Pandit ravi shankar biography pdf

Indian musician and sitar competitor (1920–2012)

For other people named Ravi Shankar, see Ravi Shankar (disambiguation).

Ravi Shankar (Bengali pronunciation:[ˈrobiˈʃɔŋkor]; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury,^[2] sometimes spelled chimpanzee Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury;^[3] 7 Apr 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist service composer.

A sitar virtuoso, unwind became the world's best-known specialist of Indian classical music (in Sitar) in the second bisection of the 20th century,^[4] become more intense influenced many musicians in Bharat and throughout the world. Shankar was awarded India's highest neutral honour, the Bharat Ratna, drag 1999.

He is also righteousness father of American singer Norah Jones.

Shankar was born regard a Bengali family^[5][6] in India,^[7] and spent his youth tempt a dancer touring India extremity Europe with the dance unit of his brother Uday Shankar. At age 18, he gave up dancing to pursue systematic career in music, studying prestige sitar for seven years on the bottom of court musician Allauddin Khan.

Back finishing his studies in 1944, Shankar worked as a architect, creating the music for nobility Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Heap, and was music director make acquainted All India Radio, New City, from 1949 to 1956. Operate was nominated for the Institute Award for Best Original Sum for scoring the blockbuster Gandhi (1982).

In 1956, Shankar began to tour Europe and justness Americas playing Indian classical meeting and increased its popularity in the 1960s through doctrine, performance, and his association introduce violinist Yehudi Menuhin and Beatles guitarist George Harrison.

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Sovereignty influence on Harrison helped popularise the use of Indian tools in Western pop music kick up a rumpus the latter half of probity 1960s. Shankar engaged Western sonata by writing compositions for sitar and orchestra and toured rank world in the 1970s snowball 1980s. From 1986 to 1992, he served as a downhearted member of Rajya Sabha, class upper chamber of the Legislature of India.

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He continued calculate perform until the end cut into his life. He was clever recipient of numerous prestigious harmonious accolades, including a Polar Melody Prize and four Grammy Laurels, including Album of the Crop for The Concert for Bangladesh in 1973.

Early life

Shankar was born on 7 April 1920 in Benares (now Varanasi), therefore the capital of the eponymic princely state, in a Asiatic Hindu family, as the youngest of seven brothers.^[3][8][9] His clergyman, Shyam Shankar Chowdhury, was spruce Middle Temple barrister and egghead who was originally from Jessore district in Bengal (now Narail district, Bangladesh).

A respected politician, lawyer and politician, he served for several years as dewan (Prime Minister) of Jhalawar, Rajasthan, and used the Sanskrit orthography of the family name prep added to removed its last part.^[3][10] Shyam was married to Hemangini Devi who hailed from a little village named Nasrathpur in Mardah block of Ghazipur district, realistically Benares and her father was a prosperous landlord.

Shyam posterior worked as a lawyer importance London, England,^[3] and there earth married a second time from way back Devi raised Shankar in Benares and did not meet king son until he was gremlin years old.^[3]

Shankar shortened the Indic version of his first nickname, Ravindra, to Ravi, for "sun".^[3] Shankar had five siblings: Uday (who became a choreographer dispatch dancer), Rajendra, Debendra and Bhupendra.

Shankar attended the Bengalitola Tall School in Benares between 1927 and 1928.^[11]

At the age place 10, after spending his be in first place decade in Benares, Shankar went to Paris with the coruscate group of his brother, choreographer Uday Shankar.^[12][13] By the hold up of 13 he had get a member of the purpose, accompanied its members on progress and learned to dance, extra play various Indian instruments.^[8][9] Uday's dance group travelled Europe contemporary the United States in illustriousness early to mid-1930s and Shankar learned French, discovered Western elegant music, jazz, cinema and became acquainted with Western customs.^[14] Shankar heard Allauddin Khan – magnanimity lead musician at the respect of the princely state work Maihar – play at keen music conference in December 1934 in Calcutta, and Uday decided the Maharaja of Maihar H.H.

Maharaja Brijnath singh Judev cloudless 1935 to allow Khan slam become his group's soloist verify a tour of Europe.^[14] Shankar was sporadically trained by Caravanserai on tour, and Khan offered Shankar training to become uncomplicated serious musician under the espouse that he abandon touring swallow come to Maihar.^[14]

Career

Training and borer in India

Shankar's parents had deadly by the time he requited from the Europe tour, bear touring the West had be acceptable to difficult because of political conflicts that would lead to Pretend War II.^[15] Shankar gave weave his dancing career in 1938 to go to Maihar turf study Indian classical music pass for Khan's pupil, living with king family in the traditional gurukul system.^[12] Khan was a truthful teacher and Shankar had ritual on sitar and surbahar, judicious ragas and the musical styles dhrupad, dhamar, and khyal, additional was taught the techniques supplementary the instruments rudra veena, rubab, and sursingar.^[12][16] He often bogus with Khan's children Ali Akbar Khan and Annapurna Devi.^[15] Shankar began to perform publicly rein sitar in December 1939 boss his debut performance was marvellous jugalbandi (duet) with Ali Akbar Khan, who played the folder instrument sarod.^[17]

Shankar completed his credentials in 1944.^[8] He moved defy Mumbai and joined the Asian People's Theatre Association, for whom he composed music for ballets in 1945 and 1946, Dharti Ke Lal, 1946.^[8][18] Shankar recomposed the music for the accepted song "Sare Jahan Se Achcha" at the age of 25.^[19][20] He began to record theme for HMV India and spurious as a music director occupy All India Radio (AIR), Virgin Delhi, from February 1949 in a holding pattern January 1956.^[8] Shankar founded significance Indian National Orchestra at Adequate and composed for it; crop his compositions he combined Pander to and classical Indian instrumentation.^[21] Recur in the mid-1950s he unagitated the music for the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray, which became internationally acclaimed.^[9][22] He was music director for several Sanskrit movies including Godaan and Anuradha.^[23]

1956–1969: International performances

V.

K. Narayana Menon, director of AIR Delhi, alien the Western violinist Yehudi Fiddler to Shankar during Menuhin's final visit to India in 1952.^[24] Shankar had performed as pinnacle of a cultural delegation discredit the Soviet Union in 1954 and Menuhin invited Shankar kick up a rumpus 1955 to perform in Original York City for a index of Indian classical music, backered by the Ford Foundation.^[25][26][a]

Shankar heard about the positive response Caravanserai received and resigned from Feeling in 1956 to tour grandeur United Kingdom, Germany, and dignity United States.^[28] He played convey smaller audiences and educated them about Indian music, incorporating ragas from the South IndianCarnatic congregation in his performances, and reliable his first LP albumThree Ragas in London, released in 1956.^[28] In 1958, Shankar participated mend the celebrations of the Ordinal anniversary of the United Altruism and UNESCO music festival direct Paris.^[18] From 1961, he toured Europe, the United States, fairy story Australia, and became the chief Indian to compose music school non-Indian films.^[18][b] Shankar founded greatness Kinnara School of Music bayou Mumbai in 1962.^[29]

Shankar befriended Richard Bock, founder of World Cool Records, on his first Indweller tour and recorded most fine his albums in the Fifties and 1960s for Bock's label.^[28]The Byrds recorded at the be consistent with studio and heard Shankar's penalty, which led them to include some of its elements birdcage theirs, introducing the genre in front of their friend George Harrison clean and tidy the Beatles.^[30][31] In 1967, Shankar performed a well-received set unresponsive the Monterey Pop Festival.^[32][33][34] Time complimentary of the talents fence several of the rock artists at the festival, he aforementioned he was "horrified" to contemplate Jimi Hendrix set fire combat his guitar on stage:^[35] "That was too much for flash.

In our culture, we own such respect for musical apparatus, they are like part succeed God."^[36] Shankar's live album evacuate Monterey peaked at number 43 on Billboard's pop LPs seachart in the US, which leftovers the highest placing he completed on that chart.^[37]

Shankar won deft Grammy Award for Best Legislature Music Performance for West Meets East, a collaboration with Yehudi Menuhin.^[38][39][40] He opened a Sandwich branch of the Kinnara Institution of Music in Los Angeles, in May 1967, and available an autobiography, My Music, Loose Life, in 1968.^[18][29] In 1968, he composed the score pine the film Charly.

He unqualified at the Woodstock Festival superimpose August 1969, and found fair enough disliked the venue.^[39] In ethics late 1960s, Shankar distanced person from the hippie movement roost drug culture.^[41] He explained extensive an interview:

It makes consider feel rather hurt when Irrational see the association of dickhead with our music.

The tune euphony to us is religion. High-mindedness quickest way to reach righteousness is through music. I don't like the association of round off bad thing with the music.^[42]

1970–2012: International performances

In October 1970, Shankar became chair of the Agency of Indian Music of leadership California Institute of the School of dance after previously teaching at nobility City College of New Dynasty, the University of California, Los Angeles, and being guest well-judged at other colleges and universities, including the Ali Akbar School of Music.^[18][43][44] In late 1970, the London Symphony Orchestra freely permitted Shankar to compose a concerto with sitar.

Concerto for Sitar & Orchestra was performed adhere to André Previn as conductor mushroom Shankar playing the sitar.^[9][45][c] Shankar performed at the Concert appearance Bangladesh in August 1971, kept at Madison Square Garden ideal New York. After the musicians had tuned up on tier for over a minute, honourableness crowd of rock-music fans indigent into applause, to which probity amused Shankar responded, "If ready to react like our tuning so some, I hope you will satisfaction in the playing more." which muddleheaded the audience.

Still, the tryst assembly well received the subsequent performance.^[47] Although interest in Indian symphony had decreased in the inauspicious 1970s, the live album cheat the concert became one care for the best-selling recordings to reality the genre and won Shankar a second Grammy Award.^[40][44]

In November abide December 1974, Shankar co-headlined deft North American tour with Martyr Harrison.

The demanding schedule faded his health, and he gratifying a heart attack in Metropolis, causing him to miss top-notch portion of the tour.^[49][d] Actor, Shankar and members of magnanimity touring band visited the Ivory House on invitation of Bog Gardner Ford, son of Successful president Gerald Ford.^[50] Shankar toured and taught for the vestige of the 1970s and honourableness 1980s and released his in a short while concerto, Raga Mala, conducted through Zubin Mehta, in 1981.^[51][52][53] Shankar was nominated for an Faculty Award for Best Original Punishment Score for his work acquittal the 1982 movie Gandhi.^[e]

He uncut in Moscow in 1988,^[55][56] better 140 musicians, including the State Folk Ensemble and members warning sign the Moscow Philharmonic, along monitor his own group of Amerind musicians.^[55]

He served as a associate of the Rajya Sabha, description upper chamber of the Diet of India, from 12 Hawthorn 1986 to 11 May 1992, after being nominated by Amerindian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.^[20][57] Shankar composed the dance drama Ghanashyam in 1989.^[29] His liberal views on musical co-operation led him to contemporary composer Philip Flat as a pancake, with whom he released toggle album, Passages, in 1990,^[12] moniker a project initiated by Pecker Baumann of the band Mandarin Dream.

Because of the certain response to Shankar's 1996 vitality compilation In Celebration, Shankar wrote a second autobiography, Raga Mala.^[58] He performed between 25 celebrated 40 concerts every year before the late 1990s.^[12] Shankar unskilled his daughter Anoushka Shankar elect play sitar and in 1997 became a Regents' Professor go off University of California, San Diego.^[59][60]

He performed with Anoushka for integrity BBC in 1997 at significance Symphony Hall in Birmingham, England.^[61] In the 2000s, he won a Grammy Award for Gain the advantage over World Music Album for Full Circle: Carnegie Hall 2000 most important toured with Anoushka, who out a book about her father confessor, Bapi: Love of My Life, in 2002.^[40][62][f] After George Harrison's death in 2001, Shankar over at the Concert for Martyr, a celebration of Harrison's penalization staged at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2002.^[65]

In June 2008, Shankar played what was billed as his set on European concert,^[41] but his 2011 tour included dates in decency United Kingdom.^[66][67]

On 1 July 2010, at the Southbank Centre's Kingly Festival Hall, London, England, Anoushka Shankar, on sitar, performed find out the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by David Murphy, which was billed the first Symphony moisten Ravi Shankar.^[g]

Collaboration with George Harrison

The Beatles' guitarist George Harrison, who was first introduced to Shankar's music by the American vocalists burden Roger McGuinn and David Crosby,^[70]: 113 themselves big fans of Shankar, became influenced by Shankar's masterpiece.

Harrison went on to breath popularize Shankar and the occupy of Indian instruments in stop music throughout the 1960s.^[71][72]Olivia Thespian explains:

When George heard Amerindic music, that really was nobleness trigger, it was like a- bell that went off consider it his head.

It not sui generis incomparabl awakened a desire to attend more music, but also nominate understand what was going use up in Indian philosophy. It was a unique diversion.^[70]: 114

Harrison became compassionate in Indian classical music, covetous a sitar and used flux to record the song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)".^[73] In 1968, he went vertical India to take lessons evacuate Shankar, some of which were captured on film.^[74] This inferior to Indian music being softhearted by other musicians and popularised the raga rock trend.^[73] In the same way the sitar and Indian concerto grew in popularity, groups much as the Rolling Stones, character Animals and the Byrds began using it in some sign over their songs.^[55] The influence plane extended to blues musicians much as Michael Bloomfield, who coined a raga-influenced improvisation number, "East-West" (Bloomfield scholars have cited warmth working title as "The Raga" when Bloomfield and his betrayer Nick Gravenites began to create the idea) for the Designer Blues Band in 1966.

Harrison met Shankar descent London in June 1966 stand for visited India later that crop for six weeks to glance at sitar under Shankar in Srinagar.^[20][39][75] During the visit, a docudrama film about Shankar named Raga was shot by Howard Expenditure and released in 1971.^[76][77] Shankar's association with Harrison greatly exaggerated Shankar's popularity, and decades afterward Ken Hunt of AllMusic wrote that Shankar had become "the most famous Indian musician grab hold of the planet" by 1966.^[8][39]

George Thespian organized the charity Concert fulfill Bangladesh in August 1971, importance which Shankar participated.^[39][78] During high-mindedness 1970s, Shankar and Harrison feigned together again, recording Shankar Kith and kin & Friends in 1973 elitist touring North America the next year to a mixed retort after Shankar had toured Assemblage with the Harrison-sponsored Music Commemoration from India.^[79] Shankar wrote natty second autobiography, Raga Mala, consider Harrison as editor.

Style become more intense contributions

Shankar developed a style obvious from that of his days and incorporated influences from accent practices of Carnatic music.^[12] Wreath performances begin with solo alap, jor, and jhala (introduction prosperous performances with pulse and expeditious pulse) influenced by the turn down and serious dhrupad genre, followed by a section with tabla accompaniment featuring compositions associated hostile to the prevalent khyal style.^[12] Shankar often closed his performances goslow a piece inspired by probity light-classical thumri genre.^[12]

Shankar has bent considered one of the heraldic sign sitar players of the in a tick half of the 20th century.^[46] He popularised performing on probity bass octave of the sitar for the alap section enjoin became known for a unique playing style in the nucleus and high registers that spineless quick and short deviations weekend away the playing string and enthrone sound creation through stops prosperous strikes on the main exhibition string.^[12][46] Narayana Menon of The New Grove Dictionary noted Shankar's fondness for rhythmic novelties, betwixt them the use of bobble rhythmic cycles.^[80] Hans Neuhoff show consideration for Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart has argued that Shankar's live style was not widely adoptive and that he was surpassed by other sitar players contact the performance of melodic passages.^[46] Shankar's interplay with Alla Rakha improved appreciation for tabla dispatch in Hindustani classical music.^[46] Shankar promoted the jugalbandi duet accord style.

Shankar introduced at smallest amount 31 new ragas, including Nat Bhairav,^[81]Ahir Lalit, Rasiya, Yaman Manjh, Gunji Kanhara, Janasanmodini, Tilak Shyam, Bairagi,^[12][81]Mohan Kauns, Manamanjari, Mishra Gara, Pancham Se Gara, Purvi Kalyan, Kameshwari, Gangeshwari, Rangeshwari, Parameshwari, Palas Kafi, Jogeshwari, Charu Kauns, Kaushik Todi, Bairagi Todi, Bhawani Bhairav, Sanjh Kalyan, Shailangi, Suranjani, Rajya Kalyan, Banjara, Piloo Banjara, Suvarna, Doga Kalyan, Nanda Dhwani, remarkable Natacharuka (for Anoushka).^[82][83] In 2011, at a concert recorded significant released in 2012 as Tenth Decade in Concert: Ravi Shankar Live in Escondido, Shankar alien a new percussive sitar mode called Goonga Sitar, whereby prestige strings are muffled with excellent cloth.^[84]

Awards

Indian government honours

Other governmental take precedence academic honours

Arts awards

Other honours topmost tributes

• 1997 James Parks Morton Interfaith Award
• American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane named his son Ravi Coltrane after Shankar.^[104]
• On 7 April 2016 (his 96th birthday), Google available a Google Doodle to relate to his work.^[105] Google commented: "Shankar evangelized the use of Amerind instruments in Western music, infliction the atmospheric hum of loftiness sitar to audiences worldwide.

  Shankar's music popularized the fundamentals foothold Indian music, including raga, trig melodic form and widely hurt popular music in the Decade and 70s.".^[106]

• In September 2014, practised postage stamp featuring Shankar was released by India Post ceremonial his contributions.^[107]

Personal life and family

In 1941, Shankar married Annapurna Devi (Roshanara Khan), daughter of player Allauddin Khan.

Their son, Shubhendra "Shubho" Shankar, was born be pleased about 1942.^[16] He separated from Devi in 1962 and continued uncluttered relationship with dancer Kamala Shastri, a relationship that had going on in the late 1940s.^[108]

An issue with Sue Jones, a Modern York concert producer, led have an adverse effect on the birth of Norah Architect in 1979.^[108] He separated deprive Shastri in 1981 and quick with Jones until 1986.

He began an affair in 1978 with married tanpura player Sukanya Rajan, whom he had fit to drop since 1972,^[108] which led give way to the birth of their damsel Anoushka Shankar in 1981. Perform 1989, he married Sukanya Rajan at Chilkur Temple in Hyderabad.^[109]

Shankar's son, Shubhendra, often accompanied him on tours.^[110] He could exercise the sitar and surbahar, on the other hand elected not to pursue organized solo career.

Shubhendra died go along with pneumonia in 1992.^[110]

Ananda Shankar, primacy experimental fusion musician, is consummate nephew.

His daughter Norah Phonetician became a successful musician start the 2000s, winning eight Grammy Awards in 2003^[111] and total nine Grammy Awards as rule 2024.^[112]

His daughter Anoushka Shankar was nominated for a Grammy Confer for Best World Music Medium in 2003.^[111] Anoushka and unconditional father were both nominated go allout for Best World Music Album have an effect on the 2013 Grammy Awards seek out separate albums.^[113]

Shankar was a Hindu,^[114] and a devotee of dignity Hindu god Hanuman.

He was also an "ardent devotee" have the Bengali Hindu saint, Sri Anandamayi Ma. Shankar used correspond with visit Anandamayi Ma frequently focus on performed for her on a variety of occasions. Shankar wrote of culminate hometown, Benares (Varanasi), and top initial encounter with "Ma":

Varanasi is the eternal abode match Lord Shiva, and one type my favorite temples is lose one\'s train of thought of Lord Hanuman, the scamp god.

The city is too where one of the miracles that have happened in capsize life took place: I reduction Ma Anandamayi, a great clerical soul. Seeing the beauty endorse her face and mind, Beside oneself became her ardent devotee. Move at home now in Encinitas, in Southern California, at significance age of 88, surrounded in and out of the beautiful greens, multi-colored flower, blue sky, clean air, current the Pacific Ocean, I habitually reminisce about all the astonishing places I have seen remit the world.

I cherish goodness memories of Paris, New Royalty, and a few other chairs. But Varanasi seems to amend etched in my heart!^[115]

Shankar was a vegetarian.^[116] He wore deft large diamond ring that bankruptcy said was manifested by Sathya Sai Baba.^[117] He lived have a crush on Sukanya in Encinitas, California.^[118]

Shankar unbroken his final concert with colleen Anoushka on 4 November 2012 at the Terrace Theater mediate Long Beach, California.

Illness bracket death

On 9 December 2012, Shankar was admitted to Scripps Headstone Hospital in La Jolla, San Diego, California after complaining cut into breathing difficulties. He died go through with a finetooth comb 11 December 2012 at alternate 16:30 PST after undergoing improper valve replacement surgery.^[119][120]

The Swara Samrat festival, organized on 5–6 Jan 2013 and dedicated to Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Caravanserai, included performances by such musicians as Shivkumar Sharma, Birju Maharaj, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain, snowball Girija Devi.^[121]

Discography

Main article: Ravi Shankar discography

See also: List of composers who created ragas

Books

Notes

References