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Shankar

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Wiktionary-logo-en-v2 Image: Wikimedia Commons. Dan Polansky based on work currently attributed to Wikimedia Foundation but originally created by Smurrayinchester / CC BY-SA 4.0

Pandit Ravi Shankar (born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012), sometimes spelled Ravindra Shankar Chowdhury, was an Indian sitarist and composer. Widely regarded as the foremost exponent of Indian classical music in the second half of the 20th century, he played a central role in introducing the sitar and the Hindustani tradition to global audiences, and influenced generations of musicians both in India and abroad.

Key facts

Born 7 April 1920, as Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury
Died 11 December 2012
Profession Sitarist, composer, music director
Guru Allauddin Khan
Notable score Music for Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy; Gandhi (1982)
Children (musicians) Norah Jones, Anoushka Shankar
Rajya Sabha tenure 1986–1992 (nominated member)
Bharat Ratna 1999
Grammy Awards Four, including Album of the Year for The Concert for Bangladesh (1973)

Background

Shankar was born into a Bengali family in India. He spent his youth as a dancer, touring India and Europe with the dance troupe led by his elder brother, the celebrated dancer Uday Shankar. At the age of 18 he gave up dancing to pursue music, training in the sitar for seven years under the court musician Allauddin Khan.

Career

Early work as composer (1944–1956)

After completing his studies in 1944, Shankar took up work as a composer. He composed the music for Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, and served as music director of All India Radio, New Delhi, from 1949 to 1956.

International recognition (1956 onward)

From 1956, Shankar began touring Europe and America with programmes of Indian classical music. Through the 1960s, his teaching, performances and collaborations expanded the reach of the genre in the West. His associations with the violinist Yehudi Menuhin and with the Beatles' guitarist George Harrison were particularly important; his influence on Harrison helped popularise the use of Indian instruments in Western popular music in the latter half of the 1960s.

Cross-cultural compositions (1970s–1980s)

In the 1970s and 1980s, Shankar engaged with Western musical forms by writing compositions for sitar and orchestra, and toured extensively around the world. He continued to perform until the end of his life.

Public service

From 1986 to 1992, Shankar served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.

Awards and honours

  • Bharat Ratna (1999) – India's highest civilian honour.
  • Polar Music Prize.
  • Four Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for The Concert for Bangladesh (1973).
  • Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score for Gandhi (1982).

Family

Shankar is the father of the American singer Norah Jones and the British-American sitarist Anoushka Shankar.

Significance

Shankar's career bridged Indian classical traditions and Western audiences across more than six decades. As a performer, teacher and composer, he helped establish the sitar as an internationally recognised concert instrument, contributed major film scores in Indian and international cinema, and shaped the global perception of Hindustani music.

References