1.4 - Fusion Music by Pt. Ravi Shankar
Summary
Pt Ravi Shankar, the sitar virtuoso who became a hippie musical icon of the 1960s after hobnobbing with the Beatles and who introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over an eight-decade career, has died. He was 92.
Labeled “the godfather of world music” by George Harrison, Shankar helped millions of classical, jazz and rock lovers discover the centuries-old traditions of Indian music.
He also pioneered the concept of the rock benefit with the 1971 Concert For Bangladesh. To later generations, he was known as the estranged father of popular American singer Norah Jones.
As early as the 1950s, Shankar began collaborating with and teaching some of the greats of Western music, including violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. He played well-received shows in concert halls in Europe and the United States, but faced a constant struggle to bridge the musical gap between the West and the East.
Describing an early Shankar tour in 1957, Time magazine said “U.S. audiences were receptive but occasionally puzzled.”
His close relationship with Harrison, the Beatles lead guitarist, shot Shankar to global stardom in the 1960s.
Harrison had grown fascinated with the sitar. He played the instrument, with a Western tuning, on the song Norwegian Wood, but soon sought out Shankar, already a musical icon in India, to teach him to play it properly.
The pair spent weeks together, starting the lessons at Harrison’s house in England and then moving to a houseboat in Kashmir and later to California.
Gaining confidence with the complex instrument, Harrison recorded the Indian-inspired song Within You Without You on the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, helping spark the raga-rock phase of 60s music and drawing increasing attention to Shankar and his work.
Shankar’s popularity exploded, and he soon found himself playing on bills with some of the top rock musicians of the era. He played a four-hour set at the Monterey Pop Festival and the opening day of Woodstock.
Though the audience for his music had hugely expanded, Shankar, a serious, disciplined traditionalist who had played Carnegie Hall, chafed against the drug use and rebelliousness of the hippie culture.
“I was shocked to see people dressing so flamboyantly. They were all stoned. To me, it was a new world,” Shankar told Rolling Stone of the Monterey festival.
While he enjoyed Otis Redding and the Mamas and the Papas at the festival, he was horrified when Jimi Hendrix lit his guitar on fire.
“That was too much for me. In our culture, we have such respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God,” he said. In 1971, moved by the plight of millions of refugees fleeing into India to escape the war in Bangladesh, Shankar reached out to Harrison to see what they could do to help. In what Shankar later described as “one of the most moving and intense musical experiences of the century,” the pair organized two benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden that included Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Ringo Starr. The concert, which spawned an album and a film, raised millions of dollars for UNICEF and inspired other rock benefits, including the 1985 Live Aid concert to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia and the 2010 Hope For Haiti Now telethon.
Ravindra Shankar Chowdhury was born on April 7, 1920, in the Indian city of Varanasi. At the age of 10, he moved to Paris to join the world famous dance troupe of his brother Uday. Over the next eight years, Shankar traveled with the troupe across Europe, America and Asia, and later credited his early immersion in foreign cultures with making him such an effective ambassador for Indian music.
During one tour, renowned musician Baba Allaudin Khan joined the troupe, took Shankar under his wing and eventually became his teacher through 7 1/2 years of isolated, rigorous study of the sitar.
“Khan told me you have to leave everything else and do one thing properly,” Shankar told The Associated Press. In the 1950s, Shankar began gaining fame throughout India. He held the influential position of music director for All India Radio in New Delhi and wrote the scores for several popular films. He began writing compositions for orchestras, blending clarinets and other foreign instruments into traditional Indian music.
And he became a de facto tutor for Westerners fascinated by India’s musical traditions. He gave lessons to Coltrane, who named his son Ravi in Shankar’s honor, and became close friends with Menuhin, recording the acclaimed West Meets East album with him. He also collaborated with flutist Jean Pierre Rampal, composer Philip Glass and conductors Andre Previn and Zubin Mehta.
“Any player on any instrument with any ears would be deeply moved by Ravi Shankar. If you love music, it would be impossible not to be,” singer David Crosby, whose band The Byrds was inspired by Shankar’s music, said in the book “The Dawn of Indian Music in the West: Bhairavi.” Shankar’s personal life, however, was more complex.
His 1941 marriage to Baba Allaudin Khan’s daughter, Annapurna Devi, ended in divorce. Though he had a decades-long relationship with dancer Kamala Shastri that ended in 1981, he had relationships with several other women in the 1970s.
In 1979, he fathered Norah Jones with New York concert promoter Sue Jones, and in 1981, Sukanya Rajan, who played the tanpura at his concerts, gave birth to his daughter Anoushka. He grew estranged from Sue Jones in the 80s and didn’t see Norah for a decade, though they later re-established contact.
When Jones shot to stardom and won five Grammy awards in 2003, Anoushka Shankar was nominated for a Grammy of her own.
Shankar, himself, has won three Grammy awards and was nominated for an Oscar for his musical score for the movie Gandhi.
Despite his fame, numerous albums and decades of world tours, Shankar’s music remained a riddle to many Western ears.
Shankar was amused after he and colleague Ustad Ali Akbar Khan were greeted with admiring applause when they opened the Concert for Bangladesh by twanging their sitar and sarod for a minute and a half.
Book Back Questions
1. Critically analyse the prose.
The prose Fusion Music highlights the life and achievements of Pt. Ravi Shankar, a great sitar maestro who introduced Indian classical music to the Western world. The author shows how Ravi Shankar bridged the gap between Eastern and Western music through collaborations with famous Western musicians. The prose also explains his struggle to preserve the dignity and discipline of Indian music while performing before Western audiences. His association with George Harrison brought him global fame. The prose also focuses on his humanitarian work, especially the Concert for Bangladesh. Overall, the prose presents Ravi Shankar as a cultural ambassador, a disciplined artist, and a pioneer of fusion music.
2. What is the main idea of the prose?
The main idea of the prose is to show how Pt. Ravi Shankar popularised Indian classical music across the world. The prose explains his long musical journey and his efforts to blend Indian ragas with Western music. It highlights his collaborations with famous Western musicians and his friendship with George Harrison of the The Beatles. The author also shows how Ravi Shankar remained rooted in Indian tradition while reaching global audiences. His role in organising the Concert for Bangladesh reflects his humanitarian spirit. The prose emphasises fusion music as a bridge between cultures and presents Ravi Shankar as a symbol of global musical unity.
3. Comment on the three facets of Harrison’s personality.
George Harrison’s personality is shown through three important facets in the prose. First, he is shown as a curious learner. He developed a deep interest in Indian music and sincerely learnt the sitar from Ravi Shankar. Second, he is portrayed as a respectful student. He did not misuse the instrument and wanted to learn it properly with discipline. Third, he is shown as a compassionate human being. He joined Ravi Shankar in organising the Concert for Bangladesh to help refugees. Through his music, friendship, and humanitarian work, Harrison is presented as an artist with humility, dedication, and social responsibility.
4. How does the speaker explore the importance of friendship in this prose?
The speaker highlights friendship through the strong bond between Ravi Shankar and George Harrison. Their friendship began with music but grew into mutual respect and trust. Harrison’s interest in the sitar brought him close to Ravi Shankar, who patiently guided him as a teacher and friend. Their friendship helped Indian classical music reach a global audience. The prose also shows how their friendship went beyond music when they worked together for the Concert for Bangladesh. This event proved that true friendship inspires social responsibility and humanitarian action. Thus, the prose shows friendship as a force that unites cultures and helps humanity.
5. How did George Harrison and Ravi Shankar work together?
George Harrison and Ravi Shankar worked together as student and teacher, collaborators, and friends. Harrison learnt the sitar under Ravi Shankar’s guidance, beginning his lessons in England and continuing in Kashmir and California. Their musical collaboration brought Indian music into Western popular culture. Harrison used Indian musical elements in Beatles songs, which increased global interest in Ravi Shankar’s music. They also worked together to organise the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 to help war refugees. This collaboration raised millions of dollars for UNICEF and inspired future charity concerts. Their partnership blended music with humanitarian service.
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