Legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar passed away this week at the age of 92. The Indian musician had been suffering from heart problems and recently underwent heart-valve replacement surgery. He died Tuesday at a Southern California hospital.
The Shankar family posted this message on the sitarist’s website: “It is with heavy hearts we write to inform you that Pandit Ravi Shankar, husband, father, and musical soul, passed away today, December 11th, 2012.
As you all know, his health has been fragile for the past several years and on Thursday he underwent a surgery that could have potentially given him a new lease of life. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the surgeons and doctors taking care of him, his body was not able to withstand the strain of the surgery. We were at his side when he passed away.
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.”
Shankar began studying sitar playing in 1938, and by 1949 he was composing music for films. He began touring Europe playing the sitar in 1956. Shankar gained international fame in the mid 60s due to his work with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison of The Beatles. He soon became known as “the Godfather of world music.”
After Shankar’s death was confirmed, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called him a "national treasure." In addition to his wife of 23 years, Sukanya Rajan, Shankar is survived by daughter Anoushka Shankar, a sitar player, and daughter Norah Jones, a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter.
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