Google celebrates legendary Indian musician Pandit Ravi Shankar’s 96th birthday
GOOGLE has marked what would have been the 96th birthday of legendary Indian sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar with a special Doodle.
Today would have been the 96th birthday of Pandit Ravi Shankar
Shankar, who passed away in 2012, was a close friend of the Beatles and influenced the legendary band to incorporate Eastern sounds into songs such as Love You Too.
George Harrison even labelled Shankar ‘the godfather of world music’, after the virtuoso taught him to play the sitar.
Shankar was born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury on April 7 1920, the youngest of seven brothers born to a Indian family.
His wealthy lawyer father abandoned the family and moved to London, not returning to meet his son until he was eight years old.
Google has honoured the virtuoso in its latest Doodle
Shankar first picked up a sitar while on tour in Europe
At ten years old, Shankar moved to Paris to tour with his brother’s musical troupe, learning to dance and to play Indian instruments.
Sadly his mother died during the tour, and aged 18 Shankar returned to India to begin his formal music training.
After completing his training, Shankar made a name for himself in India composing music for radio and film.
But it was in the 1960s when he became a global star.
George Harrison labelled Shankar ‘the godfather of world music’
The Beatles - Love me Do
After meeting George Harrison in London, Shankar whisked the Beatle away to India for six weeks to teach him the sitar.
At the height of Beatlemania, the newfound friendship made Shankar ‘the most famous Indian musician on the planet’.
Influenced by his music, bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Kinks began using the sitar.
But Shankar was uncomfortable with his newfound fame and the drug-filled hippie scene, and began to distance himself from the rock world.
Jazz singer Norah Jones is Shankar’s daughter
Despite this, he remained close friends with Harrison, with the Brit even editing Shankar’s autobiography.
After an eight-decade-long career Shankar passed away after a short illness, leaving behind two daughters.
Anoushka Shankar is now a famous sitar player in her own right, while his other daughter is the jazz singer Norah Jones, the result of an affair Shankar had in the 1970s.
Today’s Google Doodle marks Shankar’s 96th birthday, with a sitar design drawn by artist Kevin Laughlin.
The search giant paid tribute to the musician, saying that he “evangelized the use of Indian instruments in Western music, introducing the atmospheric hum of the sitar to audiences worldwide.”
Google often changes its logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and famous artists.