Three bombs struck outside the interior ministry in Damascus today leaving dead and wounded, state media reported, without giving a precise breakdown of the casualties. 

President Barack Obama will decide shortly how many US troops he wants to keep in Afghanistan after the US-led coalition military mission ends in December 2014, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said today as he opened two days of consultations with top US commanders and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

NATO opened a new headquarters complex for its special forces today as part of a larger move aimed at offsetting the effects of deep defence cuts and better coordinating the elite military units. 

Mali's interim president has named a replacement after soldiers behind a coup earlier this year forced out the prime minister and placed him under house arrest, provoking international condemnation. 

Justice J Chelameswar of the Supreme Court, who had dissented with the majority order dismissing P A Sangma's plea against Pranab Mukherjee's election as President, today said allegation of holding an office of profit by the senior Congress leader needed a regular and detailed hearing.

Prime Minister's Office today rejected a claim by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi that Sir Creek was being "handed over" to Pakistan, terming it as"mischievous" and questioned its timing.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh replied to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's letter on Sir Creek. "Allegations that Sir Creek will be handed over to Pakistan are untrue," he added.

Modi on Thursday asked Dr Singh to stop dialogue with Pakistan at once on the Sir Creek issue and demanded that it should not be handed over to the neighbouring nation.

"I am writing on a serious issue of talks being held on Sir Creek being handed over to Pakistan. Any attempt to hand over Sir Creek to Pakistan would be a strategic blunder considering the history and sensitivity of the region," Modi has written in a letter to the PM.

"I would earnestly request you to stop this dialogue with Pakistan at once and Sir Creek should not be handed over to Pakistan," Modi further wrote in the letter.

"Due to the election code of conduct, Modi wrote the letter as a concerned citizen and not as a chief minister of a state," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman said while giving details of the letter at a press conference in Ahemedabad.

The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its judgement in the disproportionate assets case against Samjwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh at 10 am.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari over Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati's remark on him.

"I am not ready to listen to anything. We have seen in the last few days that every day the House is not allowed to function after 12 pm, It is your responsibility to ensure that it functions. Who will ensure that it functions," she told the chair from the Well as also from her seat.

Trinamool Congress MLA Sikha Mitra, the wife of party MP Somen Mitra, was suspended today. Mitra told Rediff.com that she has not got any official letter as yet.

Trinamool sources say Somen Mitra has been instigating his wife to violate the party line. After Sikha Mitra's suspension, her husband too is likely to quit TMC, the source added.

Today, Sikha Mitra said she was scared to enter the Assembly after yesterday's violence. "The violence is condemnable whoever is involved in it. I was not in the House yesterday. I have no idea who sparked off the violence," Sikha Mitra said. "Those who sent MLAs as their representatives, will think otherwise now," she said.   

Sikha Mitra was in focus recently after she openly criticised the Trinamool Congress leadership and earned the wrath of the party for attending a function presided over by PCC president Pradip Bhattacharya.

A day after over seven persons brazenly opened fire in an ICU of a private hospital here, one of the injured persons today succumbed to his injuries while his father was battling for life, even as police today claimed to have arrested the key accused. The father-son duo, Satveer and Joginger, were seriously injured in the attack yesterday, allegedly over a property related dispute. They were later shifted to Medanta Medicity hospital after the attack inside Sunrise hospital yesterday.

Just in: The Election Commission strongly disapproves of petroleum minister Veerappa Moily's announcement of raising subsidised LPG quota and asks him to be circumspect in future.

Pandit Kartik Kumar, an acclaimed sitarist and Pandit Ravi Shankar's oldest student speaks to Pandit Ravi Shankar.

"Panditji is not dead. For, such a great soul never dies. To me, my Guru was not only a musician -- he was music personified. He was like my teacher, my guide -- a father figure. Though I am 75, I was a kid to him, always.

His music transcended excellence -- it was a unique blend of skill and spirituality. It was simply divine. I have been associated with him since 1958 and during these years, I listened to him with rapt attention, worshipped him like God. In fact, I think Panditji was a part divine -- Shiva, Krishna and Saraswati were parts of him.

I played with him during his collaboration with George Harrison and travelled widely for six long months. It was the best experience of my life. There are so many musicians in this world. But none can be compared to him. For, none have a soul as great as Guruji's.

When his fingers touched the sitar, they always struck the innermost chords of his audience's hearts. He reached out to them through his ragas, his tals. One needed a celestial power to reach that point. And Panditji had that in him. That is why his music was so special, so exclusive.

I spoke to him over telephone about a fortnight ago. On the phone, Guruji blessed me and told me 'keep serving music'. It shocks me when people compare him to Nikhil Bandyopadhyay. I am not saying that Nikhil was a bad sitarist, but there can be no comparison between him and Guruji. In fact, there is no other musician who can be at par.

Guruji was the tallest tower in the musical arena. Those who try to draw comparisons are ignorant. It's a sad day for me and for the world of music, but I am not missing him. He has died a physical death, but his works remain -- they are immortal. His music will rule for a thousand of years. He would often tell me, "Kartik, I want to die on stage."

Alas, that couldn't be. I won't say, may his soul rest in peace. For, I know though his soul may have left his body, it is still with us reverberating with his unforgettable creations."

As told to Rediff.com's Indrani Roy

More reactions: Veteran vocalist Pandit Jasraj said that Ravi Shankar's exploration of the 'ragas' was of distinctive nature, which helped spread awareness and understanding of the depth of Indian classical music.

"The news has brought gloom to the world of music... it's like the heavens have fallen for the community of musicians. Our world has been plunged into darkness," he said. "He was born to only give the very special gift which he was blessed with... his music. He is no longer with us, but his gift to the world - his music, will remain eternally with us," he added.

Singer Shubha Mudgal said, "There is a sense of great loss among all of us because when we travel across the world and I put in my tanpura for security checks, the security officer will look up and smile and say 'Ravi Shankar'. This is the respect he created internationally for Indian music."

The husband of Jacintha Saldanha, who allegedly committed suicide after becoming a victim of a hoax from Australian radio presenters, has informed the Indian mission in London that he would like the body to be sent to India.

"Our Mission is in touch with Saldanha's husband and is assisting in smooth completion of various formalities involved in it," official sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said.

46-year-old Jacintha, a mother of two, was found unconscious last Friday in the quarters of the King Edward VII Hospital in central London where she was working as a senior nurse. She was pronounced dead when rushed to the hospital.

Jacintha had answered the hoax call at 5.30 am on December 5, and was helping out on the reception at the time of the prank call. Giggling DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian were pretending to be the British Queen and Prince Charles and asked her if they could be put through to Kate. Then she connected them to another nurse who gave out details of the condition of 30-year-old Kate who was suffering from acute morning sickness at the London hospital. The exact cause of the death remained unclear.

As the phase one of the Gujarat polls begins tomorrow, Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt speaks to the popular Gujarati writer Gunvant Shah, who holds some strong and firm views on Narendra Modi. Read

Having put Indian music on the world map, sitar legend Ravi Shankar was worried about the future of classical music back in his native country. Few months before his sad demise, Ravi Shankar enquired about the classical music scene in India while he was in the US, said santoor player Pt Satish Vyas.

"I met him exactly two months back in the US and spent an evening with him. He was keen to know about the Indian music scene. He asked me whether concerts are being held here and classical music is getting corporate support," Vyas said.

"He was concerned that classical music should continue in a big way in India. He still wanted to do something valuable for classical music," Vyas added. Vyas was closely associated him for many years after meeting Ravi Shankar first in 1980 to ask him to perform at the Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan.

A teenage girl set herself on fire last weekend to protest Chinese occupation of Tibet. Here's looking at the centuries-long practice of self-immolation -- and why it persists from India to Vietnam to Iran. Read

12/12/12, the century's last repeating date, has triggered thousands of marriages in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and a host of other Asian nations with people rushing to tie the knot believing the day would bring good fortune through matrimony. Love lorn couples formed massive ques outside marriage registration offices in almost all Chinese cities to get their marriage certificate registered on 12/12/12, which sounds like "will love/will love/will love" in Chinese, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Pandit Ravi Shankar took Indian music global and wrote the rules of the modern Indian classical performance. Rediff.com's Sumit Bhattacharya pays personal tribute to the legend. Read

Ravi Shankar's career was followed closely in the pages of The New York Times for  more than 50 years. The classical Indian musician, who died on Tuesday at age 92, spent much of his adult life outside India, earning generations of fans in the United States and Europe, where he inspired musicians, sparked movements and won adulation. Read what the NYT has to say.

Cricketer Irfan Pathan today shared the stage with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the campaign rally of BJP, the party which is trying to appease minority community voters in the state.

During the rally for the second phase polling in the state, Irfan was seen standing besides the Chief Minister on the huge stage. Irfan, who belongs to Vadodara and has been forced out of cricketing action by an injury, waved his hands to a huge gathering of supporters, who had come to listen Modi's speech.

After Tuesday's scenes in the West Bengal Assembly, rumour mills are working overtime in Kolkata. It is being heard that there could be a split in the Trinamool Congress soon. Once one third of the TMC MLAs walk out of the party, the rumour mills say, they will elect Subrata Mukherjee as the new chief minister with the backing of the Congress and/or the Left.

A study shows that there's been significant convergence between SCs/STs (as they are widely known) and everyone else, both in educational attainment and occupational choice. This manifests itself in wages paid to SCs/STs catching up. Read

One of the enduring legacies of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who died Tuesday in the U.S. at the age of 92, was that he successfully broadened the appeal of Indian classical music abroad. But Mr Shankar himself was ambivalent about this achievement. Read what the WSJ has to say.

Russia has said that it deeply regrets North Korea's long-range rocket launch, and warned that it would do nothing to help regional stability. "Russia deeply regrets the new rocket launch undertaken by North Korea in defiance of international opinion, including calls by Moscow," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "The launch would not help the strengthening of stability and would have a negative effect on the situation in the region," it added.

Zee Group chief Subhash Chandra tells a Delhi court that he will undergo lie detector test in the alleged Rs 100 crore extortion bid case. Zee editors Samir Ahluwalia and Sudhir Chaudhary were sent to judicial custody till December 22 after their two-day police custody ended on Monday. The Crime branch on Monday, moved applications seeking lie detection and voice samples tests to be conducted on the editors and its head Subhash Chandra. Police claim that scientific tests were required as they have all given conflicting versions of the story.

If you've always cast an envious eye to actress Sonam Kapoor's sumptuous wardrobe, you're in luck. Starting Monday, December 24, Perniaspopupshop.com, the e-commerce website run by Kapoor's go-to-stylist Pernia Qureshi, will put up 60 pieces from Kapoor's wardrobe on the site.

They include labels like Diesel, Topshop, French Connection, Manish Arora, Alexander McQueen, Ayesha Depala, Alice + Olivia, Anamika Khanna (see dress in image), All Saints, Halston, Amit Aggarwal, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna, Nikasha, Missoni, worn to, among other events, fashion shows, movie premieres and red carpet events.

All proceeds from the sale will go to The Smile Foundation, which helps under priveleged children across India. Prices will range from Rs1,500 and Rs 40,000. More

Under fire after back-to-back defeats in the home series against England, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is unhappy with Gautam Gambhir's "attitude and on-field ethics" and has lodged a complaint to the BCCI against the left-hander, a media report claimed today.

Dhoni feels that Gambhir puts his interest above the team and has become too self-centred. The Indian captain has gone to the extent of lodging a complaint to the BCCI tagging the opener's approach as "selfish" and "hurtful to the team", 'cricketnext' website reported, quoting an Indian player who pleaded anonymity.

"Of late Gambhir has gone into a shell and focusing on just to save his place in the team. His prolonged poor form has resulted in low self-esteem and he's cut off from other issues pertaining to the team," the player was quoted as saying.

Earlier in the day, BSP chief Mayawati shocked the Rajya Sabha by telling Chairman Hamid Ansari that he is "not seen" in the House in the afternoon after which the House is not allowed to function.

"I am not ready to listen to anything. We have seen in the last few days that every day the House is not allowed to function after 12 pm. It is your responsibility to ensure that it functions. Who will ensure that it functions," she told the Chair from the Well as also from her seat.

"You are not seen here after 12 pm. What kind of House is this? You have to take decision that what has to be done for this (ensuring the functioning of the House)," the BSP chief said.

She was protesting against the frequent disruption over a bill for providing reservation in promotion to SC/STs in government jobs, an issue that has seen the party at loggerheads with the Samajwadi Party, its arch detractor in UP politics. The protest by the BSP on the quota issue saw the House being adjourned twice before lunch.

Mayawati's party colleagues started shouting 'dalit virodhi ye sarkar nahi chalegi' (anti-dalit government is not acceptable). A visibly upset Ansari adjourned the House till noon. When the House reassembled, BSP members again trooped into the Well shouting anti-government slogans.

Proceedings in Parliament touched a new low today with BSP chief Mayawati stunning the Rajya Sabha by her outbursts against Chairman Hamid Ansari over its frequent disruptions, because of which both Houses could not function for the third consecutive day. Mayawati, agitated over delay in consideration of a bill for providing quota for SCs/STs in government job promotions, targeted Ansari over disorder in the House for several days.

While she shocked Rajya Sabha, her party MPs paralysed Lok Sabha demanding clarification on coal block allocation. Mayawati's outburst in the Upper House came at around 11:30 am when Question Hour was in progress and Commerce and Textile Minister Anand Sharma was replying to queries. She, along with her party colleagues, rushed into the House and started venting her ire even before taking her seat.

"We have seen in the last few days that every day the House is not allowed to function after 12 pm. You are Chairman of the House. It is your responsibility to ensure that it functions," the BSP supremo said addressing Ansari.
 
Mayawati says outburst in Rajya Sabha was the first tough step, next step will be decided at an appropriate time.

A stunning slide show of Ravi Shankar from 1920 to 2010, on the LA Times. Watch

And the obituary, also on the LA Times. Read

Ravi Shankar discusses his show at Long Beach's Terrace Theater, George Harrison, daughter Norah Jones, Philip Glass and more. Readthe March 2012 interview on the LA Times.

Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain on Ravi Shankar's death: Today he left us to go make heaven a better place. Beings like him just go back to heaven to take their place amongst gods. Safe travels, Uncle

Catherine Nixey's interview with Ravi Shankar on August 16, 2011 on the Times, London.

"Brilliant though his career has been, there is a slight sense that circumstances have in some ways circumscribed his own reputation: that Shankar the sitar player is too often known as Norah Jones' father or The Beatles' Indian accessory. I ask if he fears that in popularising his music, he cheapened it?

"That's what people in India, who loved my music for what it was [thought]. Many were hurt that I was becoming pop music; many people thought I became the fifth Beatle. But I kept my music as it was."

Despite his influence on The Beatles, he seems underwhelmed by them. "I knew very little about them,' he says, "but some of Paul McCartney's singing, or John's, was fantastic."

Shankar is much more enthusiastic about Otis Redding ("beautiful') and Janis Joplin ("though she was crazy"). He also stresses his love for the "fantastic' young people who liked his music then. Still, he is much keener to speak about his classical work, volunteering mentions of connections and collaborations with Mehta and Menuhin, as well as Andr Previn, Isaac Stern and "many very world famous musicians."

Pic: Ravi Shankar with George Harrison

Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar wore an oxygen mask for his last public performance at the California State University at Long Beach in the US on November four as he was suffering from respiratory problem.

"Panditji had his last public performance with an oxygen mask on before a select audience at the Performing Art Centre of the University on November 4 with daughter Anoushka," his one-time secretary and close associate Rabin Pal told PTI. The legendary sitar artiste died today at a hospital in San Diego in the US. "Despite his serious respiratory problem, Panditji hardly refused request for performance. So he had to put on an oxygen mask before the performance," Pal said, adding the California programme had been cancelled thrice earlier due to his poor health condition.

Pic: A photograph of Pt Ravi Shankar from the seventies

Anoushka Shankar on Norah Jones. Read the story of Pt Ravi Shankar's daughters on the Daily Mail. 

Oprah Winfrey's 2003 interview with Norah Jones, Pt Ravi Shankar's daughter, after her Grammy win. 

Oprah: Much ado was made about the fact that at the Grammys, you didn't thank your father. I completely understand thatbut can you explain?

Norah: I thanked everybodymy mom and my entire family. My dad is included in that. My mom was involved in the daily stress of making this record. We talk every day on the phone, no matter what. I talk to my dad every five months, so it's not like I dissed him by not singling him out. I didn't think it was appropriate for me to thank him, because he didn't help me with the record. It's not that he isn't supportiveit's just that I don't talk to him that often.

Oprah: Was he a big part of your life growing up?

Norah: He wasn't, though we've gotten close in the last five years and I love him very much. The fact that people made such a big deal of me not thanking him is ridiculous. The press in India had a heyday. They used words I've never used, like "deadbeat dad." It's sad.

Oprah: How does it make him feel?

Norah: Pretty bad. But I haven't said any of those thingsthe press just twisted it all.

Read the full interview here.

So, Pakistani microbiologist Mohammed Khalil Chishti was today acquitted by the Supreme Court of the murder charge in a 20-year-old criminal case and was allowed to return home without any restriction.

However, the apex court declined to interfere with his conviction for voluntarily causing hurt under section 324 of the Indian Penal Code and served him with the sentence already undergone by him in prison.

A bench of justices P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi noted that 82-year-old Chishti was in the jail for almost one year during his stay in the country and "ends of justice will be met by serving him with the period of imprisonment already undergone".

While clearing him of the murder charge, the bench said there was no scope for applying section 34 of the IPC which deals with the offence of common intention.

Pandit Bickram Ghosh, tabla player, fusion artiste and a long associate of Pandit Ravi Shankar speaks to Rediff.com:

"My heart is too heavy at the moment. I am yet to come to terms with the fact that Panditji is no more. For, he was a part of the family, if not more. My father, tabla maestro Pandit Shankar Ghosh, was very close to Panditji. I have seen him since birth. In a way, I grew up on his music.

Panditji was a pioneer. He was the Alexander Graham Bell of Indian music. He experimented with the genre with an effortless ease and achieved for Indian music a permanent place on the global map. Now, people like us are touring the world, coordinating with our foreign counterparts, and carrying our creativity to every corner. But we should never forget that it is possible only because of Panditji. His was an insatiable thirst for perfection. I am yet to come across any musician who is as mesmerizing and as dedicated as him. He did not only play the Sitar -- the instrument kind of grew on him.

Panditji was an iconoclast. He never walked the old path. Rather, he paved new ways for Indian music by introducing a number of ragas and tals. I am fortunate enough to have enjoyed a long 11 years of professional relationship with him. And all those years will be treasured in my heart as long as I live.

As I played with him, I was floored by his simplicity and humility. Perhaps, such virtues are essential for a man of his stature. Today, the world lost one of its brightest musical stars. Indian music should observe silence for some time today to pay tribute to Panditji."

Pt Bickram Ghosh spoke to Rediff.com's Indrani Roy.

Kathak exponent Pt Birju Maharaj said: "He was the king of tunes and rhythms. I am in Los Angeles and wanted to meet him. He said a few days ago that he was not well. I'm really sad after hearing this. We have lost a big star. There are a lot of memories attached to him. I used to play tabla with him at his Feroze Shah house. His blessings were always with me."

Flautist Hari Prasad Chaurasia remembered the times he performed with Shankar at concerts. "I started crying when I heard the news. I am still learning music under Annapurna Devi, who was Shankar's first wife. I was also associated with Allauddin Khan, who taught Shankar as well. "He and I used to work in the film industry and outside. We did 55 concerts together. I remember each and every moment spent with him. I learnt so much from him also. His hard work and love for Indian culture have made him a legendary musician," Chaurasia said.

Mourning Pt Ravi Shankar's death, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said India has lost a distinguished son.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said, "With the death of Panditji, an era in classical music has come to an end. He was truly a multi-faceted personality. Through his passion for music, he linked generations together and taught the world the role and relevance of music in our lives. "Through the strings of his sitar he presented to the world, the richness of Indian classical tradition in music. His innovations gave us a perfect blend of jugalbandi of different musical traditions, he said.

Lata Mangeshkar said, "He was a worshipper of Lord Krishna and was like the lord for us. We used to talk about everything. The classical sun of India has set and a darkness has come over. There is no artist who spread Indian music this rapidly across the world. He was unique and was a blessed soul."

Classical musician Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, who was a disciple of Ravi Shankar, told PTI, "This is the saddest day of my life. I was one of his closest... he was a fatherly figure to me and took care of me. He was one musician with whom every artiste wanted to collaborate. He was so energetic and enthusiastic about life."

Santoor player Shivkumar Sharma said, "It's a loss for the whole world. He was a global musician. Musicians like him are rarely born. I am very fortunate that I know him from half a century."

Pop changes week to week, month to month. But great music is like literature, Ravi Shankar famously said. 

When Pandit Ravi Shankar received the Bharat Ratna in 1999, Hindustani vocalist Pandit Jasraj had criticised him saying the sitarist had lobbied to get the award.
This is a reaction to that story. Read

It seems so long ago that television stations began their day at a particular hour in the morning and ended it at a particular hour in the evening allowing us to go to sleep peacefully. Back in the days before satellite TV, Doordarshan began its proceedings at 6 am with this signature tune, a variation of  Iqbal's Saare jahaan se achcha, composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar with Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan.
Listen.

Dr Manmohan Singh:  Prime Minister condoles the passing away of Pandit Ravishankar - A national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage.

Michael Fisher: #RIPRaviShankar. Father of #NorahJones, influenced #TheBeatles, Indian music superstar passes at 92

Purba Ray:  Anyone who can spell sitar, will now have an opinion on Pandit Ravi Shankar and his music.

Uaaau: Yes he gave us Norah Jones.But you shall be kicked in the face if you eulogise him like that.RIP Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Ambassador Rao:  Pandit Ravi Shankar.Mourn passing of a musical genius and gentle soul. Attended his last concert Nov in Calif. He played with such passion.

Milind Deora:  Being a maestro wasn't his only achievement. Pandit Ravi Shankar sold Brand India better than anyone else. RIP

A.R.Rahman: Indian Classical Music has lost it's chief ambassador & India has lost it's Bharat Ratna..May God bless his soul !

Shobhaa De: The sitar silenced.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Pandit Ravi Shankar was a legend in music and he took classical music to new heights.

Just in case you wanted to know: Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till noon after uproar over the BSP's charge that Chairman Hamid Ansari remains absent from House after Question Hour.

More on Pandit Ravi Shankar: The Bharat Ratna awardee started as a dancer with the group of his brother Uday Shankar but gave it up in 1938 to learn sitar under Allauddin Khan. During the tour of Uday's dance group in Europe and America in the early to mid-1930s, Shankar discovered Western classical music, jazz, and cinema, and became acquainted with Western customs.

The music doyen composed his first raga in 1945 and embarked on a prolific recording career. In the 1950s and 1960s, he became the unofficial international ambassador for Indian music, enthralling audiences in the USSR, Japan, North America.

However, it was his association with Harisson that got him international stardom. In the 1970s, they collaborated on two albums and toured the USA together.

Martin Scorsese's George Harrison documentary is in cinemas for one night only on Tuesday 4 October. Here is a selection of images from the accompanying book by Olivia Harrison, published by Abrams. Read

Musician Kabir Suman tells a Bengali channel that when he was in New York, a black taxi driver refused to take money from him saying, he couldn't ask money from a person who came from Pandit Ravi Shankar's country. 

And here is the YouTube video of George Harrison's sitar lessons with (a very young) Pandit Ravi Shankar. Watch

Pandit Ravi Shankar's title music for Satyajit Ray's debut film Pather Panchali. Listen

Amala Shankar, dancer and wife of the late Uday Shankar, sister-in-law of Pandit Ravi Shankar speaking to Indrani Roy of Rediff.com:

"I lost my brother this morning. Ravi was a caring friend, a loving brother, a compassionate musician and our competent dance partner. Life is so unjust. How can he die before me? He was younger to me by a year. 

"It was because of the affection showered on me by Ravi and my mother-in-law Hemangini Devi that I could adjust easily at my in-laws' place. Ravi had a beautiful mind. He was a patient observer and had a keen soul for music. I think he understood only language -- that of music.

"With his demise, music has lost one of its most dedicated servants. Today is the saddest day of my life. Wish I were with Ravi in his last moments. My heart goes out to his family. May his children carry his legacy with full fervour."

Listening to Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, more popularly known as Pandit Ravi Shankar, has always been an ethereal experience. Listen to Panditji playing for an incredibly lucky audience in Bengaluru with his daughter, Anoushka.
Here you go.

We'll get back to more updates on Pandit Ravi Shakar in a bit, but first, in other news...  

-- Irfan Pathan joins Gujarat CM Narendra Modi at his rally in Kheda

-- SC acquits 82-year-old Pakistani microbiologist Mohammed Khalil Chishti of murder chargeSC directs authorities to return all documents, including
passport to Chishti who is free to return to Pakistan without any restriction.

-- Oil minister Veerappa Moily says the government is yet to take a decision on raising the cap on supply of LPG. "Nothing will be done behind the back of the EC," says Moily.

Pandit Ravi Shakar is a three-time Grammy award winner, and last performed in California on November 4 along with his daughter Anoushka Shankar. Shankar has also been nominated for the 2013 Grammys for his album "The Living Room Sessions Part-1" and was pitted against Anoushka in the same category.

He developed a characteristic sitar sound, with powerful bass notes and a serene and spiritual touch in the alap movement of a raga. The sitar virtuoso was responsible for incorporating many aspects of Carnatic (south Indian) music into the north Indian system, especially its mathematical approach to rhythm. He also gave a new prominence to the tabla player in concert.

He was appointed Director of Music at the Indian People's Theatre Association, and later held the same position at All India Radio (1949'"56). He composed his first new raga in 1945 (30 more would follow) and began a prolific recording career. The music doyen wrote a new melody for Mohammed Iqbal's patriotic poem 'Sare Jahan Se Accha'.

Pandit Ravi Shankar has authored violin-sitar compositions for Yehudi Menuhin and himself, music for flute virtuoso Jean Pierre Rampal, music for Hosan Yamamoto, master of the Shakuhachi and Musumi Miyashita - Koto virtuoso, and has collaborated with Phillip Glass (Passages).

Harrison produced and participated in two record albums, "Shankar Family & Friends" and "Festival of India" both composed by Shankar. Shankar also composed for ballets and films in India, Canada, Europe and the United States. The latter of which includes the films "Charly," "Gandhi," and the "Apu Trilogy". A Magsaysay award winner, Shankar was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1986.

Pic: The Washington Post page 1 today.

Tributes to Pandit Ravi Shankar from across the world.

This is what the New York Times says on its front page.  Read

The Guardian, London, calls him the Godfather of world music (which is actually what George Harrison had labelled him). Read

And the Washington Post's front page story: Sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar dies at 92. Read

Sukanya and Anoushka Shankar's joint statement:

"As you all know, his health has been fragile for the past several years and on Thursday he underwent a surgery that could have potentially given him a new lease of life.

"Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the surgeons and doctors taking care of him, his body was not able to withstand the strain of the surgery. We were at his side when he passed away.

"We know that you all feel our loss with us, and we thank you for all of your prayers and good wishes through this difficult time. Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as a part of our lives. His spirit and his legacy will live on forever in our hearts and in his music."

And another icon has passed away, classical vocalist Manas Chakraborty passes away at 71. 

Pandit Ravi Shankar, whose health had been fragile for the past several years, underwent a surgery last Thursday at the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California where he breathed his last.

The music icon was admitted to the hospital last week when he complained of breathlessness. "It is with heavy hearts we write to inform you that Pandit Ravi Shankar, husband, father, and musical soul, passed away today," his wife and daughter, Sukanya and Anoushka Shankar, said in a joint statement.

A recipient of the Bharat Ratna in 1996, Shankar maintained residences in both India and the United States. He is survived by his wife Sukanya; daughter Norah Jones; daughter Anoushka Shankar Wright and husband Joe Wright; three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Pt Ravi Shankar's niece (elder brother legendary dancer Uday Shankar's daughter) Mamata Shankar was sobbing uncontrollably when Rediff.com spoke to her this morning. "I am shocked. The idea is yet to sink in. I would have liked to see him once, but that is not possible. His death created a vacuum that can never ever be fulfilled. It feels like I lost my father again this morning..."

-- Mamata Shankar spoke to Rediff.com's Indrani Roy.  

"I saw some music videos by Lady Gaga recently. I admire her theatricality -- she is a very intelligent performer," said Pt Ravi Shankar in an interview to the Guardian newspaper last year. Read

The UN Security Council today condemned the arrest of Mali's prime minister by the armed forces and renewed a threat to impose sanctions on those who threaten the country's "constitutional order." UN leader Ban Ki-moon is also "troubled" by the new turmoil in the African nation, where Islamist militants and rebels have taken over half the country, his spokesman said. 

Malian Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra quit today under pressure from influential former putschists, a move slammed by the international community that urged the swift formation of a new government. 

A Chicago man has been sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for plotting to attend a Somalia training camp with dreams of becoming a suicide bomber for al-Qaida and another terrorist group, al-Shabab.  

British bank HSBC intentionally broke American sanctions on Iran and other countries while also laundering Mexican drug money, the US today said, as the banking major was to pay USD 1.92 billion to settle the allegations. 

A top-secret mini-space shuttle has blasted off from Cape Canaveral in the US The Air Force launched the unmanned spacecraft today aboard an Atlas V rocket. It's the second flight for this original X-37B spaceplane. It circled the planet for seven months in 2010. 

Israeli forces raided the West Bank offices of three Palestinian non-governmental organisations overnight, confiscating computers and other material, one of them said today. "At 3:00 am (0630 IST) this morning, 11 December 2012, the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights office was raided by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)," the group said on its website.

British bank HSBC intentionally broke US sanctions on Iran and other countries and laundered Mexican drug money, the US today said, and assessed a whooping USD 1.9 billion in penalties on the banking giant. 

Former South African President Nelson Mandela, who is 94 and has been in hospital since Saturday for tests, has suffered a recurrence of a lung infection but is responding to treatment, the government said on Tuesday.

Egypt's army chief called for talks on national unity to end the country's mounting political crisis after a vital loan from the IMF was delayed and thousands of pro- and anti-government demonstrators took to the streets.