BENGALURU: Sukanya Shankar still bubbles like a teenage girl when she speaks about her late husband and Grammy award winner Pandit Ravi Shankar. In city for the centenary celebration of the sitar maestro at Indian Music Experience on March 7, Sukanya says he was highly musical and extremely romantic.
Ask her if it was difficult for her to let go of the sitar legend’s belongings and keep it at the museum, she says he belonged to the whole world and she never thought she had any possession over them. “As long as his things go to places where people can see, enjoy and know more about him, I am happy. What would bring me greatest joy is if something of him is left in all parts of the world, “ says Sukanya, who adds that she wants her husband to be remembered as the man who took the music of his country to every part of the world. His music continues to influence generations across continents.
She has no qualms about accepting the fact that she is still head over heels in love with the legend and says their life was filled with laughter because of his ‘unique sense of humour’. “Living with him was like being treated like a Goddess. He would never miss a chance to express his love for me,” she says, adding that he created the opera, – Sukanya – for me while he was in the hospital. “Of course, we had nicknames for each other but I am not going to disclose it,” smiles 63-year-old Sukanya, who currently stays in California.
While life looked like a fairy tale with Shankar by her side, how has her journey been after that? “He was one of a kind – there was no Ravi Shankar before and there will be no Ravi Shankar after. Now he is closer to me than ever before and I feel his presence and guidance wherever I go,” says Sukanya, who also has a cordial relationship with Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Norah Jones. “She is my step-daughter. I love her very much and have removed the word ‘step’ in my heart,” adds Sukanya.
She was born in Agra and her father was an Army officer. “We were five siblings and were all raised in Chennai. My family was very musical and I was nurtured in both music and dance. My father was a great fan of Lakshmi Shankar (sister-in-law of Pandit Ravi Shankar) and invited her for the first time to Chennai to perform,” says Sukanya, who was 10 years old then and says she didn’t have a faint clue that one day, “Lakshmi auntie” will become her sister-in-law.
Belongings on display
On the occasion of the centenary celebration of sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, Indian Music Experience Museum in association with Ravi Shankar Foundation will be exhibiting his musical instruments, costumes, photographs and some of his personal belongings, like his Grammy award, hearing aid, Bharat Ratna and more. The museum will also set up an experience room, where visitors will get a chance to sit and feel his music. The exhibition will be inaugurated with a performance by his disciples, Grammy-award winner Vishwamohan Bhatt on the mohanveena, accompanied by tabla maestro Bickram Ghosh.