Indian sitarist and composer
Ravi Shankar(1920 — 2012)
Ravi Shankar
Raj britannique, Inde
8 min read
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
Works & Achievements
One of the most celebrated ragas performed by Shankar, it perfectly illustrates the ornamental richness and improvisatory depth of Hindustani music. His recordings of this raga are considered definitive references in the genre.
A pioneering work bringing together sitar and Western orchestra, seeking to create a genuine dialogue between two musical traditions without reducing either to the other. It paved the way for many intercultural collaborations.
A documentary tracing the life and musical philosophy of Ravi Shankar, produced with the support of George Harrison. The film allowed millions of Western viewers to understand the spiritual foundations of Indian classical music.
A landmark collaboration between violinist Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar, awarded a Grammy Award. The album symbolizes a respectful dialogue between two great musical traditions of the world.
An album produced by George Harrison bringing together Vedic hymns and mantras set to music by Ravi Shankar. A work of musical spirituality, it expresses the sacred dimension at the heart of his entire artistic vision.
The last album recorded by Ravi Shankar just months before his death, in an intimate setting. It stands as his musical testament, playing ragas in their purest and most stripped-back form.
Anecdotes
In 1966, Ravi Shankar met George Harrison of the Beatles at a concert in London. Harrison, fascinated by the sitar sound he had already used on 'Norwegian Wood', asked Shankar to teach him the instrument. This meeting helped spark a genuine craze for Indian music in the West.
At the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, Ravi Shankar was one of the few artists to receive a standing ovation from the American audience. He was astonished to see spectators lighting lighters and rising to their feet — a rock custom he was encountering for the first time, and one that moved him deeply.
In 1971, Ravi Shankar organized the Concert for Bangladesh with George Harrison, one of the first major humanitarian concerts in rock history. Before 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York, he opened the show with a raga, demanding absolute silence from the audience — and receiving it.
Ravi Shankar was appointed a member of the Indian Parliament (Rajya Sabha) in 1986, an exceptional honor for a musician. He viewed music as a spiritual act as much as an artistic one, saying that playing the sitar was for him a form of daily prayer offered to God.
His daughter Norah Jones, born in 1979 from his relationship with American pianist Sue Jones, was long unaware of her father's identity. She did not truly meet him until her teenage years. She would go on to become a globally acclaimed jazz singer, embodying the intercultural transmission of musical art.
Primary Sources
Since my earliest childhood, music has been my life. It is my religion, my love, my breath. The sitar is not just an instrument to me — it is the voice of my soul.
I was born in Varanasi, the holy city, and it is there that I understood music to be inseparable from the sacred. Each raga corresponds to a time of day, a season, an emotion of the human soul.
Classical Indian music is a heritage spanning several millennia. My only wish is to be its faithful messenger to all the nations of the world.
The West discovered our music as an exotic curiosity in the 1960s, but today there is a genuine dialogue. That is what I sought my entire life: not a superficial fusion, but a deep and respectful exchange.
Key Places
Ravi Shankar's birthplace, one of the oldest cities in the world and a major center of Hindu spirituality. This holy city on the banks of the Ganges profoundly shaped his vision of music as a spiritual practice.
The city where Ravi Shankar underwent his intensive seven-year apprenticeship under the master Allauddin Khan. It was here, between 1938 and 1944, that he developed his technique and musical sensibility.
The institution where Ravi Shankar served as music director from 1949 to 1956, enabling him to broadcast classical Indian music across the entire country and compose for numerous national productions.
Venue of the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971, organized by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison to raise funds for Bangladeshi refugees. It was one of the most significant humanitarian concerts in history.
A cultural center founded by Ravi Shankar in 2002 to promote the classical arts of India, hosting concerts, training programs, and intercultural exchanges. It remains a living venue for the transmission of his legacy.
