Ravi Shankar: Godfather of World Music dies at 92

Sitar Maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, whom George Harrison called the "Godfather of World Music", passed away at the age of 92 years on December 11, 2012. This article by me appeared a decade ago on the occasion of the maestro's 80th birth anniversary in April 2001 on About.com's Bengal Culture GuideSite - part of the New York Times Company. Read on...

"To me, his genius and his humanity can only be compared to that of Mozart's." ~ Yehudi Menuhin

Part 1: His Genius & His Humanity  

Even at this age, the legendary Bengali master musician's genius and greatness is without equal. His recent concert at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi, along with his already famous teenage daughter Anoushka, was a fund-raiser for the Gujarat earthquake victims. He proved it yet once again that music can do a lot for humankind - it not only delights but also wipes away the tears of the unfortunate. The sitar guru plucked his "strings of relief" for the sufferers and reiterated that he is a singular phenomenon in the world of music.