On April 7, 1920, Ravi Shankar was born in the city of Benares, India. A prolific composer and virtuoso performer on the multi-stringed sitar, he has toured the world as an ambassador for the intricate and beautiful classical music of India.
Join us below the flip in wishing one of the greatest contributors to international cultural understanding a happy ninetieth birthday!
As a boy.
The youngest of seven brothers, Shankar's Bengali birth name was Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury; his father used the Sanskrit spelling of the family name, removing its last part. Shankar shortened the Sanskrit version of his first name, Ravindra, to Ravi, for "sun".
At the age of ten, after spending his first decade in Varanasi, Shankar went to Paris with the dance group of his brother, choreographer Uday Shankar. By the age of 13 he had become a member of the group, accompanied its members on tour and learned to dance and play various Indian instruments. Uday's dance group toured Europe and America in the early to mid-1930s and Shankar learned French, discovered Western classical music, jazz, and cinema, and became acquainted with Western customs. Shankar heard the lead musician for the Maihar court, Allauddin Khan, in December 1934 at a music conference in Kolkata and Uday convinced the Maharaja of Maihar in 1935 to allow Khan to become his group's soloist for a tour of Europe. Shankar was sporadically trained by Khan on tour, and Khan offered Shankar training to become a serious musician under the condition that he abandoned touring and came to Maihar.
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"Ravi Shankar has brought me a precious gift and through him I have added a new dimension to my experience of music. To me, his genius and his humanity can only be compared to that of Mozart's."
- Yehudi Menuhin -
"Ravi Shankar is the Godfather of World Music"
- George Harrison -
It was a recording of Ravi Shankar's compositions for Indian orchestral ensemble that first piqued my interest in Hindustani music, sending me in search of someone from whom I could learn more about this fascinating artform. Thirty-four years later, it's my life and my living, and I am profoundly grateful. Thank you, Panditji!
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 Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan, Desikottam, Padma Bhushan of 1967, the Music Council UNESCO award 1975, the Magsaysay Award from Manila, two Grammy's, the Fukuoka grand Prize from Japan, the Polar Music Prize of 1998, the Crystal award from Davos, with the title 'Global Ambassador' to name some.
In 1986 Ravi Shankar was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha, India's upper house of Parliament.
Deeply moved by the plight of more than eight million refugees who came to India during the Bangla Desh Freedom struggle from Pakistan, Ravi Shankar wanted to help in any way he could. He planned to arrange a concert to collect money for the refugees. He approached his dear friend George to help him raise money for this cause. This humanitarian concern from Ravi Shankar sowed the seed of the concept for the 1973 Concert for Bangla Desh. With the help of George Harrison, this concert became the first magnus effort in fund raising, paving the way for many others to do charity concerts.
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A short performance of Raga Charukeshi
In 1984 Shankar was to perform in Boston, and by a fortuitous concatenation of circumstances, the concert producer contacted me, needing program notes for the event. I agreed, and waived a fee, asking instead that I be invited to the post-concert dinner. Which is how I get to name-drop that I had dinner with Ravi Shankar. It's unlikely that he'd remember me, but for an aspiring Hindustani musician in the first decade of study, it was a landmark event. He and tabla virtuoso Alla Rakha were unfailingly gracious and kind, and the post-prandial conversation was lively and enjoyable.
Ravi I recognize, but who's the other guy?
Shankar developed a style distinct from that of his contemporaries and incorporated influences from rhythm practices of Carnatic music.[6] His performances begin with solo alap, jor, and jhala (introduction and performances with pulse and rapid pulse) influenced by the slow and serious dhrupad genre, followed by a section with tabla accompaniment featuring compositions associated with the prevalent khyal style.[6] Shankar often closes his performances with a piece inspired by the light-classical thumri genre.[6]
Shankar has been considered one of the top sitarists of the second half of the 20th century. Shankar popularized performing on the bass octave of the sitar for the alap section, became known for a distinctive quick playing style in the middle and high registers, and his sound creation through stops and strikes on the main playing string.... Shankar's interplay with Alla Rakha improved appreciation for tabla playing in Hindustani classical music.[1] He promoted the jugalbandi duet concert style and introduced new ragas, including Tilak Shyam, Nat Bhairav and Bairagi.
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Appearing live on the Dick Cavett Show
Shankar has taught a number of students over the course of his career. His son Shubho was a fine performer, but died in 1992. His daughter Anoushka is recognized as a technically superb sitarist and the two of them perform together regularly. Shankar has another daughter, the singer-songwriter Norah Jones, whose artistry has also been widely recognized.
Gat in Raga Kirwani
To Pandit Ravi Shankar, one of the greatest names in music — someone whose contributions are felt throughout the world — Happy Birthday!