Pandit
Ravi Shankar needs no introduction! The sitar maestro whose 94th
birth anniversary falls today was known to all as the ‘godfather of world
music’. Raaga.com pays tribute to this gem today.
RaviShankar acknowledged as the global ambassador of Indian classical music,
learned sitar from his guru Allaudin Khan. Thanks to the wonderful training,
Ravi Shankar soon became the music director of the All India Radio, New Delhi
radio station. During his tenure, he composed various pieces merging classical and
western instrumentation.
The
twice Grammy Award winner passed away on the
11th of December, 2012 in San Diego, California losing fight to some
respiratory and heart ailments. Ravi Shankar is the brain behind some
wonderful compositions like
RaviShankar was also known for his distinct style of music. His concert pattern
infact influenced many of his contemporaries too. His
performances always began with a solo alap,
jor,
and jhala
(introduction and performances with pulse and rapid pulse) influenced by the
slow and serious dhrupad genre,
followed by a section with tabla accompaniment
featuring compositions associated with the prevalent khyal style. He often closed his
performances with a piece inspired by the light-classical thumri genre.
Ravishankar
is the reason behind the creation of now popular raagams – ‘Nat Bhairavi’
,’Purvi kalyan’ , ‘Aahir Lalit’ ‘Charu kauns’. Such is the brilliance of music
imbibed in him! One can say it was Ravishankar who took Hindustani Music to a
global level. Not many know that Ravi Shankar bagged the prestigious Oscar nomination for his score in the film
Gandhi by Richard Attenborough.
The
documentary on Pandit Ravi Shankar
titled ‘Raga’ and shot by Howard Worth was released in 1971; which ofcourse is
worth a watch. The man whose records can never be re-written, he remains
immortal and his music never fails to melt our hearts.
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