Ravi Shankar

Pandit Ravi Shankar KBE LH BR PV PB
Shankar performing at Woodstock in 1969
Background information
Birth name	Ravindra Shankar Chowdhury
Born	(1920-04-07)7 April 1920 Benares, Benares State, British India (now Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Republic of India)
Died	11 December 2012(2012-12-11) (aged 92) San Diego, California, United States
Genres	Indian classical music
Occupation(s)	Musician composer
Instruments	Sitar
Years active	1930–2012
Labels	World Pacific Angel HMV Apple Dark Horse Private Music East Meets West Music
Website	www.ravishankar.org
Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha
In office 12 May 1986 – 11 May 1992

Ravi Shankar (7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was one of India's most famous musicians. Shankar was one of the first to bring aspects of traditional Indian music into Europe and United States|American culture in the 1960s. He was a major influence on George Harrison, who was a member of The Beatles. Shankar is famous for playing the sitar, an Indian stringed instrument. He performed until his death. In 2005 he played at The Proms. His daughters Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar are also well-known musicians.