Indian Sitar Virtuoso Ravi Shankar Dies at 92

Pandit Ravi Shankar, the sitar virtuoso who carried Indian classical music to the world, died on the evening of Tuesday, December 11, 2012, in San Diego, California. He was 92.

What happened

Shankar had suffered upper-respiratory and heart problems over the preceding year and had undergone heart-valve replacement surgery the previous Thursday. The surgery was successful, his website announced, but recovery proved too difficult for the 92-year-old musician.

His family released a statement: "We know that you all feel our loss with us, and we thank you for all of your prayers and good wishes through this difficult time. Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as a part of our lives. His spirit and his legacy will live on forever in our hearts and in his music."

The final concert

Shankar's last performance, on November 4 in Long Beach, California, had been billed as a celebration of his tenth decade of making music. He played on, quite literally, until he could not.

The man who taught the West to listen

It was Shankar's association with the Beatles, above all guitarist George Harrison, in the 1960s that introduced Indian classical music to a global audience. Harrison studied sitar under Shankar; the instrument's sound threaded through "Norwegian Wood," "Love You To," and "Within You Without You." Shankar played Monterey Pop in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969, and spent the following decades as both performer and teacher, insisting that the raga was a discipline, not a psychedelic accessory.

The family

Shankar divided his time between India and the United States. Survivors included his wife Sukanya; his daughters, singer Norah Jones and sitarist Anoushka Shankar; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

FAQ

When did Ravi Shankar die? December 11, 2012, in San Diego, at age 92.

What caused his death? He never recovered from heart-valve replacement surgery performed days earlier, following a year of respiratory and cardiac problems.

Why was he famous in the West? His mentorship of George Harrison and the Beatles in the 1960s brought the sitar and Indian classical music to global audiences.

Who are his musical heirs? His daughter Anoushka Shankar, herself a celebrated sitarist, carries the tradition forward.

The takeaway

Ravi Shankar spent sixty years proving that a raga could hold a stadium. The West came for the exoticism and stayed for the mastery. That was his life's work, and it worked.