Ebook: Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar

‘Back in 1994 we were thinking of ways to mark Ravi’s 75th birthday. I asked Brian Roylance if he wanted to publish a book and he said ‘yes’. Ravi liked the idea too, and then we started to prepare.’ – George Harrison

In 1994, George Harrison persuaded Ravi Shankar to write his autobiography, to celebrate the great musician’s 75th birthday. Over two years later, after extensive research, interviews and writing, Raga Mala was published to great success. Now 23 years later, on the occasion of the centenary of Ravi Shankar’s birth, we are delighted to release the final 450 copies in this critically acclaimed edition.

Ravi Shankar was the world’s foremost sitar-virtuoso and composer, the man christened by George Harrison as the ‘Godfather of World Music’, who spearheaded the international spread of Indian culture. He had a remarkable story to tell, and he brought to the task the same contrasting qualities that made him as uncommon a man as a musician: that mixture of charm and candour, of dignity and humility, of deep spirituality and wide-eyed, impish fun.

In Raga Mala, one of the twentieth century’s most important musicians shares his life story, with a foreword by Shankar’s close friend and guest editor, George Harrison, and an afterword by Yehudi Menuhin.