Pandit Ravi Shankar, the Indian virtuoso who introduced The Beatles to the sitar

Pandit Ravi Shankar, was the virtuoso sitar maestro who introduced Indian classical music to the world and inspired the Sixties 'psychedelic' sound through his collaboration with the Beatles.

A representative of Indian culture and heritage all over the world, Pt Ravi Shankar is a name that defines "a life well lived". The icon, however, had humble beginnings--after completing his training in sitar in 1944, under musician Allauddin Khan, Shankar moved to Mumbai and joined the Indian People's Theatre Association, for whom he composed music for ballets in 1945. He then went on to be the music director for All India Radio, New Delhi, from 1949 to 1956.
Not many know that it was his influence on Beatles' guitarist George Harrison that helped popularise the use of Indian instruments in pop music throughout the 1960s.
Having lived an exemplary life as a doyen of classical Indian music--with both his daughters, Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones, carrying the baton forward--Shankar remains the brand ambassador of Indian art, culture and influence on the Western world.a

source:Indiatoday