Book Review: 'Yours In Music: A Graphic Autobiography'

The autobiography of sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar is more self congratulatory than descriptive, finds Pratik Ghosh.

When a legend decides to tell his story in graphic detail, one expects the good, bad and the ugly laid bare for public consumption. But Yours In Music, A Graphic Autobiography Of Pandit Ravi Shankar doesn’t encourage candour. One of the greatest musicians of our times instead chose to highlight his contribution to Indian and world music in a tone that is embarrassingly self-congratulatory. Panditji needn’t have done that. His music will continue to speak of his genius till the end of civilisation. What could be more enduring than that?

Having said that, the book is also a treat in some ways. Rich with detail about the phases of life that the sitar maestro wants to reveal, it provides a vivid account of the journey of a man who took the sitar and Indian classical music to the world, enriching western music as well. He collaborated with some of the finest singers and musicians around the globe, taking fusion to a whole new realm of artistic excellence.

Ravi Shankar was in the true sense India’s cultural ambassador, much like his older brother Uday Shankar who earlier took Indian dance to the global arena. The two brothers were instrumental in shaping the world’s understanding of Indian culture.

Following a linear trajectory, Yours... begins with Robu’s — his pet name — childhood in Benares when the family was going through hard times. Robu’s estranged father had married an English woman and lived elsewhere. After years of hardship, fate finally smiled when the eldest brother Uday Shankar returned home after a long spell in Europe. He took young Robu with him to Paris and a whirlwind romance with fame and prosperity followed. He travelled the world with his brother’s troupe, became an accomplished dancer and even gave a solo performance in London. The Second World War put an end to the aspirations of the young dancing star, and Ravi Shankar came back to India to take taalim from Baba Alauddin Khan, the pioneer of modern Hindustani music. Under the watchful gaze of Baba, Robu at last found his true calling.

Seven years of rigorous practice in the gurukul tradition, and Shankar started earning as a sitar player at the All India Radio in Lucknow. He then came to Bombay in 1944 and after a brief stint at HMV, joined Indian People’s Theatre Association.

Shankar’s musical association transcended boundaries of genres and art forms. He provided music for some path-breaking films such as Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali and Conrad Rook’s Chappaqua. He teamed up with the Beatles, especially George Harrison, who also learnt to play the sitar under his tutelage, and he performed with the legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin while finding time to score music for Hindi cinema. Along with these, he brought out albums and went globe-trotting for live performances. Not many people know that the most well-known tune of Saare Jahan Se Achcha was composed by Ravi Shankar but he never got credit because of a lack of proper copyright laws.

Much credit for the book should go to artist Neelabh. The drawings, both in colour and black and white, interspersed with photographs and mixed media illustrations, give the autobiography an interesting look. Had it not been for his work and artistic vision, the narrative, which sometimes flounders, would have ended up reading like a story from Amar Chitra Katha.

Yours In Music: A Graphic Autobiography, Wisdom Tree, 107 pages, Rs 495