GRAMMY Museum to debut 'Ravi Shankar: A Life In Music' on his 95th birthday

The GRAMMY Museum has announced that it will debut 'Ravi Shankar

The exhibit, which will mark the first in the United States to celebrate India's most esteemed musician, will provide visitors with a glimpse into Shankar's early life, the roots of his musicality and his vast impact on Western music.

Bob Santelli, Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum said that Shankar is as synonymous to world music as Elvis Presley is to rock and roll, adding that they are excited to introduce the visitors to the influential life of Shankar.

Santelli added that through his decades of world concert performances and the relationships he built with Western artists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Philip Glass, John Coltrane, and The Beatles, Shankar was instrumental in introducing the world to Indian music.

On display on the Museum's fourth floor, the exhibit will feature, a collection of sitars played by Shankar, including one from the 1930s, his GRAMMY Awards, including the 1972 Album Of The Year trophy for The Concert For Bangladesh, his performance attire, including outfits worn at Woodstock in 1969 and the Concert for Bangladesh, the performance box from his final concert in 2012, handwritten letters and music ideas and many more.

Olivia Harrison, wife of the late Beatles member George Harrison, who considered Shankar to be the "Godfather of World Music," added that the upcoming Shankar exhibition will be a privileged glimpse into a life dedicated to, and consumed by, Indian classical music, not only played on sitar, but through all forms of instruments, voice and dance.

Sukanya Shankar, Ravi Shankar's widow, said that she is deeply touched by the efforts the GRAMMY Museum is making to showcase his life story for the world to see.

One day before the launch, on April 28, the Museum will host 'Ravi Shankar: Celebrating A Life In Music' that will feature the screening of a short documentary film, followed by a special performance from a trio comprised of Barry Phillips on cello, Lakshay Mohan Gupta on sitar and Aayush Mohan Gupta on sarod.