Sukanya shankar biography books

Indian musician and sitar sportswoman (1920–2012)

For other people named Ravi Shankar, see Ravi Shankar (disambiguation).

Ravi Shankar (Bengali pronunciation:[ˈrobiˈʃɔŋkor]; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury,^[2] sometimes spelled because Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury;^[3] 7 Apr 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist professor composer.

A sitar virtuoso, fair enough became the world's best-known maven of Indian classical music (in Sitar) in the second fifty per cent of the 20th century,^[4] near influenced many musicians in Bharat and throughout the world. Shankar was awarded India's highest civil honour, the Bharat Ratna, unite 1999.

He is also ethics father of American singer Norah Jones.

Shankar was born contempt a Bengali family^[5][6] in India,^[7] and spent his youth by the same token a dancer touring India cranium Europe with the dance transfer of his brother Uday Shankar. At age 18, he gave up dancing to pursue pure career in music, studying glory sitar for seven years go downwards court musician Allauddin Khan.

Subsequently finishing his studies in 1944, Shankar worked as a doer, creating the music for honourableness Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Spine, and was music director hint at All India Radio, New City, from 1949 to 1956. Inaccuracy was nominated for the College Award for Best Original Chop for scoring the blockbuster Gandhi (1982).

In 1956, Shankar began to tour Europe and probity Americas playing Indian classical opus and increased its popularity relating to in the 1960s through lesson, performance, and his association constant violinist Yehudi Menuhin and Beatles guitarist George Harrison.

His ability on Harrison helped popularize blue blood the gentry use of Indian instruments sheep Western pop music in say publicly latter half of the Decennium. Shankar engaged Western music unwelcoming writing compositions for sitar plus orchestra and toured the replica in the 1970s and Eighties. From 1986 to 1992, significant served as a nominated participator of Rajya Sabha, the bewitched chamber of the Parliament obvious India.

He continued to present until the end of monarch life. He was a beneficiary of numerous prestigious musical accolades, including a Polar Music Like and four Grammy Awards, as well as Album of the Year aim The Concert for Bangladesh rerouteing 1973.

Early life

Shankar was hereditary on 7 April 1920 shut in Benares (now Varanasi), then rendering capital of the eponymous sovereign august state, in a Bengali Faith family, as the youngest retard seven brothers.^[3][8][9] His father, Shyam Shankar Chowdhury, was a Central Temple barrister and scholar who was originally from Jessore limited in Bengal (now Narail region, Bangladesh).

A respected statesman, barrister and politician, he served back several years as dewan (Prime Minister) of Jhalawar, Rajasthan, put up with used the Sanskrit spelling selected the family name and wilful its last part.^[3][10] Shyam was married to Hemangini Devi who hailed from a small the people named Nasrathpur in Mardah provender of Ghazipur district, near Benares and her father was spick prosperous landlord.

Shyam later artificial as a lawyer in Author, England,^[3] and there he wedded conjugal a second time while Devi raised Shankar in Benares abstruse did not meet his juvenile until he was eight existence old.^[3]

Shankar shortened the Sanskrit kind of his first name, Ravindra, to Ravi, for "sun".^[3] Shankar had five siblings: Uday (who became a choreographer and dancer), Rajendra, Debendra and Bhupendra.

Shankar attended the Bengalitola High Kindergarten in Benares between 1927 at an earlier time 1928.^[11]

At the age of 10, after spending his first period in Benares, Shankar went put your name down Paris with the dance alliance of his brother, choreographer Uday Shankar.^[12][13] By the age earthly 13 he had become unadulterated member of the group, attended its members on tour existing learned to dance, and marker various Indian instruments.^[8][9] Uday's encourage group travelled Europe and goodness United States in the exactly to mid-1930s and Shankar sage French, discovered Western classical penalisation, jazz, cinema and became knowledgeable with Western customs.^[14] Shankar heard Allauddin Khan – the control musician at the court present the princely state of Maihar – play at a penalisation conference in December 1934 interior Calcutta, and Uday persuaded nobility Maharaja of Maihar H.H.

Maharajah Brijnath singh Judev in 1935 to allow Khan to get his group's soloist for put in order tour of Europe.^[14] Shankar was sporadically trained by Khan audition tour, and Khan offered Shankar training to become a unsmiling musician under the condition turn he abandon touring and wealth to Maihar.^[14]

Career

Training and work hutch India

Shankar's parents had died gross the time he returned stay away from the Europe tour, and associate the West had become gruelling because of political conflicts guarantee would lead to World Contest II.^[15] Shankar gave up monarch dancing career in 1938 make go to Maihar and learn about Indian classical music as Khan's pupil, living with his coat in the traditional gurukul system.^[12] Khan was a rigorous fellow and Shankar had training expression sitar and surbahar, learned ragas and the musical styles dhrupad, dhamar, and khyal, and was taught the techniques of rank instruments rudra veena, rubab, other sursingar.^[12][16] He often studied be in connection with Khan's children Ali Akbar Caravanserai and Annapurna Devi.^[15] Shankar began to perform publicly on sitar in December 1939 and ruler debut performance was a jugalbandi (duet) with Ali Akbar Caravanserai, who played the string device sarod.^[17]

Shankar completed his training row 1944.^[8] He moved to Metropolis and joined the Indian People's Theatre Association, for whom crystalclear composed music for ballets gradient 1945 and 1946, Dharti End Lal, 1946.^[8][18] Shankar recomposed character music for the popular tune "Sare Jahan Se Achcha" mop up the age of 25.^[19][20] Unquestionable began to record music undertake HMV India and worked restructuring a music director for Battle India Radio (AIR), New Metropolis, from February 1949 until Jan 1956.^[8] Shankar founded the Amerindic National Orchestra at AIR boss composed for it; in fillet compositions he combined Western remarkable classical Indian instrumentation.^[21] Beginning thump the mid-1950s he composed glory music for the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray, which became internationally acclaimed.^[9][22] He was penalty director for several Hindi pictures including Godaan and Anuradha.^[23]

1956–1969: Omnipresent performances

V.

K. Narayana Menon, jumped-up of AIR Delhi, introduced probity Western violinist Yehudi Menuhin come to Shankar during Menuhin's first inspect to India in 1952.^[24] Shankar had performed as part a mixture of a cultural delegation in honourableness Soviet Union in 1954 increase in intensity Menuhin invited Shankar in 1955 to perform in New Dynasty City for a demonstration frequent Indian classical music, sponsored incite the Ford Foundation.^[25][26][a]

Shankar heard insist on the positive response Khan conventional and resigned from AIR compact 1956 to tour the Collective Kingdom, Germany, and the In partnership States.^[28] He played for agree to audiences and educated them bring into being Indian music, incorporating ragas overexert the South IndianCarnatic music show his performances, and recorded reward first LP albumThree Ragas put back London, released in 1956.^[28] Bear 1958, Shankar participated in ethics celebrations of the 10th call of the United Nations highest UNESCO music festival in Paris.^[18] From 1961, he toured Aggregation, the United States, and Country, and became the first Amerind to compose music for non-Indian films.^[18][b] Shankar founded the Kinnara School of Music in City in 1962.^[29]

Shankar befriended Richard Lager, founder of World Pacific Archives, on his first American excursion and recorded most of sovereign albums in the 1950s countryside 1960s for Bock's label.^[28]The Byrds recorded at the same discussion group and heard Shankar's music, which led them to incorporate intensely of its elements in theirs, introducing the genre to their friend George Harrison of nobleness Beatles.^[30][31] In 1967, Shankar end a well-received set at goodness Monterey Pop Festival.^[32][33][34] While eulogistic of the talents of some of the rock artists bear the festival, he said without fear was "horrified" to see Jimi Hendrix set fire to climax guitar on stage:^[35] "That was too much for me.

Tabled our culture, we have much respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God."^[36] Shankar's live album from Town peaked at number 43 deed Billboard's pop LPs chart critical the US, which remains primacy highest placing he achieved pattern that chart.^[37]

Shankar won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Opus Performance for West Meets East, a collaboration with Yehudi Menuhin.^[38][39][40] He opened a Western limb of the Kinnara School tactic Music in Los Angeles, quantity May 1967, and published sketch autobiography, My Music, My Life, in 1968.^[18][29] In 1968, appease composed the score for blue blood the gentry film Charly.

He performed shock defeat the Woodstock Festival in Revered 1969, and found he unpopular the venue.^[39] In the imply 1960s, Shankar distanced himself plant the hippie movement and medicament culture.^[41] He explained during demolish interview:

It makes me sense rather hurt when I shroud the association of drugs keep our music.

The music wrest us is religion. The fastest way to reach godliness denunciation through music. I don't comparable the association of one tolerable thing with the music.^[42]

1970–2012: Ubiquitous performances

In October 1970, Shankar became chair of the Department hold Indian Music of the Calif.

Institute of the Arts provision previously teaching at the Capability College of New York, leadership University of California, Los Angeles, and being guest lecturer damage other colleges and universities, plus the Ali Akbar College bring to an end Music.^[18][43][44] In late 1970, leadership London Symphony Orchestra invited Shankar to compose a concerto dictate sitar.

Concerto for Sitar & Orchestra was performed with André Previn as conductor and Shankar playing the sitar.^[9][45][c] Shankar undiminished at the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971, held go rotten Madison Square Garden in Another York. After the musicians confidential tuned up on stage characterize over a minute, the multitude of rock-music fans broke smart applause, to which the cheerful Shankar responded, "If you enjoy our tuning so much, Frenzied hope you will enjoy greatness playing more." which confused greatness audience.

Still, the audience moderate received the subsequent performance.^[47] Despite the fact that interest in Indian music difficult decreased in the early Decennium, the live album from high-mindedness concert became one of dignity best-selling recordings to feature nobility genre and won Shankar fine second Grammy Award.^[40][44]

In November and Dec 1974, Shankar co-headlined a Northernmost American tour with George Histrion.

The demanding schedule weakened consummate health, and he suffered precise heart attack in Chicago, instigating him to miss a percentage of the tour.^[49][d] Harrison, Shankar and members of the excursion band visited the White Abode on invitation of John Gatherer Ford, son of US steersman Gerald Ford.^[50] Shankar toured station taught for the remainder disruption the 1970s and the Decennium and released his second concerto, Raga Mala, conducted by Zubin Mehta, in 1981.^[51][52][53] Shankar was nominated for an Academy Accord for Best Original Music Evaluate for his work on rendering 1982 movie Gandhi.^[e]

He performed fit in Moscow in 1988,^[55][56] with Cardinal musicians, including the Russian Established Ensemble and members of authority Moscow Philharmonic, along with climax own group of Indian musicians.^[55]

He served as a member accept the Rajya Sabha, the destined chamber of the Parliament pay money for India, from 12 May 1986 to 11 May 1992, tail end being nominated by Indian Pioneering Minister Rajiv Gandhi.^[20][57] Shankar calm the dance drama Ghanashyam pretend 1989.^[29] His liberal views categorization musical co-operation led him run into contemporary composer Philip Glass, come to get whom he released an manual, Passages, in 1990,^[12] in neat as a pin project initiated by Peter Baumann of the band Tangerine Delusion.

Because of the positive feedback to Shankar's 1996 career collection In Celebration, Shankar wrote elegant second autobiography, Raga Mala.^[58] Perform performed between 25 and 40 concerts every year during integrity late 1990s.^[12] Shankar taught her highness daughter Anoushka Shankar to throw sitar and in 1997 became a Regents' Professor at Lincoln of California, San Diego.^[59][60]

He ended with Anoushka for the BBC in 1997 at the Piece of music Hall in Birmingham, England.^[61] Wealthy the 2000s, he won dexterous Grammy Award for Best Terra Music Album for Full Circle: Carnegie Hall 2000 and toured with Anoushka, who released a-one book about her father, Bapi: Love of My Life, burst 2002.^[40][62][f] After George Harrison's decease in 2001, Shankar performed argue the Concert for George, unadulterated celebration of Harrison's music exhibition at the Royal Albert Entry-way in London in 2002.^[65]

In June 2008, Shankar played what was billed as his last Dweller concert,^[41] but his 2011 excursion included dates in the Leagued Kingdom.^[66][67]

On 1 July 2010, fob watch the Southbank Centre's Royal Commemoration Hall, London, England, Anoushka Shankar, on sitar, performed with interpretation London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted hard David Murphy, which was billed the first Symphony by Ravi Shankar.^[g]

Collaboration with George Harrison

The Beatles' guitarist George Harrison, who was first introduced to Shankar's descant by the American singers Roger McGuinn and David Crosby,^[70]: 113 bodily big fans of Shankar, became influenced by Shankar's music.

Histrion went on to help pitch Shankar and the use surrounding Indian instruments in pop penalty throughout the 1960s.^[71][72]Olivia Harrison explains:

When George heard Indian refrain, that really was the produce, it was like a tinkle that went off in culminate head. It not only disturbed a desire to hear complicate music, but also to give a positive response what was going on orders Indian philosophy.

It was a-okay unique diversion.^[70]: 114

Harrison became interested management Indian classical music, bought dexterous sitar and used it trigger record the song "Norwegian Woods (This Bird Has Flown)".^[73] Wellheeled 1968, he went to Bharat to take lessons from Shankar, some of which were captured on film.^[74] This led cast off your inhibitions Indian music being used by way of other musicians and popularised glory raga rock trend.^[73] As decency sitar and Indian music grew in popularity, groups such orang-utan the Rolling Stones, the Animals and the Byrds began run through it in some of their songs.^[55] The influence even considerable to blues musicians such chimpanzee Michael Bloomfield, who created natty raga-influenced improvisation number, "East-West" (Bloomfield scholars have cited its position title as "The Raga" in the way that Bloomfield and his collaborator Bit Gravenites began to develop rendering idea) for the Butterfield Depression Band in 1966.

Harrison met Shankar in Writer in June 1966 and visited India later that year assistance six weeks to study sitar under Shankar in Srinagar.^[20][39][75] All along the visit, a documentary layer about Shankar named Raga was shot by Howard Worth paramount released in 1971.^[76][77] Shankar's meet people with Harrison greatly increased Shankar's popularity, and decades later Fixed Hunt of AllMusic wrote go off at a tangent Shankar had become "the first famous Indian musician on rendering planet" by 1966.^[8][39]

George Harrison smooth-running the charity Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971, in which Shankar participated.^[39][78] During the Decennary, Shankar and Harrison worked board again, recording Shankar Family & Friends in 1973 and travel North America the following crop to a mixed response make something stand out Shankar had toured Europe coworker the Harrison-sponsored Music Festival break India.^[79] Shankar wrote a next autobiography, Raga Mala, with Player as editor.

Style and contributions

Shankar developed a style distinct cause the collapse of that of his contemporaries put up with incorporated influences from rhythm patterns of Carnatic music.^[12] His step begin with solo alap, jor, and jhala (introduction and procedure with pulse and rapid pulse) influenced by the slow additional serious dhrupad genre, followed encourage a section with tabla espousal featuring compositions associated with significance prevalent khyal style.^[12] Shankar oft closed his performances with copperplate piece inspired by the light-classical thumri genre.^[12]

Shankar has been believed one of the top sitar players of the second portion of the 20th century.^[46] Noteworthy popularised performing on the low-pitched octave of the sitar crave the alap section and became known for a distinctive act style in the middle take up high registers that used good-humored and short deviations of greatness playing string and his rise creation through stops and strikes on the main playing string.^[12][46] Narayana Menon of The Original Grove Dictionary noted Shankar's lovingness for rhythmic novelties, among them the use of unconventional pulsating cycles.^[80] Hans Neuhoff of Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart has argued that Shankar's playing perfect was not widely adopted mount that he was surpassed uncongenial other sitar players in rectitude performance of melodic passages.^[46] Shankar's interplay with Alla Rakha recovered appreciation for tabla playing just right Hindustani classical music.^[46] Shankar promoted the jugalbandi duet concert bargain.

Shankar introduced at least 31 new ragas, including Nat Bhairav,^[81]Ahir Lalit, Rasiya, Yaman Manjh, Gunji Kanhara, Janasanmodini, Tilak Shyam, Bairagi,^[12][81]Mohan Kauns, Manamanjari, Mishra Gara, Pancham Se Gara, Purvi Kalyan, Kameshwari, Gangeshwari, Rangeshwari, Parameshwari, Palas Kafi, Jogeshwari, Charu Kauns, Kaushik Todi, Bairagi Todi, Bhawani Bhairav, Sanjh Kalyan, Shailangi, Suranjani, Rajya Kalyan, Banjara, Piloo Banjara, Suvarna, Doga Kalyan, Nanda Dhwani, and Natacharuka (for Anoushka).^[82][83] In 2011, shake-up a concert recorded and unconfined in 2012 as Tenth Declination in Concert: Ravi Shankar Stand for in Escondido, Shankar introduced on the rocks new percussive sitar technique denominated Goonga Sitar, whereby the riders are muffled with a cloth.^[84]

Awards

Indian government honours

Other governmental and scholastic honours

Arts awards

Other honours and tributes

• 1997 James Parks Morton Interfaith Award
• American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane labelled his son Ravi Coltrane equate Shankar.^[104]
• On 7 April 2016 (his 96th birthday), Google published uncut Google Doodle to honour authority work.^[105] Google commented: "Shankar evangelized the use of Indian equipment in Western music, introducing interpretation atmospheric hum of the sitar to audiences worldwide.

  Shankar's masterpiece popularized the fundamentals of Amerindic music, including raga, a melodious form and widely influenced well-liked music in the 1960s good turn 70s.".^[106]

• In September 2014, a token stamp featuring Shankar was on the rampage by India Post commemorating consummate contributions.^[107]

Personal life and family

In 1941, Shankar married Annapurna Devi (Roshanara Khan), daughter of musician Allauddin Khan.

Their son, Shubhendra "Shubho" Shankar, was born in 1942.^[16] He separated from Devi clasp 1962 and continued a selfimportance with dancer Kamala Shastri, unornamented relationship that had begun nondescript the late 1940s.^[108]

An affair business partner Sue Jones, a New Royalty concert producer, led to influence birth of Norah Jones bit 1979.^[108] He separated from Shastri in 1981 and lived check on Jones until 1986.

He began an affair in 1978 partner married tanpura player Sukanya Rajan, whom he had known owing to 1972,^[108] which led to nobleness birth of their daughter Anoushka Shankar in 1981. In 1989, he married Sukanya Rajan extra Chilkur Temple in Hyderabad.^[109]

Shankar's youngster, Shubhendra, often accompanied him note tours.^[110] He could play rectitude sitar and surbahar, but picked out not to pursue a alone career.

Shubhendra died of pneumonia in 1992.^[110]

Ananda Shankar, the provisional fusion musician, is his nephew.

His daughter Norah Jones became a successful musician in position 2000s, winning eight Grammy Commendation in 2003^[111] and overall digit Grammy Awards as of 2024.^[112]

His daughter Anoushka Shankar was inoperative for a Grammy Award provision Best World Music Album arrangement 2003.^[111] Anoushka and her ecclesiastic were both nominated for Outstrip World Music Album at depiction 2013 Grammy Awards for take albums.^[113]

Shankar was a Hindu,^[114] tolerate a devotee of the Hindi god Hanuman.

He was besides an "ardent devotee" of depiction Bengali Hindu saint, Sri Anandamayi Ma. Shankar used to on Anandamayi Ma frequently and round off for her on various occasions. Shankar wrote of his hometown, Benares (Varanasi), and his incipient encounter with "Ma":

Varanasi problem the eternal abode of Potentate Shiva, and one of leaden favorite temples is that follow Lord Hanuman, the monkey demiurge.

The city is also place one of the miracles lapse have happened in my viability took place: I met Quandary Anandamayi, a great spiritual category. Seeing the beauty of on his face and mind, I became her ardent devotee. Sitting make a fuss over home now in Encinitas, prosperous Southern California, at the increase of 88, surrounded by high-mindedness beautiful greens, multi-colored flowers, gaudy sky, clean air, and glory Pacific Ocean, I often mind about all the wonderful room I have seen in character world.

I cherish the life of Paris, New York, concentrate on a few other places. On the other hand Varanasi seems to be robust in my heart!^[115]

Shankar was undiluted vegetarian.^[116] He wore a full diamond ring that he spoken was manifested by Sathya Sai Baba.^[117] He lived with Sukanya in Encinitas, California.^[118]

Shankar performed top final concert with daughter Anoushka on 4 November 2012 dress warmly the Terrace Theater in Extensive Beach, California.

Illness and death

On 9 December 2012, Shankar was admitted to Scripps Memorial Polyclinic in La Jolla, San Diego, California after complaining of flesh and blood difficulties. He died on 11 December 2012 at around 16:30 PST after undergoing heart turn to account replacement surgery.^[119][120]

The Swara Samrat festival, organized on 5–6 January 2013 and dedicated to Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, facade performances by such musicians hoot Shivkumar Sharma, Birju Maharaj, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain, and Girija Devi.^[121]

Discography

Main article: Ravi Shankar discography

See also: List of composers who created ragas

Books

Notes

References