OBITUARY ON RAVI SHANKAR--- THE EMPERORE OF STRINGS Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury our very own Ravi Shankar born on 7th of April in Varanasi has mesmerized us and made music speak with the mere tough of his fingers in the group of strings. He has been described as the finest contemporary Indian musician. Born in Varanasi he spent his youth touring Europe and India with the dance group of his brother Uday Shankar. He gave up dancing in 1938 to study sitar playing under Baba Allauddin Khan. Shankar developed a style distinct from that of his contemporaries and incorporated influences from rhythm practices of Carnatic music. His performances begin with solo alap, jor, and jhala (introduction and performances with pulse and rapid pulse) influenced by the slow and serious dhrupad genre, followed by a section with tabla accompaniment featuring compositions associated with the prevalent khyal style. Shankar often closed his performances with a piece inspired by the light-classical thumri genre. He popularized performing on the bass octave of the sitar for the alap section and became known for a distinctive playing style in the middle and high registers that used quick and short deviations of the playing string and his sound creation through stops and strikes on the main playing string. Shankar's interplay with Alla Rakha improved appreciation for tabla playing in Hindustani classical music. Ravi Shankar has also composed for ballets and films in India, Canada, Europe and the United States. The latter of which includes the films "Gandhi," and the "Apu Trilogy". Ravi Shankar, 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. Always ahead of his time, Ravi Shankar has written three concertos for sitar and orchestra, last one of which in 2008. He has also authored violin-sitar compositions for Yehudi Menuhin and himself. His recording "Tana Mana", released in 1987, brought Mr. Shankar's music into the "New age" with its unique method of combining traditional instruments with electronics. We lost the genius on the ill fated day of 11 December 2012. Perhaps no greater tribute can be paid to this genius than the words of his colleagues: "Ravi Shankar has brought me a precious gift and through him I have added a new dimension to my experience of music. To me, his genius and his humanity can only be compared to that of Mozart's." -- Yehudi Menuhin. His fingers have stopped moving yet we carry his music in our heart and will always do.