From Bharat Ratna To Grammy

The man who brought Indian classical music to the world stage with aided by his friend George Harrison from the Beatles, Shankar left a legacy of a maestro.

Pandit Ravi Shankar with his Sitar; Source: Time

Born as Ravindra Shankar Chowdhury on the 7th of April 1920 to a Bengali Brahmin family with four brothers, Pandit Shankar attended his high school in his birthplace, Benaras, until the age of 10.

Master Ravi accompanied his brother, Uday Shankar, who became a renowned choreographer, to Paris, where he eventually became a part of his dance group. At the age of 13, Shankar became equipped in dancing and learned to play many Indian instruments. Shankar lived a journey that most of us only dream of; As he travelled, he discovered western music, including classical and jazz, and learned French.

At the age of 18, the gifted sitarist knew what he wanted and left dancing and touring to pursue training that lasted for seven years to study the sitar as an apprentice of Ustad Allaudin Khan and completed his training in 1944.

A long career awaited him, both in India and abroad. He joined the Indian People's Theatre Association, recomposed the famous song "Saare Jahan Se Acha and even began recording music for HMV India and worked as director for All-India-Radio all in his mid and early 20s.

Ravi Shankar (right) in conversation with Satya Jit Ray (left)

Ravi worked for AIR until 1956 and even founded a division called Indian National Orchestra at AIR. His music was a testament to his journey as he combined Indian classical and western instrumentation in his compositions. His international acclaim came with the music composition for Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy.

Pandit Ravi, in 1962, established the Kinnara School of Music in Mumbai, and keeping in tune with how much the west had offered him, instituted a second branch of the school in Los Angeles in 1967, which were both discontinued later.

The root of his International career lay in AIR offices when he met Yehudi Menuhin through the director, V.K. Narayana Menon. From the 1960s, he performed with Menhunin, and at the same time, made the acquaintance of George Harrison of the Beatles, who brought Indian Classical music to the world stage with Shankar. Together, they even organized a benefit concert called The Concert for Bangladesh in 1971.

He served as chair of the International Music Departments of Universities and even esteemed as a guest lecturer.

In his personal life, his daughters survive him, and his music and have a promising solo career in music. Norah Jones won the grammy independently and Anoushka Shankar was nominated twice.

The sitarist had a style of his own that set him apart from most in his niche. Music was his religion, and he performed even in his 90s.

Among his many, many accolades are the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, and three grammy's that he won in his lifetime and another grammy that he received just two months after his death.