Today is the birth anniversary of famed sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar. He died in 2012 in San Diego's hospital in America. He also did the work of taking Indian classical music to every corner of the world and giving it a different identity. His fans include music, dance, and art lovers, whose number is in the thousands.

Left dance for sitar: Pandit Ravi Shankar was born on April 7, 1920, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. George Harrison of the Beatles called him the 'godfather of world music'. Pandit Shankar's youth was spent touring Europe and India with his brother Uday Shankar's dance group. He gave up dancing in 1938 to learn to play the sitar from musician Allauddin Khan.

Music given in films: After completing his studies in the year 1944, Pandit Ravi Shankar also provided music for Satyajit Ray's 'Apu Trilogy' and Richard Attenberg's 'Gandhi' as a composer. In 1983, he was awarded the Oscar for Best Original Score along with George Fenton. He also served as music director of All India Radio in New Delhi between 1949 and 1956. After which, in the 1960s, by teaching and performing Indian classical music with violinists Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison, it was popularised in the West.

Member of Parliament: He was a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1992. He has also been awarded the country's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1999. He was also awarded three Grammys. He was also nominated for the Germany Award for the year 2013. Pandit Ravi Shankar continued to perform until the year 2000. He also performed several times with his daughter, Anoushka Shankar.

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