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Inside view of the Kollur Mookambika temple

The Mookambika Devi Temple (Kannada: ಮೂಕಾಂಬಿಕಾ ದೇವಿ) of Kollur, dedicated to Mookambika Devi, is one of the most prominent shrines for people in the state of Karnataka and Kerala, India. Located at a distance of 147 km from Mangalore in the picturesque surroundings presented by the banks of the river Sauparnika and the lush green Kodachadri hill, the temple attracts millions of pilgrims every year. The temple holds immense relevance for the devotees as it is associated with revered Hindu saint and Vedic scholar Adi Shankara. It is believed that Adi Shankara perceived the idea of having a Mookambika Devi temple at Kollur and himself installed the idol of deity in the temple some 1200 years ago. People have high faith in Mookambika Devi Temple as Goddess Mookambika is regarded as a manifestation of Shakti, Saraswathi and Mahalakshmi. In fact the Temple of Mookambika Devi is one of the 'Seven Muktisthala' pilgrimage sites in Karnataka which are Kollur, Udupi, Subrahmanya, Kumbashi, Koteshwara, Shankaranarayana and Gokarna. [1]

The Mookambika Devi Temple stands at the bottom of the Kodachadri peak. The deity is in the form of Jyotir-Linga incorporating both Shiva and Shakthi. The Panchaloha image (five element mixed metal) of the Goddess on Shree Chakra is stated to have been consecrated by Adi Shankaracharya during his visit to this place. It is believed that the original place of the goddess is on top of Kodachadri Peak (3880') and as it was very difficult for ordinary people to trek all the way to Kodachadri, Shankaracharya reestablished the temple at Kollur.There is an exquisite sculpture of Panchamukha Ganesha here.

Kollur is regarded as one of the Seven Muktisthala pilgrimage sites, of Parashurama Kshetra, in Karnataka which are (Kollur), Udupi, Subrahmanya, Kumbashi, Koteshwara, Shankaranarayana and Gokarna. [2].

Other deities in the Kollur Mookambika temple include Shri Subramanya, Shri Partheeshwara, Shri Panchamukha Ganapathi, Shri Chandramouleeshwara, Shri Pranalingeshwara, Shri Nanjundeshwara, Shri Anjaneya, Shri Venkataramana, Shri Thulasi Gopalakrishna.

During the Navratri celebrations in October, the temple is crowded with devotees. Janmashtami or Krishna jayanthi is also a popular festival here. It is believed that the Swayambu Linga appeared on this day.

Vidhyarambha or the initiation of small children in the letters of the alphabet of their mother tongue is carried out in the Saraswathi mantapa on the last day of the Navarathri festival. However Vidhyaramba can be conducted on any suitable day at the temple. Annadhana is offered as a free offering to the devotees every afternoon and in the evenings.

How to reach[link]

Kollur Mookambika is connected by metalled road and there are direct buses from Mangalore, Udupi and Kundapur. The nearest Railway station is Kundapur or Mookambika Road (Bayandur - BYNR) in Konkan Rly route. From Kundapura Railway Station it would be lesser than 38 km if you use newly contructed vented dam cum bridge (Basrur-Gulvadi Bridge), route would be Kundapura Station-Basrur-Gulvadi-Neralkatte-Vandse-Kollur. You can also use the luxury bus services that ply from Mumbai to Mangalore - which has a stop at Bayandur or Kundapur on the state highway, and take a auto from here or pre-arrange for a taxi from Kollur. Takes 30 mins to reach the temple town from this spot.

Accommodation facilities[link]

There are numerous lodging available at Kollur. The Temple Administration runs the Sowparnika Guest House. Shri Lalithambika Guest House, Matha Chathram Guest House, Goenka Guest House etc. are available besides a few private hotels like Beena Residency. Altogether there are about 400 rooms combined in these facilities. Room rates are quite affordable for the common devotee. There is a dormitory in the bus stand complex for single visitors. Athithi Mandira is another facility that is run by the Ramakrishna Yogashram.

Legends[link]

According to the legends, Kola Maharshi who was doing penance here, was disturbed by a demon who was also engaged in doing penance to please Lord Shiva, to get a boon from Him. To prevent the demon from fulfilling his evil desire, Adi Shakti made him dumb (mooka) and when the Lord appeared before him, he could not ask for anything. Thereupon he got enraged and soon began troubling Kola Maharshi who prayed to Adi Shakti for deliverance. Adi Shakti who vanquished demon Mookasura, was extolled by the gods as Mookambika. At Kola Maharshi's prayer, the Divine Mother accompanied by all the Gods; stayed there to be perpetually worshipped by the devotees.[3].

It is believed that Sri Adi Shankaracharya had a vision of Sri Mookambika Devi and he installed the deity here.The story goes like this. Adi Shankara meditated at Kudajaadri hills and Devi incarnated before him asking for his wish. He revealed his wish to incorporate Devi to a place in Kerala to worship where he wanted.Devi agreed and put forward a challenge that she will follow Shankara and he should not look back until he reaches his destination.But to test Shankara, Devi deliberately paused and when he couldn't hear Devi's anklets, Shankara suddenly turned around. Devi then stopped following him and asked Shankara to install her vigraha as he sees her.

Ornamental jewels of Sri Devi Mookambika[link]

There is vast collection of jewels at the temple received as gifts of acknowledgement from the community of devotees who have realized their dreams and desires with the blessings of the Goddess. Of the various jewels of the Devi, the one in emerald is very valuable. Emerald represents knowledge. This temple has two processional deities. One is offered by Rani Chennamma as a substitute for the missing original one. But subsequently the missing one was found and thus there are two processional idols. Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Sri. M.G.R. gifted a gold sword, which weighs one kg and is 2½ feet long. The former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri Gundu Rao has gifted a similar type sword made of silver. The facial mask of Goddess Mookambika is completely made of gold and gifted by Vijaya Nagara Empire. The gold face mask of Jyothirlinga gifted by Chennammaji of Keladi is another unique ornament.^{[citation needed]}

Music festival[link]

For the past 30 years Yesudas has been coming to Kollur Mookambika temple on his birthday to sing keerthans of Saraswati devi. The music festival was started from his 60th birthday. The nine-day music festival begins every January at the temple.

In 2010 January 10 he celebrated his 70th birthday at the temple with ‘Sangeetharchana’ (classical devotional songs), along with 70 singers before goddess Mookambika on Sunday. The Sangeetharchana included ‘Pancharatna gayana’ of Thyagaraja’s poems. He also took part in the Vidyarambha function.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Nature around Kollur[link]

The Kollur village is surrounded by thick evergreen forest and small other villages with arecanut gardens. The Kodachadri peak along with other peaks of Western Ghats make a beautiful view from the temple. The forest is always green and hosts several wild animals and birds. Rare plants are also seen and a forest called Ambavana between Kollur and Kodachadri is said to be impregnable.

Water falls[link]

There is a beautiful waterfalls called Arasinagundi, at about 4 k.m. from temple. This waterfalls is situated at the foot of Kodachadri Hills and is one of most beautiful sights of this area. One has to trek 3 k.m. to reach this waterfalls, which is near Dali village.

Sowparnika River[link]

The two rivers Agnithirtha & Sowparnika which flow in the sanctuary of mookambika descend from Kodachadri hills. The wee spring of cool water situated in between the temples of Kalabhairava and Umamaheshwara is the source of river Sowparnika. Legend says that Suparna (Garuda) did a penance on the banks of this river praying to the Goddess for the abatement of his mother Vinutha's sorrows. When the Goddess appeared before him, he prayed that the river be henceforth known after him, Suparna, and therefore came to be called as Sowparnika. At the location where he is said to have sat in penance, there is a small cave even today which is known as "Garuda's Cave".

Mantapa, Kodachadri Hills

This holy river takes birth at the Kodachadri and flows up to the edge of Anthargami (now oluru) region where two more streams called Bhrungisha and Pippalada join it. Then it flows westward, surrounding Kollur in the name of "Sampara", and proceeds to join the sea near the temple of "Maharajaswamy" (Varahaswamy) at Maravanthe. It is believed that river absorbs the elements of 64 different medicinal plants and roots as it flows, therefore it cures all the diseases of those who bathe in it. Hence a bath in this river assumes significance and is considered sacred.^{[citation needed][5]} While trekking to the Kodachandri Sankara Mantapa - one can see the Sowparnika river source on a clear day. But it would not be possible to access this spot.

Places of Interest Nearby[link]

Baindoor : 15 k.m. Famous for beach Ottinane : 14 k.m. Where highland and sea meets, near Highway Nagara Fort : 30 k.m. Old fort visited by tourists Mookambika Reserve Forest : 5 k.m. includes Ghat Roads and forest view Sigandur : 35 k.m, a beautiful village with Chowdeswari Temple in the backwaters of Sharavathi. Maravanthe : 20 k.m. Where a Highway road passes between Arabean sea and River, only one of its kind in India.

References[link]

1. ^ "Gandharva of songs : K.J Yesudas celebrates 70th birthday". Non Resident Kerala Associations. http://clcworld.org/N68.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-01. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Yesudas celebrated Birthday at Kollur". Oneindia Entertainment. 2009-01-19. http://entertainment.oneindia.in/malayalam/top-stories/2009/k-j-yesudas-birthday-190109.html. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
3. ^ PTI (2010-01-10). "Music legend Yesudas turns 70". The Hindu. http://beta.thehindu.com/arts/music/article78427.ece. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
4. ^ "Yesudas celebrates 70th birthday in Kollur". Expressbuzz.com. 2010-01-11. http://expressbuzz.com/news/yesudas%20celebrates%2070th%20birthday%20in%20kollur/138347.html. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
5. ^ Kundapura Taluku Darshana by Dr. Kanaradi Vadiraja Bhatta

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2009)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mookambika

• Books
• Indian Temples Kollur
• Mookambika Devi Temple
• kollur

Coordinates: 13°51′49.6″N 74°48′52.6″E / 13.863778°N 74.814611°E / 13.863778; 74.814611

v t e Holy temples of coastal Karnataka Udupi Mookambika Shringeri Dharmasthala Temple Kukke Subramanya Nellitheertha Kollur Kateel Anegudde Gokarna Murudeshwara Padutirupathi

K. J. Yesudas
K. J. Yesudas
Background information
Birth name	Kattassery Joseph Yesudas
Also known as	Gana Gandharvan, Dasettan
Born	(1940-01-10) 10 January 1940 (age 72) Fort Kochi, Cochin, Indian Empire
Origin	Kochi, Kerala, India
Genres	Indian classical music, playback singing, music director[1]
Occupations	Singer, composer
Years active	1961–present
Website	www.yesudas.com

Kattassery Joseph Yesudas (born 10 January 1940) is an Indian classical musician and playback singer.

Yesudas sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music. He has recorded more than 50,000 songs in many languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tulu, Malay, Russian, Arabic, Latin and English during a career spanning five decades.^[2][3] He has performed in most Indian languages except Assamese, Konkani and Kashmiri.^[4][5] He also composed a number of Malayalam film songs in the 1970s and 1980s.^[1] Yesudas is fondly called Gana Gandharvan (English: The Celestial Singer)^[6][7]

He has won the National Award for the Best Male Playback Singer seven times (the most by any Indian singer) and the State Award for the Best Playback Singer 43 times, which consists of awards by the state governments of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and West Bengal. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1975 and Padma Bhushan in 2002 by the Government of India for his contributions towards the arts.^[8]

In 2006, he sang 16 film songs in four South Indian languages on the same day at AVM Studio, Chennai; the 16th song won him a Kerala State Award.^[9]

Early life and background[link]

K. J. Yesudas was born at Fort Kochi,in the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin, into a Latin Catholic family to Augustine Joseph and Alicekutty. His father, who was a well-known Malayalam classical musician and stage actor, was his first guru. Later he joined the R.L.V. Music Academy at Thrippunithura and underwent training. Later he studied at Sree Swati Thirunal music college, Thiruvananthapuram under the late Semmangudy Sreenivasa Iyer. But he could not complete his studies due to financial constraints. For a brief period, he was with Sri Vechur Hari Hara Subramania Iyer, after which he took advanced training from Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar.In 2011 he completed his 50 Years as a Play Back Singer.

• Completed the Ganabooshanam course at R.L.V. Music Academy, Thripunithura, Cochin
• Graduated from the Sree Swathithirunal Music Academy, Trivandrum
• Trained under K. R. Kumaraswamy (former principal of the Music College, Kochi), Kunjuvelan Aasan (a disciple of Nadaswara Vidwan Rajaratnam Pillai), Augustine Joseph (his father), Dekshinamoorthi Swamikal V. Dakshinamoorthy, Ramankutti Bagavathar, Sivaraman Nayar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar.

Playback singing career[link]

Debut and Early career: In 1960's[link]

The first song sung by Yesudas is Jaathi Bhedam Matha Dwesham (music: M B Sreenivasan) on 14th Nov 1961, which he usually sings on all the special occasions in front of the audience. Yesudas began his career in playback singing in the Malayalam movie Kaalpadukal^[3] and Tamil movies in the early 1960s.

He got the first break in his music career with the hit malayalam film named Bharya ( music by G. Devarajan and lyrics by Vayalar Ramavarma). He sang in Tamil for Bommai first (music: S. Balachander), but the first released movie was Konjum Kumari (music: Veda).^[10]

The trio combination of Salil-Yesudas -Prem Nazir (the evergreen hero of Malayalam Cinema) took the Malayalam Cinema Industry of the 70's by storm. It was generally agreed that Yesudas's voice was the most suited one for Prem Nazir.^[11]

In 1970 he was nominated to head the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy and was the youngest person ever to occupy the post.^[12]

Bollywood entry: In 1970's[link]

By the 1970s Yesudas entered Bollywood.The first Hindi song he sung was for the movie Jai Jawan Jai Kissan (1971), but the first released movie was Chhoti Si Baat. He has sung Hindi songs for many leading actors in Hindi cinema including Amitabh Bachchan, Amol Palekar and Jeetendra. He has sung many evergreen Hindi film songs for music directors including Ravindra Jain, Bappi Lahiri, Khayyam, Rajkamal and Salil Chowdhury.^[13]

Yesudas's most popular Hindi songs are in the 1976 movie Chitchor, with music given by Ravindra Jain. The greatest tribute to Jesudas was paid by Ravindra Jain, in an interview wherein the blind music director confessed that if ever he happened to regain vision, the first person he would like to see would be Yesudas.^[11]

Prominence over the world[link]

Yesudas has performed in many major cities around the world. In 1965, he was invited by the Soviet Union government to perform at music concerts in various cities in the USSR and also sang a Russian song over Radio Kazakhstan.^[12][14] Yesudas became one of the senate members in the International Parliament for Safety and Peace.^[15] On November 14, 1999, Yesudas was presented with an honorary award by UNESCO for "Outstanding Achievements in Music and Peace" at the "Music for Peace" event in Paris.a concert held to mark the dawn of the new millennium and whose attendees included artistes such as Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, Montserrat Caballé, and Zubin Mehta.^[16]

In 1971, during the Indo-Pakistani War, Yesudas traveled all around Kerala with his musical troupe to raise funds for the Indian Prime Minister's National Defense Fund.^[13]

In 2001 he sang for album Ahimsa in Sanskrit, Latin and English and in a mix of styles including New Age and Carnatic.^[17] In his music concerts in the Middle East he sings Arabic songs in the Carnatic style.^[18] He frequently serves as a cultural ambassador for India through his performances abroad, promoting Indian music.

In 2009 Yesudas began a cross-country musical campaign against terrorism in Thiruvananthapuram, with the motto 'Music For Peace'.^[19] Kavita Karkare, wife of Hemant Karkare, handed over the torch to Yesudas to mark the launch of the 'Shanthi Sangeetha Yatra'.^[20]

Personal life[link]

Yesudas is married to Prabha. They have three sons, Vinod, Vijay and Vishal. The second son Vijay Yesudas is a budding musician who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 2007. The family is currently settled in Chennai and Trivandrum. He also owns estates in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA and Flower Mound, TX, USA for personal and business reasons.^[21]

Role models[link]

Sree Narayana Guru’s great message, "One caste, One religion and One God for all humanity", influenced young Yesudas in his dealings with his fellow men. He had his own heroes among the musicians too. Mohammed Rafi, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Mukesh and Balamurali Krishna are the ones he admires the most.^[22]

Spiritualism[link]

For the past 30 years Yesudas has been visiting Kollur Mookambika temple, Udupi, Karnataka on his birthday to sing keerthans of Saraswati devi, the Goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. The music festival started on his 60th birthday. The nine-day music festival begins every January at Kollur Mookambika Temple. On Sunday, January 10, 2010, he celebrated his 70th birthday (Sapthathi) at Kollur Sri Mookambika Temple with ‘Sangeetharchana’ (classical devotional songs), along with 70 singers before goddess Mookambika. The Sangeetharchana included "Pancharatna Gayana" of Thyagaraja’s poems. He also took part in the Vidyarambha function. All India Radio broadcasted the special Sangeetharchana all over Kerala.^{[23] [24] [25] [26]}

Music company[link]

In 1980 Yesudas established the Tharangani Studio at Trivandrum. In 1992 the office and studio were moved to Chennai, Tamil Nadu and the company was incorporated in the US in 1998. Tharangni Studio and Tharangni Records became a recording center in Kerala which, for the first time, brought out audio cassettes of Malayalam film songs in stereo. The record company also had a voice mixing studio in Studio27, Chennai. The studio continues to produce and present events of Yesudas both for film and Indian classical music concerts throughout the world.^[27]

Notable facts[link]

• After winning the Kerala State Award for Best Playback singer on numerous occasions, he asked that he be ruled out of contention so as to give his peers and newcomers a chance of winning the award. Despite his request, he was still given this award several times in the following years.
• Playback singer Unni Menon, who was singing track songs for other prominent singers, got a break when Yesudas, after hearing the track songs Unni Menon had sung for the Malayalam film Kadathu, asked the music director Shyam to record and release the songs as they were. Yesudas was of the opinion that the songs did not need to be rendered by him as Unni Menon had already done it well and there was no need for improvement.
• Harivarasanam, a devotional song musical version composed by G. Devarajan, recited before closing the temple at Sabarimala was sung by Yesudas. Though there have been many different renditions of this song by many different renowned singers, Sabarimala officially uses Yesudas' voice for Harivarasanam every day.^[2]
• Swaralaya Yesudas award is a prestigious award for music artists in recognition of their outstanding performance. The award is instituted jointly by Swaralaya, an organization that promotes music and Kairali Channel, based in Trivandrum, Kerala. Awards have been given annually since 2000. Yesudas presents the awards at a Gandharva Sandhya every January.^[28][29][30]

Awards and honours[link]

Yesudas has recorded over 50,000 songs and has won scores of accolades including the coveted Padma Shri (1975), Padma Bhushan (2002)^[31] and seven National Awards for Best Playback Singer. He is the only singer who has been accorded the title Asthana Gayakan (official singer) of Kerala State.

• National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer a record seven times by the Government of India
• Kerala State Film Awards a record 24 times for the best playback singer by the Government of Kerala
• Tamil Nadu State Film Awards five times for the best playback singer by the Government of Tamil Nadu
• Andhra Pradesh State Film Awards four times for the best playback singer by the Government of Andhra Pradesh
• Karnataka State Film Awards five times for the best playback singer by the Government of Karnataka
• West Bengal State Film Awards one time for the best playback singer by the Government of West Bengal
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1992)
• D. Phil by Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu (1989)
• D. Litt by Kerala University, Kerala (2003)
• D. Litt by Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala (2009)
• Swaralaya - Eenam Awards 2010 - Decade's Best Talent in Malayalam Music
• Swathi Sangeetha Puraskaram in 2011, highest music award given by Government of Kerala

Filmography[link]

As Actor[link]

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• List of K. J. Yesudas concerts
• Swaralaya Yesudas Award
• List of Carnatic singers

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: K. J. Yesudas

• "Site dedicated to yesudas: ‘kjyesudas.com’". The Tribune. June, 2001. http://www.kjyesudas.com. 
• "Article on Yesudas: ‘For me music is God’". The Tribune. October 15, 2005. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20051015/saturday/main1.htm. 
• Interview with Yesudas: "Religions and races should not be obstacles but challenges for us"
• K. J. Yesudas at the Internet Movie Database
• K.J.Yesudas Tamil Songs

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravishankar at Art Of Living International Center, Bengaluru
Born	(1956-05-13) 13 May 1956 (age 56) Papanasam, Tamil Nadu, India
Birth name	Ravishankar
Philosophy	Advaita Vedanta
Quotation	My Vision is a violence free, stress free world.[1]

Ravi Shankar (Kannada: ರವಿ ಶಂಕರ್ ), usually known as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, was born Ravi Shankar Ratnam on 13 May 1956. He is also frequently referred to simply as "Sri Sri" (honorific) or as Guruji or Gurudev.^[2] He is a spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation (founded 1982), which aims to relieve individual stress, societal problems and violence. It is an NGO with UNESCO consultative status. In 1997 he established a Geneva-based charity, the International Association for Human Values, an NGO that engages in relief work and rural development and aims to foster shared global values. In 2010 Shankar was named by Forbes Magazine as the fifth most influential person in India.^[3]

Life[link]

Ravi Shankar was born to Smt. Vishalakshi Ratnam and R. S. Venkat Ratnam, who was then active in the automobile business. He was named "Ravi" (a common Indian name meaning "sun") because his birth was on a Sunday and "Shankar" after the 8th century Hindu saint Adi Shankara, with whom he shares the birthday. He received a Bachelor of Science degree at the age of 21 from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore University.

After graduation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar traveled with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and was invited by Maharishi to give talks on Vedic science, arrange conferences on the Vedas and science, and set up Ayurveda centers.^[4] He was with the Maharishi at the inauguration of the first of the Golden Domes at Maharishi International University.^[5] He was earlier addressed as "Pandit Ravi Shankar" (or "Punditji") but in the early 1990s changed his name to "Sri Sri Ravi Shankar" (literally "Mister Mister Ravi Shankar") after the renowned sitarist Ravi Shankar objected that the guru was using the name he had made famous.

The 1980s saw Shankar initiate a series of practical and experiential courses in spirituality around the globe. Shankar says that his rhythmic breathing exercise sudarśana-kriyā (Hindi: सुदर्शन क्रिया) came to him in 1982 "like a poem, an inspiration", after a ten-day period of silence on the banks of the Bhadra River in Shimoga, state of Karnataka, adding, "I learned it and started teaching it".^[6]

Shankar says that every emotion has a corresponding rhythm in the breath and regulating breath could help relieve personal suffering.^[7] After realizing Sudarshan Kriya, Shankar started sharing it with others through the Art of Living course, first held in Shimoga.

Shankar inspired his father and several other prominent citizens of Bangalore to found Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth, an educational and charitable trust, in 1981. Under the auspices of this trust, he opened a school south of Bangalore for local rural children. The school now provides free education for 2,000 such children.^[8]

In 1983 Shankar held the first Art of Living course in Europe in Switzerland. In 1986 he travelled to Apple Valley, California in the USA to conduct the first course to be held in North America.^[9]

In 2010 Shankar appeared on MTV's "Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory" in which he and Rob's manager, Jeremy Larner, attempt to help Rob find true happiness in life.^[10]

Ravi Shankar (center of the photo)

Spirituality[link]

Shankar teaches that spirituality is that which enhances human values such as love, compassion and enthusiasm. It is not limited to any one religion or culture. Hence it is open to all people. He feels the spiritual bond we share as part of the human family is more prominent than nationality, gender, religion, profession, or other identities that separate us.^[11]

According to him, science and spirituality are linked and compatible, both springing from the urge to know. The question, "Who am I?" leads to spirituality. The question, "What is this?" leads to science. Emphasizing that joy is only available in the present moment, his stated vision is to create a world free of stress and violence. His programs are said to offer practical tools to help accomplish this. He sees breath as the link between body and mind, and a tool to relax the mind, emphasizing the importance of both meditation/spiritual practice and service to others. In his view, "Truth is spherical rather than linear; so it has to be contradictory."^[12]

Peace and humanitarian work[link]

In the 1990s, Shankar initiated a number of humanitarian projects, which continue to this date under the auspices of the Art of Living Foundation and its numerous national organizations. In 1992 he started prison programs to rehabilitate prison inmates and help them reintegrate into the mainstream.^[13] 1997 saw the beginning of the International Association for Human Values, a humanitarian organization, and its 5H program, which aims to bring sustainable development to rural areas and revive human values.^[14] After the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Art of Living Foundation offered free courses in stress reduction to New Yorkers.^[7] The group ran a relief program in Kosovo for the war-ravaged population and for public health, university and UN personnel. The organization started an operation in occupied Iraq in 2003 aimed at relieving the stress of the Iraqi population, particularly the rising population of traumatized widows.^[15] A similar program was implemented in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2006 teaching war victims as well as UN and NGO personnel. In 2007, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visited Iraq at the invitation of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and also met with Sunni, Shia and Kurdish leaders.^[16] He visited Pakistan in 2004 and met with political and religious leaders there as a part of his efforts to promote global peace.^[17] He is involved in interfaith dialogue and currently sits on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.^[18] Many volunteers assisted the 2004 tsunami victims and Hurricane Katrina victims, in Haiti and many other regions of conflict and natural disaster.^{[citation needed]} There is a prison stress management and rehabilitation techniques program, known as Prison SMART (Stress Management and Rehabilitation Training), which assists many prisoners and prison staff worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

Sudarshan Kriya[link]

Sudarshan Kriya is a "breathing-based technique"^[19] that is a core component of the Art of Living courses and "the cornerstone of ... Art of Living Foundation's trauma relief programs".^[19]

A number of medical studies on its preparatory practices have been published in international peer-reviewed journals.^[20] A range of mental and physical benefits are reported in these studies, including reduced levels of stress (reduced cortisol—the "stress" hormone), improved immune system, relief from anxiety & depression (mild, moderate & severe),^[21] increased antioxidant protection, and enhanced brain function (increased mental focus, calmness and recovery from stressful stimuli), among other findings.^[22]

Persons enrolling for the courses sign a non-disclosure agreement with an undertaking not to teach the learned techniques (including Sudarshan Kriya) to other people without taking Teacher's Training.

According to Bharti Verma, M.D., in The Way of Grace, by David Lucas Burge and Gary Boucherle, "Sudarshan Kriya is not hyperventilation.... The process is unlike hyperventilation and seems much more complex in its nature. A person hyperventilating will often experience lightheadedness, blurred vision, muscle spasms of hands and feet, a general feeling of being unwell, fainting and loss of consciousness. In contrast, course participants learning Sudarshan Kriya report a state of deep relaxation while feeling rejuvenated and re-energized. Clearly the experiences of persons practicing Sudarshan Kriya are exactly the opposite of what a hyperventilating exercise would be expected to produce."

Local Art of Living organizations exist in 152 countries.^{[citation needed]}

Books[link]

Books based on Shankar's discourses and teachings include the following:

• An Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker; Vol. 1: ISBN 1-885289-29-4, Vol. 2: ISBN 1-885289-30-8, Vol. 3: ISBN 1-885289-33-2, Vol. 4: ISBN 1-885289-36-7, Vol. 5: ISBN 1-885289-38-3, Vol. 6: ISBN 1-885289-40-5, Vol. 7: ISBN 1-885289-41-3
• Buddha: manifestation of silence ISBN 81-89291-91-2
• 1999 – Be A Witness: The Wisdom of the Upanishads, 106 pp. ISBN 81-7621-063-3
• 2000 – God Loves Fun, 138 pp. ISBN 1-885289-05-7
• 2001 – Celebrating Silence: Excerpts from Five Years of Weekly Knowledge 1995–2000, 206 pp. ISBN 1-885289-39-1
• Celebrating Love ISBN 1-885289-42-1
• 2005 – Narada Bhakti Sutra, 129 pp. ISBN 81-7811-029-6

Notes[link]

See also[link]

Art of Living Foundation

References[link]

• Gautier, François, The Guru of Joy. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar & the Art of Living, Carlsbad, California, Hay House, Inc., 2008. ISBN 978-1-4019-1761-6 (First edition: India, Books Today, 2002. ISBN 81-87478-42-X)

External links[link]

• Official website

Ravi Shankar
Shankar performs in Delhi in March 2009
Background information
Birth name	Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury
Born	(1920-04-07) 7 April 1920 (age 92) Varanasi, United Provinces, Indian Empire
Genres	Hindustani classical music
Occupations	composer, musician
Instruments	sitar
Years active	1939–present
Associated acts	Uday Shankar, Allauddin Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Lakshmi Shankar, Yehudi Menuhin, Chatur Lal, Alla Rakha, George Harrison, Anoushka Shankar, Beatles
Website	RaviShankar.org

Ravi Shankar (Bengali: রবি শংকর; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury on 7 April 1920), often referred to with the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the most known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.^[1]

Shankar was born in Varanasi and 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 court musician Allauddin Khan. After finishing his studies in 1944, Shankar worked as a composer, creating the music for the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray, and was music director of All India Radio, New Delhi, from 1949 to 1956.

In 1956, he began to tour Europe and America playing Indian classical music and increased its popularity there in the 1960s through teaching, performance, and his association with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison of The Beatles. Shankar engaged Western music by writing concerti for sitar and orchestra and toured the world in the 1970s and 1980s. From 1986 to 1992 he served as a nominated member of the upper chamber of the Parliament of India. Shankar was awarded India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1999, and received three Grammy Awards. He continues to perform in the 2000s, often with his daughter Anoushka.

Early life[link]

Shankar was born 7 April 1920 in Varanasi to a Bengali Brahmin family as the youngest of seven brothers.^[2][3][4] Shankar's Bengali birth name was Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury.^[2] His father, Shyam Shankar, an administrator for the Maharaja of Jhalawar, used the Sanskrit spelling of the family name and removed its last part.^[2][5] Shyam was married to Shankar's mother Hemangini Devi, but later worked as a lawyer in London.^[2] There he married a second time while Devi raised Shankar in Varanasi, and did not meet his son until he was eight years old.^[2] Shankar shortened the Sanskrit version of his first name, Ravindra, to Ravi, for "sun".^[2]

At the age of ten, after spending his first decade in Varanasi, Shankar went to Paris with the dance group of his brother, choreographer Uday Shankar.^[6][7] By the age of 13 he had become a member of the group, accompanied its members on tour and learned to dance and play various Indian instruments.^[3][4] Uday's dance group toured Europe and America in the early to mid-1930s and Shankar learned French, discovered Western classical music, jazz, and cinema, and became acquainted with Western customs.^[8] Shankar heard the lead musician for the Maihar court, Allauddin Khan, in December 1934 at a music conference in Kolkata and Uday convinced the Maharaja of Maihar in 1935 to allow Khan to become his group's soloist for a tour of Europe.^[8] Shankar was sporadically trained by Khan on tour, and Khan offered Shankar training to become a serious musician under the condition that he abandon touring and come to Maihar.^[8]

Career[link]

Training and work in India[link]

Shankar's parents had died by the time he returned from the European tour, and touring the West had become difficult due to political conflicts that would lead to World War II.^[9] Shankar gave up his dancing career in 1938 to go to Maihar and study Indian classical music as Khan's pupil, living with his family in the traditional gurukul system.^[6] Khan was a rigorous teacher and Shankar had training on sitar and surbahar, learned ragas and the musical styles dhrupad, dhamar, and khyal, and was taught the techniques of the instruments rudra veena, rubab, and sursingar.^[6][10] He often studied with Khan's children Ali Akbar Khan and Annapurna Devi.^[9] Shankar began to perform publicly on sitar in December 1939 and his debut performance was a jugalbandi (duet) with Ali Akbar Khan, who played the string instrument sarod.^[11]

Shankar completed his training in 1944.^[3] Following his training, he moved to Mumbai and joined the Indian People's Theatre Association, for whom he composed music for ballets in 1945 and 1946.^[3][12] Shankar recomposed the music for the popular song "Sare Jahan Se Achcha" at the age of 25.^[13][14] He began to record music for HMV India and worked as a music director for All India Radio (AIR), New Delhi, from February 1949 to January 1956.^[3] Shankar founded the Indian National Orchestra at AIR and composed for it; his compositions experimented with a combination of Western instruments and classical Indian instrumentation.^[15] Beginning in the mid-1950s he composed the music for the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray, which became internationally acclaimed.^[4][16]

International career 1956–1969[link]

Tabla player Alla Rakha, who was a frequent accompanist of Shankar, in 1988

V. K. Narayana Menon, director of AIR Delhi, introduced the Western violinist Yehudi Menuhin to Shankar during Menuhin's first visit to India in 1952.^[17] Shankar had performed as part of a cultural delegation in the Soviet Union in 1954 and Menuhin invited Shankar in 1955 to perform in New York City for a demonstration of Indian classical music, sponsored by the Ford Foundation.^[18][19] Shankar declined to attend due to problems in his marriage, but recommended Ali Akbar Khan to play instead.^[19] Khan reluctantly accepted and performed with tabla (percussion) player Chatur Lal in the Museum of Modern Art, and he later became the first Indian classical musician to perform on American television and record a full raga performance, for Angel Records.^[20]

Shankar heard about the positive response Khan received and resigned from AIR in 1956 to tour the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States.^[21] He played for smaller audiences and educated them about Indian music, incorporating ragas from the South Indian Carnatic music in his performances, and recorded his first LP album Three Ragas in London, released in 1956.^[21] In 1958, Shankar participated in the celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the United Nations and UNESCO music festival in Paris.^[12] From 1961, he toured Europe, the United States, and Australia, and became the first Indian to compose music for non-Indian films.^[12] Chatur Lal accompanied Shankar on tabla until 1962, when Alla Rakha assumed the role.^[21] Shankar founded the Kinnara School of Music in Mumbai in 1962.^[22]

Shankar befriended Richard Bock, founder of World Pacific Records, on his first American tour and recorded most of his albums in the 1950s and 1960s for Bock's label.^[21] The Byrds recorded at the same studio and heard Shankar's music, which led them to incorporate some of its elements in theirs, introducing the genre to their friend George Harrison of The Beatles.^[23] Harrison became interested in Indian classical music, bought a sitar and used it to record the song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)".^[24] This led to Indian music being used by other musicians and created the raga rock trend.^[24]

Harrison met Shankar in London in 1966 and visited India for six weeks to study sitar under Shankar in Srinagar.^[14][25][26] During the visit, a documentary film about Shankar named Raga was shot by Howard Worth, and released in 1971.^[27] Shankar's association with Harrison greatly increased Shankar's popularity and Ken Hunt of Allmusic would state that Shankar had become "the most famous Indian musician on the planet" by 1966.^[3][25] In 1967, he performed at the Monterey Pop Festival and won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance for West Meets East, a collaboration with Yehudi Menuhin.^[25][28] The same year, the Beatles won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band which included "Within You Without You" by Harrison, a song that was influenced by Indian classical music.^[26][28] Shankar opened a Western branch of the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles, California, in May 1967, and published an autobiography, My Music, My Life, in 1968.^[12][22] He performed at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, and found he disliked the venue.^[25] In the 1970s Shankar distanced himself from the hippie movement.^[29]

International career 1970–present[link]

George Harrison, U.S. President Gerald Ford, and Ravi Shankar in the Oval Office in December 1974

In October 1970 Shankar became chair of the department of Indian music of the California Institute of the Arts after previously teaching at the City College of New York, the University of California, Los Angeles, and being guest lecturer at other colleges and universities, including the Ali Akbar College of Music.^[12][30][31] In late 1970, the London Symphony Orchestra invited Shankar to compose a concerto with sitar; Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra was performed with André Previn as conductor and Shankar playing the sitar.^[4][32] Hans Neuhoff of Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart has criticized the usage of the orchestra in this concert as "amateurish".^[1] George Harrison organized the charity Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971, in which Shankar participated.^[25] Interest in Indian music had decreased in the early 1970s, but the concert album became one of the best-selling recordings featuring it and won Shankar a second Grammy Award.^[28][31]

During the 1970s, Shankar and Harrison worked together again, recording Shankar Family & Friends in 1973 and touring North America the following year to a mixed response after Shankar had toured Europe with the Harrison-sponsored Music Festival from India.^[33] The demanding schedule weakened Shankar, and he suffered a heart attack in Chicago in November 1974, causing him to miss a portion of the tour.^[34] In his absence, Shankar's sister-in-law, singer Lakshmi Shankar, conducted the touring orchestra.^[34] The touring band visited the White House on invitation of John Gardner Ford, son of U.S. President Gerald Ford.^[34] Shankar toured and taught for the remainder of the 1970s and the 1980s and released his second concerto, Raga Mala, conducted by Zubin Mehta, in 1981.^[35][36] Shankar was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score for his work on the 1982 movie Gandhi, but lost to John Williams' E.T.^[37] He served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper chamber of the Parliament of India, from 12 May 1986 to 11 May 1992, after being nominated by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.^[14][38] Shankar composed the dance drama Ghanashyam in 1989.^[22] His liberal views on musical cooperation led him to collaboration with contemporary composer Philip Glass, with whom he released an album, Passages, in 1990.^[6]

Shankar underwent an angioplasty in 1992 due to heart problems, after which George Harrison involved himself in several of Shankar's projects.^[39] Because of the positive response to Shankar's 1996 career compilation In Celebration, Shankar wrote a second autobiography, Raga Mala, with Harrison as editor.^[39] He performed in between 25 and 40 concerts every year during the late 1990s.^[6] Shankar taught his daughter Anoushka Shankar to play sitar and in 1997 became a Regent's Lecturer at University of California, San Diego.^[40] In the 2000s, he won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album for Full Circle: Carnegie Hall 2000 and toured with Anoushka, who released a book about her father, Bapi: Love of My Life, in 2002.^[28][41] Anoushka performed a composition by Shankar for the 2002 Harrison memorial Concert for George and Shankar wrote a third concerto for sitar and orchestra for Anoushka and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.^[42][43] In June 2008, Shankar played what was billed as his last European concert,^[29] but his 2011 tour includes dates in the United Kingdom.^[44]

Style and contributions[link]

Shankar plays the raga Madhuvanti at the Shiraz Arts Festival in Iran in the 1970s

Shankar developed a style distinct from that of his contemporaries and incorporated influences from rhythm practices of Carnatic music.^[6] 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.^[6] Shankar often closes his performances with a piece inspired by the light-classical thumri genre.^[6]

Shankar has been considered one of the top sitar players of the second half of the 20th century.^[1] 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 uses quick and short deviations of the playing string and his sound creation through stops and strikes on the main playing string.^[1][6] Narayana Menon of The New Grove Dictionary noted Shankar's liking for rhythmic novelties, among them the use of unconventional rhythmic cycles.^[45] Hans Neuhoff of Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart has argued that Shankar's playing style was not widely adopted and that he was surpassed by other sitar players in the performance of melodic passages.^[1] Shankar's interplay with Alla Rakha improved appreciation for tabla playing in Hindustani classical music.^[1] Shankar promoted the jugalbandi duet concert style and introduced new ragas, including Tilak Shyam, Nat Bhairav and Bairagi.^[6]

Recognition[link]

Shankar won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize of the Jury at the 1957 Berlin International Film Festival for composing the music for the movie Kabuliwala.^[46] He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 1962,^[47] and was named a Fellow of the academy for 1975.^[48] Shankar was awarded the three highest national civil honors of India: Padma Bhushan, in 1967, Padma Vibhushan, in 1981, and Bharat Ratna, in 1999.^[49] He received the music award of the UNESCO International Music Council in 1975, three Grammy Awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award.^[12][28][37] Shankar was awarded honorary degrees from universities in India and the United States.^[12] He received the Kalidas Samman from the Government of Madhya Pradesh for 1987–88, the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 1991, the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1992, and the Polar Music Prize in 1998.^{[50][51][52][53]} In 2001, Shankar was made an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Elizabeth II for his "services to music".^[54] Shankar is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and in 1997 received the Praemium Imperiale for music from the Japan Art Association.^[6] The American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane named his son Ravi Coltrane after Shankar.^[55]

Personal life and family[link]

Shankar in 1988

Shankar married Allauddin Khan's daughter Annapurna Devi in 1941 and a son, Shubhendra Shankar, was born in 1942.^[10] Shankar separated from Devi during the 1940s and had a relationship with Kamala Shastri, a dancer, beginning in the late 1940s.^[56] An affair with Sue Jones, a New York concert producer, led to the birth of Norah Jones in 1979.^[56] In 1981, Anoushka Shankar was born to Shankar and Sukanya Rajan, whom Shankar had known since the 1970s.^[56] After separating from Kamala Shastri in 1981, Shankar lived with Sue Jones until 1986. He married Sukanya Rajan in 1989.^[56]

Shubhendra "Shubho" Shankar often accompanied his father on tours.^[57] He could play the sitar and surbahar, but elected not to pursue a solo career and died in 1992.^[57] Norah Jones became a successful musician in the 2000s, winning eight Grammy Awards in 2003.^[58] Anoushka Shankar was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album in 2003.^[58]

Shankar is a Hindu and a vegetarian.^[59][60] He lives with Sukanya in Encinitas, California.^[61]

Discography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Shankar, Ravi (1968). My Music, My Life. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-20113-1. 
• Shankar, Ravi (1979). Learning Indian Music: A Systematic Approach. Onomatopoeia. OCLC 21376688. 
• Shankar, Ravi (1997). Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar. Genesis Publications. ISBN 0-904351-46-7. 

Notes[link]