Sitar Virtuoso Ravi Shankar Dies At 92

By Krishnadev Calamur / NPR

Published December 11, 2012 at 5:49 PM PST

This story was published more than 12 years ago.

Musician Ravi Shankar performs at the Concert For Bangladesh benefit at Madison Square Garden in New York on Aug. 1, 1971. Shankar died Tuesday. He was 92.

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Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar has died, the Indian prime minister has announced. He was 92.

A tweet from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official Twitter account said: "Prime Minister condoles the passing away of Pandit Ravishankar - A national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage."

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The Hindu newspaper reported that Shankar died Tuesday in California. He'd been admitted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla last week after complaining of breathing difficulties.

Shankar was responsible for making Indian classical music popular in the West, collaborating with artists as diverse as the Beatles and Yehudi Menuhin.

He's survived by his wife, Sukanya, and his daughters, sitar player Anushka Shankar and singer Norah Jones, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.