Shankar

Shankar, Ravi, 1920-, Indian sitarist and composer, b. Varanasi. He was the first Indian instrumentalist to attain an international reputation. As a youth Shankar was a noted solo dancer with his brother Uday's Indian dance troupe in Paris. In 1938 he became a pupil of the great Indian instrumentalist Ustad Allauddin Khan, whose daughter, Annapurna, he later married. Proficient on many instruments, Shankar became a virtuoso of the sitar, and in 1957 he made the first of several concert tours of the United States. In 1962 he founded the Kinnara School of Music in Bombay (now Mumbai). For a few months in 1965, George Harrison of the Beatles studied sitar with Shankar, and Beatles recordings began featuring Harrison playing the instrument. Other rock groups followed suit, and for a time the sound of the sitar was a staple of rock music. As the foremost interpreter of the instrument, Shankar was catapulted to fame. His 1967 concert tour of the United States was an overwhelming success, and he was invited to hold classes at various American colleges and universities.

Since the 1980s Shankar has explored the possibilities of merging Indian music with electronic synthesizer and emulator technology. He also has continued to compose ragas, tour worldwide in sitar performances, and produce recordings. Among Shankar's many musical compositions are the scores for the motion pictures Pather Panchali (1954) and Charly (1968). He has collaborated with such musicians as conductor Zubin Mehta in the performance (1989) of his Sitar Concerto and with composer Philip Glass in their electronic recording Passages (1990). Shankar also served (1986-92) in India's parliament. His daughter, Anoushka Shankar, 1981-, who studied with her father, is also a virtuoso sitarist.

(born April 7, 1920, Benares, India) Indian sitar player. He studied music and dance, toured as a member of his brother Uday's dance troupe, and spent years learning the sitar. After serving as music director of All-India Radio (1948–56), he began a series of European and U.S. tours. He wrote the score for Satyajit Ray's Apu film trilogy (1955–59). He was a founder of the National Orchestra of India, and in 1962 he founded the Kinnara School of Music in Bombay (now Mumbai) and later in Los Angeles. His performances with Yehudi Menuhin and his association with George Harrison of the Beatles were primarily responsible for bringing Indian music to a broad Western audience.

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(born April 7, 1920, Benares, India) Indian sitar player. He studied music and dance, toured as a member of his brother Uday's dance troupe, and spent years learning the sitar. After serving as music director of All-India Radio (1948–56), he began a series of European and U.S. tours. He wrote the score for Satyajit Ray's Apu film trilogy (1955–59). He was a founder of the National Orchestra of India, and in 1962 he founded the Kinnara School of Music in Bombay (now Mumbai) and later in Los Angeles. His performances with Yehudi Menuhin and his association with George Harrison of the Beatles were primarily responsible for bringing Indian music to a broad Western audience.

Learn more about Shankar, Ravi with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Shankar is a common name in India. It generally refers to:

• Shiva, Hindu god who is referred to by many names
• Adi Shankara, Hindu philosopher (guru) of around the ninth century

Shankar is also the given name or family name of the following individuals:

• Members of the family of Indian musicians/dancers of whom the most well known are
• Uday Shankar, classical dancer
• Ravi Shankar (musician), sitar player
• Geethali Norah Jones Shankar (Norah Jones), American singer-songwriter
• Anoushka Shankar
• Ananda Shankar
• Mamata Shankar
• Abhinav Shanker
• Colonel Shankar, the nom de guerre of Vaithilingam Sornalingam of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
• Shankar Mahadevan, singer and part of the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy music-director trio
• Shankar, part of the Shankar-Jaikishan music-director duo
• K. Shankar Pillai (1902–1989), Indian cartoonist
• Shankar's Weekly, a magazine founded by him
• Shankar's International Dolls Museum, New Delhi
• L. Shankar, Indian violinist
• Mani Shankar Mukherjee, Bengali writer popularly known as Shankar
• Mani Shankar, Indian Film-maker

• Ravi Shankar (poet), poet and faculty member of Central Connecticut State University
• S. Shankar, Tamil film director
• Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, guru and founder of the Art of Living movement
• Shankar Party unofficial name given to the Adhyatmik Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya
• Shankar Lamichhane, Nepalese Essayist
• Shankar, Ludhiana, Village located in Ludhiana, Punjab
• Shankar Agarwal, SAP Consultant,New Delhi
• Shankar's Virus, a computer virus that infects word documents