Ravi Shankar
Indian sitarist who popularized classical music globally.
Pandit Ravi Shankar was an Indian sitarist and composer, widely recognized as the world's best-known exponent of Indian classical music in the second half of the 20th century. He influenced many musicians in India and throughout the world, and was awarded India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1999.
Quick Facts
- Honorific Prefix
- Pandit
- Birth Name
- Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury
- Birth Date
- 1920-04-07
- Birth Place
- Banaras, Banaras State, British India
- Death Date
- 2012-12-11
- Death Place
- San Diego, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Musician / composer
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Ravi Shankar was born in Benares (now Varanasi) in a Bengali Hindu family, the youngest of four brothers: Uday, Rajendra, Debendra, and Ravi. His father, Shyam Shankar Chowdhury, was a barrister and scholar who served as dewan of Jhalawar State. Shankar spent his first decade in Benares, then at age 10 went to Paris with the dance group of his brother Uday Shankar. By 13 he was a member, touring Europe and the United States, learning dance and various Indian instruments. He heard Allauddin Khan play in 1934 and later trained under him in Maihar, studying sitar, surbahar, and multiple ragas and styles. He made his public sitar debut in December 1939 in a duet with Ali Akbar Khan.
Reader's Guide
Ravi Shankar's significance lies in his role as a bridge between Indian classical music and Western audiences. After completing his training in 1944, he worked as a composer for the Indian People's Theatre Association and as music director for All India Radio from 1949 to 1956. He then toured Europe and America, increasing the popularity of Indian classical music in the 1960s through performances, teaching, and associations with Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison. His influence on Harrison helped popularize Indian instruments in Western pop music. Shankar also composed for the Apu Trilogy and the film Gandhi, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1992 and continued performing until his death. His legacy includes four Grammy Awards and the Polar Music Prize.
Did You Know?
- Shankar was the father of American singer Norah Jones and British-American sitarist Anoushka Shankar.
- He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor, in 1999.
- He composed the music for the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray.
- The album The Concert for Bangladesh won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1973, but the award was credited to George Harrison and Friends, not Ravi Shankar as a primary artist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ravi Shankar?
Pandit Ravi Shankar (1920–2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer who became the most globally recognized voice of Indian classical music during the second half of the 20th century. His performances and recordings introduced raga-based traditions to audiences far beyond the Indian subcontinent.
What instrument is Ravi Shankar most famous for playing?
He was a virtuoso of the sitar, a long-necked, plucked-string instrument central to Hindustani classical music. His technique on the sitar—blending rapid melodic runs with sustained, resonant tones—set a benchmark that countless later players still reference.
How did Ravi Shankar influence Western popular music?
His friendship and mentorship of George Harrison in the mid-1960s brought the sitar into the Beatles' recordings and, by extension, into mainstream rock and pop. That single connection opened a door through which a generation of Western artists began exploring Indian melodic and rhythmic ideas.
What is the highest honor Ravi Shankar received in India?
In 1999 he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the Republic of India's most prestigious civilian distinction. The award recognized decades of work that elevated Indian classical music to an international stage.
Did Ravi Shankar compose for the silver screen?
Yes—he wrote the musical scores for Satyajit Ray's celebrated Apu Trilogy, a set of three films exploring a young man's coming of age in rural Bengal. That work showed his range beyond concert performance, weaving classical textures into narrative cinema.
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