Рави Шанкар о Джордже : "Он был индийцем в большей степени, чем многие индийцы.

“George was more Indian than many Indians”

Pandit Ravi Shankar pays a tribute to late Beatles star George Harrison. In an article specially written for Connecting, the maestro remembers his great friend and one of the giants of modern British music.

It was surprising for me to find that George, when I met him, had such deep interests in music, philosophy and the spiritual quest of India. Though I was well known already all over Europe and America as a celebrated Indian classical musician, when George became my student in 1966, suddenly the sitar, myself and Indian music became so popular among the younger generation all over the world. I become a superstar!

I did have problems for a couple of years with the superficial appreciation and the strong association of drugs with my young admirers, but by fighting for the correct approach for a few years, I could transfer my audiences gradually to have respect and understanding. I do feel so happy to see the true appreciation of our music today among audiences all over! George had helped me a great deal in this aspect. His love and respect for Indian music, religion, especially the Vedic culture, was so unique! He studied deeply into all our scriptures and was always overjoyed to meet some of the yogis and religious men.

The only solid lessons on sitar he had from me was in the summer and autumn of 1966, which he couldn’t pursue as much as we both wanted. He was very talented and would have become a great sitar player if only he could have given some time.

Nevertheless, he continued to learn from me whenever he could. His love, knowledge and understanding of Indian music developed immensely over he years. I gave him a copy of the book Autobiography Of A Yogi by Swami Yogananda and my brother Rajendra gave him a book by Swami Vivekananda in 1996. He had such thirst for all the knowledge and wisdom of Indian traditions. In many ways he was more Indian than many Indians.

We spent some times together, quite often a few days at a time, in India and different parts of the world. Ours was a combined relationship of father, son teacher and student. But mostly we were buddies, sharing jokes and punning all the time. The down-to-earth quality in George was something I could relate to with such joy. He would crack up when I told him my jokes; we had such fun!

We competed with each other in punning. When I told him that I was known as a “Pundit” because of my ‘punning’, he said something hilarious connecting the old Hindu scriptures of the four Vedas (Rigveda, Samveda, Atharvaveda and Yajurveda). He said, “Do you know the four Wether brothers? They are Ric, Sam, Arthur and George Wethers.”

What touched me was his worry about my health and well- being. He would tell me always not to travel and exert myself so much. From a disciple and friend he became more of a son to me, especially after my own son Shubho died in 1992. He would fly and be with me whenever I was in hospital or not well with my heart problems. His love and concern touched me deeply.

Anoushka and Sukanya were so attached to him. He had a beautiful and loving wife in Olivia and a wonderful son in Dhani. He had a magnanimous heart and always cared so much. He was a person with lots of normal human qualities. He stood out as a great, God-loving soul and a musician-- which one can clearly realise through his songs!

I still cannot accept his leaving us so soon. He was a frearless and beautiful soul always so conscious of God. I love him dearly. Though he is gone physically, he will always be alive and vibrant in my heart.”