Sitar legend Ravi Shankar passed away yesterday in San Diego, California.
Shankar was a celebrated musician not just in his home country of India, but all over the world. Beginning his career as a dancer in his brother’s dance group, he eventually quit dancing and began learning to play the sitar.
In the 1960s Shankar toured all over Europe and America playing classic Indian music on his sitar and gained universal popularity when he taught, performed and befriended celebrities like George Harrison of the Beatles.
Shankar received multiple musical honours such as three Grammy awards and the Bharat Ratna, which is India’s most prestigious award. He continued to perform well into the 2000s.
The last year he suffered from respiratory problems and had recently undergone heart surgery only a week before his passing.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Shankar was the father of jazz and country songstress, Norah Jones.
- He created a new melodic theme derived from Gandhi’s name while he working at a radio station that required him to play only mournful music at the time of Gandhi’s death.
- He was born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury in Varanasi, India.
- Shankar was often referred to as “Pandit” which is a title given to teachers or scholars of the ancient Indian language, Sanskrit. It is the source of the English word “pundit.”