Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar passes away
December 12, 2012 09:42
Just in: Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, who had been unwell since some time, passed away in San Diego, US on Wednesday
He was 92.
The maestro at his best
When Pandit Ravi Shankar was beckoned to the West thanks mainly to The Beatles in the 1960s, many purists in India thought he had betrayed his musical heritage. But the sitarist and composer proved them wrong as his reputation grew steadily.
He was perhaps the first Indian to realise music had become globalized, and that a classic musician from one country could do profound work joining hands with someone like renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin.
The maestro, who has also scored music for several Hollywood films including Charly and the British epic Gandhi, has also successfully launched the musical career of his daughter Anoushka.
In India, he composed the music for Satyajit Ray's landmark films comprising the Apu trilogy in the 1950s.
Even while living in the West, he made time to compose music for a handful of Indian films, like the Gulzar-directed Meera. He has also remained the voice of reason in the Indian community, decrying the efforts of fundamentalists in India.
In India, he composed the music for Satyajit Ray's landmark films comprising the Apu trilogy in the 1950s.
Even while living in the West, he made time to compose music for a handful of Indian films, like the Gulzar-directed Meera. He has also remained the voice of reason in the Indian community, decrying the efforts of fundamentalists in India.
Shankar was much more than a celebrated musician. He backed many progressive causes, and his concert for not-yet-born Bangladesh, along with George Harrison at Madison Square Garden in New York, helped raise the consciousness of the world at large to the plight of ordinary people in that country.
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