Ravi Shankar is a sitar player, who has not only
spellbound people in India, but mesmerized people all across the globe
with his fabulous musical performances. He was instrumental in taking
the Indian classical music to the western world. He is a performer,
teacher, and writer but is best known as an instrumentalist. He is truly
a multifaceted personality. Well, in this article, we have provided you
with the biography of Pandit Ravi Shankar, which will give you a
valuable insight into his life history.
Life
Pandit Ravi Shankar was born to a Bengali Brahmin family on April 7,
1920 in Varanasi. His father was a renowned barrister, who traveled
extensively throughout his life. His elder brother Uday Shankar was an
eminent Indian classical dancer. When Ravi Shankar was 10 years old, he
moved to Paris along with his brother Uday. When he was only a teenager,
he started playing sitar in the dance shows of his brother Uday.
At the age of 21, he was married to a 14 year old girl named Annapurna
Devi, the daughter of his own teacher Baba Allauddin Khan. The couple
was blessed with a son, who was named Shubhendra Shankar. After twenty
years, their marriage broke and the couple got divorced. With the
passage of time, Ravi Shankar became close to Sue Jones, the American
concert promoter. However, they did not tie their wedding knots. They
had a daughter Norah Jones, who is a song writer. In the later years of
his life, he got married to one of his admirers Sukanya Rajan, from whom
he had a daughter Anoushka. Anoushka is also a sitar player. At times,
father-daughter both perform together in music concerts.
Musical Career
Pundit Ravi Shankar took his formal training in music under the guidance
of Ustad Allauddin Khan of Maihar from the period between 1938 and 1944.
He composed two concertos for orchestra and Sitar. In the year 1967, he
established the Kinnara School of Indian music in Los Angeles. In 1976,
he founded the Research Institute for Music and Performing Arts in
Varanasi. His remarkable works have earned him lot of praise and
appreciation. He has won many accolades for his praiseworthy
performances such as ''Magsaysay Award'', ''Padma Vibhushan'', two
Grammy awards, ''Desikottam'' and many more.
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Music of India |
