10 Things About Pandit Ravi Shankar's Glorious Life You Probably Didn't Know

Pandit Ravi Shankar: Today is Pandit Ravi Shankar's 96th birthday. Google marks Pandit Ravi Shankar's 96th birthday with a Doodle on its homepage.



In 1960's, a musician created a fashion for pop music with Indian instruments.

10 interesting facts about Pandit Ravi Shankar:

10.) His real name is Robindro Shounkor Chowdhary:

     Pandit Ravi Shankar's real name is Robindro Shounkor Chowdhary and he was born in a Bengali brahmin family in Benares.

9.) Career:

     Pandit Ravi Shankar started his career as a dance performer in his elder brother's, Uday Shankar's troupe. He performed with the troupe from the age of 10 and started his sitar's study at just 18.

8.) Marriage:

     Ustad Alauddin was his Guru and he was known to have a fiery temper but Panditji is known to have been an exception for not being at the receiving end of it. Later, He married his guru’s daughter, Annapurna Devi.

7.) Sare Jahaan Se Accha:

     The widely loved song “Sare Jahaan Se Accha” was set to tune by Pandit Ravi Shankar.

6.) George Harrison and Panditji were good friends:

   
     Pandit Ravi Shankar and Beatles' George Harrison friendship set strong due to performing together in some music concerts and influenced the way Beatles made their songs. He served as an inspiration to a lot of Western bands. He introduced the Indian music to the Western World. 

5.) Mohankauns-His new Raga:

 

     The Raga- Mohankauns which is dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi was created by Pandit Ravi Shankar. He played a melody at the death of Gandhi in 1948 on All India Radio.

4.) He also provided the score for Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali, Aparajito, and Apur Sansaar.

3.) Member In Indian Parliament:

        Some don't know about this, but Pandit Ravi Shankar is nominated as a member of Indian Parliament by late PM Rajiv Gandhi to the Rajya Sabha  from 1986 to 1992.

2.) The 1973's Abhimaan movie, starring Amitabh Bachchan And Jaya Bhaduri was loosely based on Pandit Ravi Shankar's life and marriage to his first wife.

1.) Nominated for an Oscar:

     Pandit Ravi Shankar's soundtrack in Film Gandhi(Starring Ben Kingsley) was made him nominated for an oscar. He is also the winner of three Grammys in the course of his 70-year career and the recipient of Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award.