Bharat Ratna Ravi Shankar (born April 7, 1920) is an Indian (Bengali) musician best known for being a virtuoso at the sitar.
He was generally unknown outside of India until George Harrison began experimenting with the sitar in 1965. The two eventually met due to this common interest and became close friends, and that in turn gave Shankar worldwide fame as Harrison's mentor.
This development greatly expanded his career, as he was invited to play in venues that were unusual for a classical musician like himself such as the 1967 Monterey Music Festival; this took place in Monterey, California, about 100 miles south of San Francisco.
Since then, he has maintained a steady and acclaimed career as a musician and recording artist. Now he is a legendary sitarist, and the India's most esteemed musical Ambassador and a singular phenomenon in the classical music worlds of East and West. As a performer, composer, teacher and writer, he has done more for Indian music than any other musician.
George Harrison produced and participated in two record albums, "Shankar Family & Friends" and "Festival of India" composed by Ravi Shankar.
