Ravi Shankar, KBE
( Bengali: রবি শংকর,
IPA: [ˈrɔbi ˈʃɔŋkɔr] ; 7 April
1920 – 11 December 2012),
often referred to by the
title Pandit , was an Indian
musician and composer
who played the sitar. He
has been described as the
best-known contemporary
Indian musician. [2]
Shankar was born in
Varanasi and spent his
youth touring Europe and
India with the dance group
of his brother Uday
Shankar . He gave up
dancing in 1938 to study
sitar playing under court
musician Allauddin Khan .
After finishing his studies
in 1944, Shankar worked as
a composer, creating the
music for the Apu Trilogy
by Satyajit Ray , and was
music director of All India
Radio , New Delhi, from
1949 to 1956.
In 1956, he began to tour
Europe and the Americas
playing Indian classical
music and increased its
popularity there in the
1960s through teaching,
performance, and his
association with violinist
Yehudi Menuhin and rock
artist George Harrison of
the Beatles. Shankar
engaged Western music by
writing concerti for sitar
and orchestra and toured
the world in the 1970s and
1980s. From 1986 to 1992
he served as a nominated
member of Rajya Sabha,
the upper chamber of the
Parliament of India .
Shankar was awarded
India's highest civilian
honour, the Bharat Ratna,
in 1999, and received three
Grammy Awards. He
continued to perform in
the 2000s, sometimes with
his younger daughter,
Anoushka . He was
posthumously awarded two
Grammy awards in 2013,
one for lifetime
achievement, another for
The Living Room Sessions
Part 1 in the world music
category.
Early life
Shankar was born
Robindro Shaunkor
Chowdhury[3] on 7 April
1920 in Varanasi, to a
Bengali Brahmin family as
the youngest of seven
brothers. [3][4][5] His
father, Shyam Shankar, a
Middle Temple barrister
and scholar who served as
dewan of Jhalawar , used
the Sanskrit spelling of the
family name and removed
its last part. [3][6] Shyam
was married to Shankar's
mother Hemangini Devi,
and later worked as a
lawyer in London, England.
[3] There he married a
second time while Devi
raised Shankar in Varanasi,
and did not meet his son
until he was eight years
old. [3] Shankar shortened
the Sanskrit version of his
first name, Ravindra, to
Ravi, for "sun". [3]
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. [7][8] 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. [4][5]
Uday's dance group toured
Europe and the United
States in the early to
mid-1930s and Shankar
learned French, discovered
Western classical music,
jazz, cinema and became
acquainted with Western
customs. [9] 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. [9]
Shankar was sporadically
trained by Khan on tour,
and Khan offered Shankar
training to become a
serious musician under the
condition that he abandon
touring and come to
Maihar. [9]
↑Jump back a section
Career
Training and work in
India
Shankar's parents had died
by the time he returned
from the European tour,
and touring the West had
become difficult due to
political conflicts that
would lead to World War II.
[10] Shankar gave up his
dancing career in 1938 to
go to Maihar and study
Indian classical music as
Khan's pupil, living with his
family in the traditional
gurukul system. [7] Khan
was a rigorous teacher and
Shankar had training on
sitar and surbahar , learned
ragas and the musical
styles dhrupad , dhamar,
and khyal, and was taught
the techniques of the
instruments rudra veena,
rubab , and sursingar.[7]
[11] He often studied with
Khan's children Ali Akbar
Khan and Annapurna Devi .
[10] Shankar began to
perform publicly on sitar in
December 1939 and his
debut performance was a
jugalbandi (duet) with Ali
Akbar Khan, who played the
string instrument sarod.
[12]
Shankar completed his
training in 1944. [4]
Following his training, he
moved to Mumbai and
joined the Indian People's
Theatre Association, for
whom he composed music
for ballets in 1945 and
1946. [4][13] Shankar
recomposed the music for
the popular song "Sare
Jahan Se Achcha" at the
age of 25. [14][15] He
began to record music for
HMV India and worked as a
music director for All India
Radio (AIR), New Delhi,
from February 1949 to
January 1956. [4] Shankar
founded the Indian
National Orchestra at AIR
and composed for it; in his
compositions he combined
Western and classical
Indian instrumentation. [16]
Beginning in the mid-1950s
he composed the music for
the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit
Ray , which became
internationally acclaimed.
[5][17] He was music
director for several Hindi
movies including Godaan
and Anuradha .[18]
( Bengali: রবি শংকর,
IPA: [ˈrɔbi ˈʃɔŋkɔr] ; 7 April
1920 – 11 December 2012),
often referred to by the
title Pandit , was an Indian
musician and composer
who played the sitar. He
has been described as the
best-known contemporary
Indian musician. [2]
Shankar was born in
Varanasi and spent his
youth touring Europe and
India with the dance group
of his brother Uday
Shankar . He gave up
dancing in 1938 to study
sitar playing under court
musician Allauddin Khan .
After finishing his studies
in 1944, Shankar worked as
a composer, creating the
music for the Apu Trilogy
by Satyajit Ray , and was
music director of All India
Radio , New Delhi, from
1949 to 1956.
In 1956, he began to tour
Europe and the Americas
playing Indian classical
music and increased its
popularity there in the
1960s through teaching,
performance, and his
association with violinist
Yehudi Menuhin and rock
artist George Harrison of
the Beatles. Shankar
engaged Western music by
writing concerti for sitar
and orchestra and toured
the world in the 1970s and
1980s. From 1986 to 1992
he served as a nominated
member of Rajya Sabha,
the upper chamber of the
Parliament of India .
Shankar was awarded
India's highest civilian
honour, the Bharat Ratna,
in 1999, and received three
Grammy Awards. He
continued to perform in
the 2000s, sometimes with
his younger daughter,
Anoushka . He was
posthumously awarded two
Grammy awards in 2013,
one for lifetime
achievement, another for
The Living Room Sessions
Part 1 in the world music
category.
Early life
Shankar was born
Robindro Shaunkor
Chowdhury[3] on 7 April
1920 in Varanasi, to a
Bengali Brahmin family as
the youngest of seven
brothers. [3][4][5] His
father, Shyam Shankar, a
Middle Temple barrister
and scholar who served as
dewan of Jhalawar , used
the Sanskrit spelling of the
family name and removed
its last part. [3][6] Shyam
was married to Shankar's
mother Hemangini Devi,
and later worked as a
lawyer in London, England.
[3] There he married a
second time while Devi
raised Shankar in Varanasi,
and did not meet his son
until he was eight years
old. [3] Shankar shortened
the Sanskrit version of his
first name, Ravindra, to
Ravi, for "sun". [3]
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. [7][8] 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. [4][5]
Uday's dance group toured
Europe and the United
States in the early to
mid-1930s and Shankar
learned French, discovered
Western classical music,
jazz, cinema and became
acquainted with Western
customs. [9] 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. [9]
Shankar was sporadically
trained by Khan on tour,
and Khan offered Shankar
training to become a
serious musician under the
condition that he abandon
touring and come to
Maihar. [9]
↑Jump back a section
Career
Training and work in
India
Shankar's parents had died
by the time he returned
from the European tour,
and touring the West had
become difficult due to
political conflicts that
would lead to World War II.
[10] Shankar gave up his
dancing career in 1938 to
go to Maihar and study
Indian classical music as
Khan's pupil, living with his
family in the traditional
gurukul system. [7] Khan
was a rigorous teacher and
Shankar had training on
sitar and surbahar , learned
ragas and the musical
styles dhrupad , dhamar,
and khyal, and was taught
the techniques of the
instruments rudra veena,
rubab , and sursingar.[7]
[11] He often studied with
Khan's children Ali Akbar
Khan and Annapurna Devi .
[10] Shankar began to
perform publicly on sitar in
December 1939 and his
debut performance was a
jugalbandi (duet) with Ali
Akbar Khan, who played the
string instrument sarod.
[12]
Shankar completed his
training in 1944. [4]
Following his training, he
moved to Mumbai and
joined the Indian People's
Theatre Association, for
whom he composed music
for ballets in 1945 and
1946. [4][13] Shankar
recomposed the music for
the popular song "Sare
Jahan Se Achcha" at the
age of 25. [14][15] He
began to record music for
HMV India and worked as a
music director for All India
Radio (AIR), New Delhi,
from February 1949 to
January 1956. [4] Shankar
founded the Indian
National Orchestra at AIR
and composed for it; in his
compositions he combined
Western and classical
Indian instrumentation. [16]
Beginning in the mid-1950s
he composed the music for
the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit
Ray , which became
internationally acclaimed.
[5][17] He was music
director for several Hindi
movies including Godaan
and Anuradha .[18]
