Legendary musician Pandit Ravi Shankar, who was admitted in the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla for breathing difficulties, passed away in San Diego on Tuesday at the age of 92. Panditji is survived by his wife Sukanya and musician daughters, sitar player Anushka Shankar and singer Norah Jones.
A three-time Grammy award winner, Pandit Ravi Shankar was nominated for a Grammy award for 2013 too.
He was awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1999.
Reacting to the news, Prime Minister Manmohand Singh tweeted, “An era has passed away with Pt. Ravishankar. The nation joins me to pay tributes to his unsurpassable genius, his art and his humility.”
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar was the legendary musician who gave new identity to Indian classical music. May his soul rest in peace.”
Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said, “Passing away of Ravi Shankar is a great loss to India.”
Lyricist Javed Akhtar said, “Pandit Ravi Shankar introduced Indian classical music to the world.”
The sitar exponent was responsible for making Indian classical music popular in the West and was also India`s musical ambassador.
He had collaborated with several international artists including George Harrison of ‘The Beatles’, which had garnered him fame all over the world.
