Pandit Ravi Shankar Jayanti-About Pandit Ravi Shankar A Great Musician-Pandit Ravi Shankar Images

Today 7th April is a Great Musician,humanitarian leader, a spiritual teacher, and an ambassador of peace  Pandit Ravi Shankar's 96th birthday.Pandit 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. Here is Some Information about Pandit Ravi Shankar's Birthday and his Life Journey.

Born On: April 7, 1920
Born In: Varanasi
Career: Composer, Sitar player
Nationality: Indian
Death : Dec 11 ,2012

About Pandit Ravi Shankar

Pandit Ravishankar known is " The man who took Indian music to the world".He is born Born on 7th April, 1920 in Varanasi , his family was a Bengali Brahmin family who named him Ravindra Shankar.His Father's name was Shyam Shankar and hi was barrister.His mother's name is Hemangini Devi.He had an elder brother Uday Shankar who was a famous Indian classical dancer. He was instrumental in taking Indian classical music to the western world. He is a performer, composer, teacher, and writer, but is best known as an instrumentalist. Once Ravi Shankar picked up his sitar and began playing, you could not tear yourself away. The music would begin at a slow pace, but in slow, introspective and fast flashy passages, he would improvise leaving his audience mesmerised, irrespective of where he was playing.In his early years Ravi Shankar joined his elder brother, Uday Shankar and his troupe and went to Paris in 1930 to experiment with the stage by playing small roles in ballets for the next three years. In the year 1939, Ravi Shankar gave his first public performance in India. His formal training concluded in the year 1944 and he moved out of Bombay. He then started a recording career with HMV's Indian affiliate and began by composing scores for films and ballets. In the 50's he became the music director of All India Radio. It was during the 50's that he became famous in the world of music outside India. He performed in Soviet Union (1953) and the West (1956). He has performed in prestigious events like Edinburgh Festival and also at important places like Royal Festival Hall, London. He also performed at major events such as the Edinburgh Festival as well as major venues such as Royal Festival Hall. In 1960s, Ravi Shankar's fusion with George Harrison, a member of The Beatles became very popular in the US and helped in popularizing Indian classical music in the West.

He has composed the musical score for movies like Charly, Chappaqua, Apu Trilogy and Gandhi. He even got nominated for an Academy Award for his composition in this movie. His recording named "Tana Mana" (1987) skillfully infuses the traditional instruments with electronics. He also composed the Sitar part in Philip Glass's composition "Orion". 

Awards & Recognition of Pandit Ravi Shankar

1957: Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize of the Jury, Berlin International Film Festival
1962 : Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
1967 : Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1975 : Music award of the UNESCO International Music Council
1981 : Padma Vibhushan Award,
1987-88: Kalidas Samman from the Government of Madhya Pradesh
1991 : Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize
1992 : Ramon Magsaysay Award
1997 : Praemium Imperiale for Music from the Japan Art Association
1998 : Polar Music Prize
1999 : Bharat Ratna Award
2000 : Grammy Award for Best World Music Album

Life Journey of   Pandit Ravi Shankar

1920: Born on April 7 in Varanasi, United Provinces, Indian Empire
1941: First marriage with Annapurna Devi
1949: Became music director at All India Radio (AIR)
1962: Established the Kinnara School of Music in Mumbai
1967: Won the first Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1967: Honored with Padma Bhushan Award
1981: Bestowed with Padma Vibhusan Award
1989: Second marriage with Sukanya Rajan
1999: Won the Bharat Ratna Award.

 Picture Gallery of Pandit Ravi Shankar