musician George Harrison, a member of The Beatles, began experimenting with the sitar in 1965. The two eventually met due to this common interest and became close friends, and that in turn gave Shankar worldwide fame as Harrison’s mentor.
This development greatly expanded his career, as he was invited to play in venues that were unusual for a classical musician like himself such as the 1967 Monterey Music Festival; this took place in Monterey, California USA.
Since then, he has maintained a steady and acclaimed career as a musician and recording artist. The classical composer Philip Glass acknowledges.
Ravishankar as a major influence. The two have collaborated, producing a recording of joint compositions called ‘Passages’.
He has composed extensively for films and ballets in India, Canada, Europe and the United States, including Charly, Gandhi and the Apu Trilogy. Ravi Shankar is an honourary member of the American Academy
of Arts and Letters and is a member of the United Nations International Rostrum of composers.
He has received many awards and honours from his own country and from all over the world, including fourteen doctorates, the Padma Vibhushana, Desikottam, the Magsaysay Award, two Grammys, the Fukuoka grand prize from Japan, the Crystal award from Davos, with the title ‘Global Ambassador’ to name some.
In 1986 he was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha. His recording ‘Tana Mana’, released in 1987, brought Ravishanker’s music into the ‘New Age’ with its unique method of combining traditional instruments with electronics.
He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1998. He currently resides in California. His daughters Anoushka Shankar and Grammy winner Norah Jones are also talented musicians.
