ong a fan of Ravi Shankar (and his daughter Anoushka), I was happy to receive this book. It is very detailed, includes a lot about his tour schedules, etc., but is also such a joy to read about the life of this talented Indian musician and dancer. Well worth the read.

I just finished reading ‘Indian Sun’, Oliver Craske’s wonderful biography of Ravi Shankar. Today, 04/07/2020 would have been Ravi’s 100th birthday and this is an open, honest and absorbing portrait.
Craske is the perfect author being close to the musician and having the cooperation of the Shankar family with complete archive access. He collaborated with Ravi for his autobiography ‘Raga Mala’ in 1997.
Going back to Ravi’s childhood, we follow his journey from a dancer in his older brother Uda’s dance troupe to his intensive study of the sitar becoming one of the most influential, multifaceted musicians of modern times.
In 1966 at the invitation of Shankar, George Harrison visited India and became his personal guru. His performance at the Monterey Pop Festival , Woodstock and the Concert for Bangladesh were triumphant as he introduced the West to the sounds and culture of the East. Throughout his career he crossed musical genres and composed musical film scores for Gandhi and Panther Panchali. He developed close friendships and working relationships with George Harrison, Philip Glass, John Coltrane and Yehudi Menuhin, amongst others
In his personal life he suffered the trauma of rape as a child and the pain of having an absent, unreliable father. Having a promiscuous, complex romantic life, he had a series of relationships with woman; over 180 throughout the world and fathered three children; son Shupendra (1942-1992) and daughters, musician Anoushka Shankar and singer Norah Jones.
Shankar’s life was rich in texture and color. He was a man with insight. A man on a quest for emotional musical and spiritual growth.
For a life so richly lived, Mr. Caske writes the definitive biography and Ravi’s legacy will live on.