Rachel Pettee

MUS 639
7/3/07
Research Paper #1
Ravi Shankar: The Master

Who is Ravi Shankar and what is he famous for? According to National

Geographic Online, Indian classical music is synonymous with the name Ravi
Shankar. From the 1960s to the present, this sitarist and composer has captured
the imagination of fans across the globe (National Geographic online, 2007).
Ravi Shankar is the most well known classical musician to come from India and
his music and his work inspires many listeners. It was not until later in his life
when he became famous outside of his country. The reason that people in the
United States are aware of Indian music and the culture is most likely because of
Ravi Shankar and his music.
Ravi Shankar was born in 1920 in Benares, which is a city in India. He left
his home at the age of nine to travel with his older brother Uday and study dance
and music. With all of this traveling, Ravi got to see some of the worlds most
famous musicians and hear the great masters and their works. When he
returned to India, he wanted to pursue more Indian music and learn to perform.
His search led him to Ustad Allauddin Khan, who was a guru, which meant he
was highly thought of and was a spiritual master and teacher (Shankar, 1968).
Ravi studied with Allauddin and his son Ali extensively for about eight years and
learned how to play the sitar. The sitar is a stringed instrument you play sitting

down and it contains 16-19 moveable frets and seven main strings and 11 or 12
sympathetic strings (Krishnaswami, 1971).
During the 1940s, Ravi Shankar became a leading soloist in India and
performed in many concerts and venues. He achieved fame in his country for his
talent and even appeared in Indian radio and conducted the radio orchestra. He
soon started writing music for sitar, Indian ballet and Indian films that were being
performed all across India and won many awards. He was the first Indian
musician to receive an award for best music direction from a foreign country,
which he won in 1957 (National Geographic online). Ravi became an icon in
India and he started touring abroad. It was during this time that Ravi said this,
Ever since I was a boy in my teens, I have felt a strong desire to bring the
beautiful, rich, and ancient heritage of our classical music to the West and to
bring about a deeper comprehension and appreciation of it (Shankar, 1968).
In the 1960s, Ravi Shankar toured Europe and the United States and it
was during that time that the great Sitar explosion happened. He was asked to
perform with the violinist Yehudi Menuhin, with whom he maintained a friendship
and would perform with often. While touring in Britian, he became aware of
popular groups such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones using the sitar in their
music. He met a few members of the Beatles and ended up becoming George
Harrisons sitar teacher (Ruckert, 2004). George ended up being responsible for
the Sitar explosion. The Beatles were very popular during this time and
because they used the sitar in their music, Ravi Shankar became popular in

Europe and the United States. Ravi had indeed reached his goal to introduce
Indian music to the world and his name became widely recognized.
Ravi Shankar continued to collaborate with many famous people,
including George Harrison, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, the composer Philip Glass
and many others. He also continued to write music as well as tour and even
managed to write a few works for sitar and orchestra, which premiered in London
and the United States. His work continued to influence many other artists,
including jazz greats John Coltrane and John Handy, with whom Ravi worked
with as well. Evidence of Indian music also appeared in the works of Miles Davis
later on in the 1970s and 80s (Farrell, 1997). Ravi also has recorded many
CDs of his works and he currently maintains a studio of students learning the
sitar, of which he calls his disciples. Many of these disciples are becoming well
known and perform across the country. He currently still tours and spends much
of his time teaching his daughter and protegee, Anoushka Shankar, who is
making a name for herself on the sitar as well (Ravi Shankar online).
It is no doubt that Ravi Shankar is the most widely known musician from
India. Without Ravi, many people would not know of Indian music and culture. I
did not know much about Ravi Shankar before and I am glad I have learned
about him. He is a fascinating subject and has helped me learn more about
Indian music and culture. There is still so much more to learn and I am eager to
learn more. Ravi Shankar is quite the Indian legacy and will remain so for many
years to come. In the words of George Harrison, Ravi Shankar is the godfather
of World Music (Ravi Shankar online)

Bibliography

1. Farrell, G. (1997). Indian Music and the West. Oxford, NY: Oxford
University Press, Inc.

2. Krishnaswami, S. (1971). Musical Instruments of India. Asian Music,

2, 31-42.

3. National Geographic World Music online

http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/arti
st/content.artist/ravi_shankar_12344, retrieved on 6/30/07.

4. Ravi Shankar Online http://www.ravishankar.org/index.html, retrieved on

6/28/07.

5. Ruckert, G.E. (2004). Music in North India: Experiencing Music, Expressing

Culture. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.

6. Shankar, R. (1968). My Music, My Life. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.