# Ravi Shankar

> Indian sitar player (1920–2012)

**Wikidata**: [Q103774](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q103774)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_Shankar)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/ravi-shankar

## Summary

Ravi Shankar was born on April 7, 1920, in Varanasi[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] and died on December 11, 2012, in San Diego[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. He held citizenship in the British Raj and India[11]. His professional occupations included composer, sitarist, film director, and politician[12][13].He worked within the genres of Hindustani classical music and Indian classical music. Throughout his life, he received numerous awards, including the Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres‎, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Ramon Magsaysay Award, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Banga Bibhushan, and Praemium Imperiale, among others[14].

## Summary
Ravi Shankar (1920–2012), also known as Pandit Ravi Shankar and Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, was an Indian sitar player and composer widely identified with Hindustani and Indian classical music. He built a long performing and recording career (work period c.1930–2012), received many national and international honors, and is recorded in major classical and popular music contexts and labels.

## Biography
- Born: 1920 (year only available in source)
- Nationality: India
- Education: honorary doctor of the University of Calcutta (honorary degree)
- Known for: Leading career as an Indian sitar player associated with Hindustani classical music and Indian classical music
- Employer(s): Affiliations and record-label associations listed in dataset include His Master's Voice; Private Music; Apple Records; Dark Horse Records; Deutsche Grammophon; Pacific Jazz Records; Manticore Records; member/associate listings include the American Academy of Arts and Letters (honor society)
- Field(s): Hindustani classical music; Indian classical music; sitar performance; composition

## Contributions
- Professional practice: Established and sustained a public career as a sitar player and composer across a work period beginning circa 1930 and extending to 2012. This career is documented in the structured record as spanning those years.
- Cultural representation: Served as a prominent practitioner of Hindustani classical music and Indian classical music, as reflected in dataset classification.
- Record and label associations: Dataset records affiliations with multiple international and national record labels and music organizations (His Master's Voice; Private Music; Apple Records; Dark Horse Records; Deutsche Grammophon; Pacific Jazz Records; Manticore Records). These associations indicate participation in recorded music and international distribution contexts.
- Honors and institutional recognition: Received numerous awards and honors (see Notable For), including national civilian awards of India and international arts prizes; earned an honorary doctorate from the University of Calcutta.

(Note: the supplied source material lists associations, awards, aliases, and institutional metadata; it does not enumerate specific album titles, publication names, or patentable inventions.)

## FAQs
Q: Who was Ravi Shankar?
A: Ravi Shankar was an Indian sitar player and composer, active professionally from about 1930 until 2012, known for his work in Hindustani and Indian classical music.

Q: What names did Ravi Shankar use?
A: He was also known by the honorific Pandit Ravi Shankar and the alternative name Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury.

Q: Which musical traditions did he represent?
A: He is associated with Hindustani classical music and the broader category of Indian classical music.

Q: With which record labels or organizations was he associated?
A: The dataset associates him with labels and organizations including His Master's Voice, Private Music, Apple Records, Dark Horse Records, Deutsche Grammophon, Pacific Jazz Records, Manticore Records, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Q: What formal honors did he receive?
A: He received many major awards and honors recorded in the dataset, including Indian civilian awards (Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna) and international honors such as the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and the Commander of the Legion of Honour.

Q: When did he live and work?
A: The record lists his life span as 1920–2012 and a documented professional work period from approximately 1930 to 2012.

Q: Where can I find an official source about him online?
A: The dataset gives an official website: http://www.ravishankar.org.

## Why They Matter
Ravi Shankar matters because he is recorded in the dataset as a leading exponent of the sitar and of Hindustani and Indian classical music across much of the 20th and early 21st centuries. His sustained work period (c.1930–2012) and affiliations with major international record labels and cultural institutions mark him as a figure who bridged Indian classical traditions and global music distribution networks. The breadth of honors listed — from India's highest civilian awards to international arts prizes and lifetime achievement recognition from musical institutions — indicates lasting institutional recognition. Without his long, documented presence and the honors associated with him, the dataset would lack a central, internationally recognized representative for sitar performance and Indian classical music during this era. Related entries in the data (including major record labels, international awards, and well-known music figures) further show his role as a touchpoint between regional classical traditions and broader global cultural exchange.

## Notable For
- Primary identity as an Indian sitar player and composer active from about 1930 to 2012.
- Aliases: Pandit Ravi Shankar; Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury.
- Official website: http://www.ravishankar.org.
- Work period documented: start c.1930; end 2012.
- Major Indian civilian honors listed in the dataset: Padma Bhushan; Padma Vibhushan; Bharat Ratna.
- Significant international and institutional honors recorded: Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire; Commander of the Legion of Honour; Praemium Imperiale; Polar Music Prize; Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; Grammy-related recognitions (including Album of the Year and Best Global Music Album entries in the dataset).
- Other awards and recognitions included: Ramon Magsaysay Award; Sangeet Natak Akademi Award; Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize; Tagore Award; James Parks Morton Interfaith Award; Banga Bibhushan; honorary doctor of the University of Calcutta.
- Associations with major record labels and organizations: His Master's Voice; Private Music; Apple Records; Dark Horse Records; Deutsche Grammophon; Pacific Jazz Records; Manticore Records; American Academy of Arts and Letters.
- Dataset connections to major musical figures and groups: The Beatles; George Harrison; The Stooges; and a name entry for Ravi Coltrane.

## Body

### Identity and Basic Metadata
- Name: Ravi Shankar. Alternate names recorded: Pandit Ravi Shankar; Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury.
- Dataset description: "Indian sitar player (1920–2012)."
- Official website in record: http://www.ravishankar.org.
- Wikipedia title in dataset: Ravi Shankar.
- Sitelink count (dataset metadata): 96.

### Life span and historical context
- Year of birth: 1920 (dataset provides only the year).
- Year of death: 2012.
- The dataset lists the British Raj (1858–1947) as a related historical entity; Ravi Shankar's birth year of 1920 falls within that period, situating his early life historically during British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent.
- Nationality in dataset: India.

### Career timeline and fields
- Documented work period: begins circa 1930 and concludes in 2012 according to structured properties.
- Primary fields: sitar performance; Hindustani classical music; Indian classical music; composition.
- Role descriptors in dataset: sitar player (primary), with classification under human, and related classification including composer.

### Recordings, labels, and industry affiliations
- The dataset lists multiple record labels and music organizations as affiliations or associated organizations: His Master's Voice; Private Music; Apple Records; Dark Horse Records; Deutsche Grammophon; Pacific Jazz Records; Manticore Records.
- These label associations indicate participation in both classical and broader recorded-music markets, spanning national and international distribution channels.
- The American Academy of Arts and Letters appears in the dataset among organizations connected to his profile; in the source it is identified as an honor society.

### Honors, awards, and institutional recognition
- National Indian honors and awards recorded:
  - Padma Bhushan (third-highest civilian award of India; inception 1954).
  - Padma Vibhushan (second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India; inception 1954).
  - Bharat Ratna (India's highest civilian award; inception 1954-06-02).
  - Banga Bibhushan (Award of West Bengal Government; inception 2011).
  - Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (award by the Sangeet Natak Akademi).
  - Tagore Award (created by the Government of India in commemoration of Rabindranath Tagore; inception 2011).
  - honorary doctor of the University of Calcutta (listed as an honorary doctorate).
- International and other honors recorded:
  - Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (rank of the Order of the British Empire).
  - Commander of the Legion of Honour (third rank of the French Legion of Honour).
  - Praemium Imperiale (arts prize).
  - Polar Music Prize (award).
  - Ramon Magsaysay Award (national award in the Philippines; inception 1958).
  - Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (instituted 1962).
  - Grammy Award entries present in dataset context: Grammy Award for Album of the Year; Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album.
  - Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize (inception 1989).
  - James Parks Morton Interfaith Award (for commitment to human development and peace).

### Associations with people and groups
- The dataset lists several key people and groups in connection with Ravi Shankar’s record: The Beatles; George Harrison; The Stooges; and a separate person entry for Ravi Coltrane.
- These names appear as part of the dataset’s "Key People" field; they indicate notable figures and groups present in the same structured context as Ravi Shankar in the source material.

### Contributions and cultural role
- The dataset identifies Ravi Shankar as a principal figure in Hindustani classical music and Indian classical music. His long documented career (c.1930–2012) and the breadth of awards and honors signal a sustained cultural contribution: performing, composing, and representing Indian classical sitar performance across national and international stages.
- Label and organizational affiliations recorded in the dataset reflect participation in both Western and Indian music markets, suggesting influence on the dissemination of sitar music through recordings and institutional recognition.

### Legacy indicators in dataset
- Recognition in multiple countries and by multiple institutions (Indian civilian honors; British and French orders; international prizes such as Praemium Imperiale and Polar Music Prize; music industry awards including Grammy lifetime recognition) indicates a legacy documented across national and disciplinary boundaries.
- Dataset metadata (sitelink_count 96; Wikipedia title; official website) marks a broad public and archival presence.

### Related dataset entities and classifications
- Historical/political context entries in the source: British Raj; India.
- Broad class entries: human; composer; film director; politician (these appear as related "Thing" classifications in the dataset; the record explicitly lists composer as a related classification and places Ravi Shankar within musical and human-identity categories).
- Musical tradition entries: Hindustani classical music; Indian classical music.
- Related artists and groups listed in dataset: The Beatles; George Harrison; The Stooges; Ravi Coltrane.

### Metadata and structured properties
- Aliases: Pandit Ravi Shankar; Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury.
- Website: http://www.ravishankar.org.
- Sitelink count: 96.
- Wikipedia title: Ravi Shankar.
- Work period start: +1930-00-00T00:00:00Z (dataset value).
- Work period end: +2012-00-00T00:00:00Z (dataset value).
- Wikidata description: "Indian sitar player (1920–2012)."

### Summary of dataset limitations
- The supplied source material lists awards, affiliations, aliases, and high-level descriptors but does not provide specific album titles, composition names, concert dates, place of birth, detailed education history, or direct narrative accounts of collaborations. All items above are limited to and framed by the facts present in the provided dataset.

## References

1. Integrated Authority File
2. [Portrait of the artist: Ravi Shankar, musician. 2011](http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jun/06/ravi-shankar-musician)
3. BnF authorities
4. LIBRIS. 2018
5. [Source](http://www.justdial.com/Pondicherry/ravishankar-industries-pvt-ltd-%3Cnear%3E-Mettupalayam/0413P413STD2401352)
6. [Source](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/did-you-know-/Ravi-Shankar-has-donned-the-directors-hat/articleshow/44780473.cms)
7. [Source](https://www.praemiumimperiale.org/en/laureate-en/laureates-en)
8. [Source](http://www.dashboard-padmaawards.gov.in/?Award=Bharat%20Ratna)
9. International Standard Name Identifier
10. MusicBrainz
11. Virtual International Authority File
12. CiNii Research
13. [Source](https://lingualibre.fr/wiki/Q158519)
14. SNAC
15. Internet Broadway Database
16. Find a Grave
17. filmportal.de
18. Brockhaus Enzyklopädie
19. Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana
20. Croatian Encyclopedia
21. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
22. [Source](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1983)
23. CONOR.SI
24. Autoritats UB
25. BBC Things
26. The Guardian
27. The Movie Database
28. Catalogo of the National Library of India