Pt. Ravi Shankar’s death anniversary

Recently I watched a short clip on Facebook posted by Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Pt. Ravi Shankar, the sitar maestro. It was from his last concert played in the US with Anoushka and a few of his disciples. He was playing sitar with an oxygen tube on his nose. By watching him you will be able to understand how much he was obsessed with his art.

Pt. Ravi Shankar is one of India’s all-time greatest. He popularized Indian classical music in the whole world with its purity. He explained in his concerts the hows and whys of our music heritage. He was a prominent guru; a clan of his disciples is spread all over the world. We can’t compare his and Ustad Alla Rakha’s performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 with anything. After more than half a century it gives you goosebumps. So, in short, he was a legend. But everyone knows this side of him.

I want to talk about the spirituality a person develops during his or her sadhana of any art. At the end of his last concert, he starts crying. The ultimate feeling. I think he knew that this one was the last one. All of his life was maybe passing in front of his eyes. All the concerts, all the riyaz sessions, all the gurus, all the struggles. That is overwhelming. And he cried. The purest form of emotion. It’s like he laid down his life in front of his listeners. That is the last stage of an artist. That is the top. That is the summit of the mountain named art.

Here is the clip: youtu.be/G2Qri_LaCl0