Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar (7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A maestro of the sitar, he became one of the world’s most prominent exporters of North Indian classical music in the late 20th century, influencing many musicians in India and around the world. Shankar was awarded India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1999. Born into a Brahmin family in Bengal, India, Shankar spent his adolescence as a dancer, touring India and Europe with his brother Uday Shankar’s dance company. In 1938, he quit dancing to study with court musician Alauddin Khan and learn…