Shambhu Das (born 1934) is an

Indian classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were no ...

musician and educator. He is best known for his long association with

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

, on whose behalf Das has acted as an ambassador for Indian music in Canada since the early 1970s, and his friendship with

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, whom Das helped teach sitar in 1966. His assistance in Harrison's immersion in Indian culture helped inspire the Beatles' career direction and, due to the band's popularity and influence, the direction of the

1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed throughout much of the Western world in the 1960s and has been ongoing to the present day. The aggregate movement gained momentum as the civil rights mo ...

. In 1970, Das established the Indian Music Department at Toronto's

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

, where he taught for four years. Das recruited the Indian musicians and played sitar on Harrison's 1968 solo album ''

Wonderwall Music ''Wonderwall Music'' is the debut solo album by English musician George Harrison and the soundtrack to the 1968 film '' Wonderwall'', directed by Joe Massot. Released in November 1968, it was the first solo album by a member of the Beatles, and ...

'', which was partly recorded in Bombay. He occasionally accompanied Shankar at his concerts and has performed himself throughout North America, Europe and India. From the 1990s, Das's work has increasingly drawn on the connection between music and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

as a means of physical and spiritual healing. In the early 2000s, he formed the

Indo jazz Indo jazz is a musical genre consisting of jazz, classical and Indian influences. Its structure and patterns are based on Indian music with typical jazz improvisation overlaid. While the term itself may be comparatively recent, the concept dates ...

ensemble Shanti. A 24-hour sitar recital he gave in Toronto in October 2004, undertaken as a benefit for those affected by floods in India and Bangladesh, is recognised by ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' as the longest non-stop sitar performance.

Early years and musical apprenticeship

Das was born in the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

holy city of

Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tr ...

, in the north Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. He was brought up in the

Bengali Hindu Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Benga ...

tradition. His father was a restaurateur who supplied food to the Allied forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Das says his first memory of hearing an Indian classical

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

was a performance by a

shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.Geoffrey Clarfield
"Good Enough to Teach the Beatles, But Not to Record"
''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', 15 November 2010, p. A12 (retrieved 3 February 2019). Das was first taught

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

by a music tutor who visited his home. He then attended

Theosophical Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

college, where his studies continued under the

Dagar brothers The Dagar Brothers are one of two generations of singers of the Indian classical music vocal genre dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated ...

. He also studied

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

and vocal technique. During a concert held at the college, Das met

, whom Das asked to accept him as a sitar student. He attended

Benares Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Re ...

, graduating with a master's degree in music in 1959. That year, Das joined Shankar in Bombay, where he became part of Shankar's household, occasionally accompanied his

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

in concert, and also served as his personal assistant. He studied sitar under Shankar in the strict

guru–shishya tradition The ''guru–shishya'' tradition, or ''parampara'' ("lineage"), denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in Indian-origin religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism (including Tibetan and Zen traditions). Each ''parampar ...

Jeffrey W. Cupchik, "Polyvocality and Forgotten Proverbs (and Persons): Ravi Shankar, George Harrison and Shambhu Das", ''Popular Music Journal'', April 2013 (vol. 8, no. 1), p. 81; available a
academia.edu
(retrieved 6 February 2019). in which Shankar had trained under

Allauddin Khan Allauddin Khan, also known as Baba Allauddin Khan ( – 6 September 1972) was an Indian sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most notable music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. For a generation ...

Kinnara School of Music

By the early 1960s, Das was one of Shankar's most advanced students, or protégés, along with Shamim Ahmed Khan, Kartick Kumar and Amiyo Das Gupta. He was among the musicians selected to teach instrumental classes when Shankar founded his

Kinnara School of Music The Kinnara School of Music was a music school founded in Bombay, India, in 1962 by Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar. With his increased popularity and influence in the West, he opened a second branch of the school in Los Angeles in May 1967. ...

in Bombay, which opened in July 1962. The school staged recitals and productions of Shankar's orchestral works, such as ''Nava Rasa Ranga'' in 1964, performed by the teachers and students. In September 1966, Das assisted in teaching sitar to

. After fans and the press learnt of Harrison's presence in Bombay, prompting scenes of

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...

outside his hotel, Das accompanied Shankar and Harrison to

Dal Lake Dal is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an urban lake, the second largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir, and the most visited place in Srinagar by tourists and locals. It is integral to tourism and recreation in ...

in Kashmir, where Harrison's training continued. He and Das struck up a friendship as the majority of Harrison's musical education involved learning Indian scales,Neil Spencer, "Eastern Rising", '' Mojo Special Limited Edition: 1000 Days That Shook the World (The Psychedelic Beatles – April 1, 1965 to December 26, 1967)'', Emap (London, 2002), p. 78. a task that Shankar delegated to Das. During this visit by Harrison, Das escorted him to Benares and other sites of cultural significance. There, Harrison saw first-hand the aspects of Hindu culture and religiosity that would inform his work with the Beatles, including their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', and influence the direction of the

in the West. When Shankar moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and set up a branch of the Kinnara school there, Das took over the running of the Bombay school. In January 1968, he played sitar on Harrison's ''

'' album, which was recorded at HMV Studios in Bombay. Das recruited the other local musicians for the sessions, which also produced the Beatles' 1968

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

" The Inner Light". He appeared in the film ''

Raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

'', a documentary on Shankar that includes scenes filmed over 1967–68 at the two Kinnara centres. In an interview in 2005, Das told ''

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

'' that he recalled visiting Chennai (formerly Madras) in 1968 to film the scenes there for ''Raga''. Writing in 2013 in the journal ''Popular Music History'',

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

Jeffrey Cupchik said that Das's contribution to Harrison's musical and spiritual development, and its considerable influence on Western culture, had arguably been overlooked, as historians tend to focus only on the enduring association between Harrison and Shankar. He described Das and Harrison's friendship as "a relationship that has yet to be addressed fully by popular music historians".Cupchik, p. 83.

Toronto

In 1970, Shankar organised for Das to move to Canada to help promote Indian classical music in North America, through a program of lectures, public performances and private tuition.Times of India staff, "Shambhu Das Sets World Record", ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'', 29 July 2005; available a
shambhudas.com
Between 1970 and 1974, Das taught at

in Toronto, where he co-founded the Indian Music Department. He then taught sitar and vocal technique at Sangeet, a private music school. Continuing his association with his guru, Das helped organise Shankar's concerts in Canada.Cupchik, p. 70. He also acted as Shankar's business manager, negotiating fees for private recitals for celebrities such as

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

. In August 1976, Das played tambura at Shankar's dusk-to-dawn recital at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, a concert celebrating the twentieth anniversary of his first public appearance in the US."Ravi Shankar's 1976 All-Night Concert Out on East Meets West Music"
Unfinished Side, 16 July 2014 (retrieved 4 February 2019). Das himself performed concerts in India, North America and Europe, and made appearances on CBC television and radio. In 1994, Das made two cassette recordings, titled ''Dhyanam'' and ''Shanti Vani'', of musical pieces designed to accompany

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and

practice. The two collections were endorsed by

Sri Chinmoy Chinmoy Kumar Ghose (27 August 1931 – 11 October 2007), better known as Sri Chinmoy, was an Indian spiritual leader who taught meditation in the West after moving to New York City in 1964. In 1996, Das published the book ''Music and Meditation'', written with Samprasad Majumdar. The book sought to further understanding of the connection between Indian classical music and meditation incorporating Vedic

mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

s. It introduced a musical–spiritual concept termed DH3M (deep hypnosis music-meditation method), which Das espoused as a cure for psychological and physical pain. In the book, he describes DH3M as a "combination of Western science and Eastern wisdom, of ancient philosophy and collaboration of celestial music".Cupchik, p. 86. In the early 2000s, Das formed the band Shanti, an

ensemble. The name was taken from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word for peace, since the band's music was intended to "raise one's sense of inner divine peace".Barry Prophet, "East Meets West at Harbourfront", ''M(a)gizone'', fall 2003; available a
shambhudas.com
(retrieved 5 February 2019). In 2003, the ten-piece ensemble comprised three sitars, tambura, two tablas, electric keyboard,

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

, electric guitar, bass guitar and vocals. Das credited Harrison and the ''Wonderwall Music'' project with inspiring his move towards Indo jazz. In 2004, Das responded to an initiative launched by the Ontario premier,

Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearl ...

, to contribute humanitarian aid to citizens of India, Bangladesh and Nepal after the region had been subject to devastating floods.Ajit Jain, "Floods in India Move McGuinty", ''

India Abroad ''India Abroad'' is a weekly newspaper published from New York City, which focuses on Indian news meant for an Indian American, Indian diaspora and expatriate audience. The publication is known for its annual award ceremony for the "India Abroad P ...

'', 27 August 2004, p. 6; available a
shambhudas.com
On 8–9 October, Das performed a 24-hour sitar marathon at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

's William Doo AuditoriumAjit Jain, "Shambhu Das Makes It to Guinness Book", ''

'' (Toronto Edition), 5 August 2005, p. 1; available a
shambhudas.com
to raise awareness and funds for those affected in India and Bangladesh. Das overcame poor health to complete the day-long performance; as stipulated beforehand, he left the stage only for toilet breaks, during which his place was taken by one of his students. The performance was recognised by ''

'' as the longest sitar recital. In September 2005, the Federation of Bangladeshi Associations in North America (FOBANA) presented him with an award for "his outstanding contribution in promoting Bengali culture to the new generation"."Shambhu Das Biography"
shambhudas.com (retrieved 5 February 2019). After debuting the work in Chicago in 2007, Das presented ''In Search of Peace – Music and Meditation'', a combination of performance and lecture, in Chennai in February 2008. A solo presentation, it included an

alap The Alap (; ) is the opening section of a typical North Indian classical performance. It is a form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a raga. In dhrupad singing the alap is unmetered, improvised (within the raga) and unaccompani ...

(based on raga

Komal Rishabh Asavari Komal Rishabh Asavari (), often simply called Asavari, is a raga in Hindustani classical music. As its name suggests, it differs from the raga Shuddh Rishabh Asavari by using a ''komal'' ("flat") ''re'' () while Asavari uses a shuddha (natural) ...

) that incorporated aspects of Hindustani classical, fusion, and Indo jazz, accompanied by a video projection of scenes from Benares and the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

. The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' has described Das as "one of India's most distinguished musicians". When asked in a 2010 interview for Canada's ''

'' why he had never attempted to become a commercial recording artist, Das replied: "I love to perform, but I am not sure that what I have to offer is as good as or better than my guru ... If my guru's work is a work of gold, perhaps I can compare my style to silver, with a few glints of gold that I have received from my teacher."

Personal life

Since the late 1970s, Das has lived with him family in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

in the east of Toronto. In 1992, his only son died in an automobile accident. As a result of this loss, Das returned to India and lived in monasteries there, a period of reflection and re-energising that led to his meditation-based recordings and book later in the 1990s. Several years after his return to Toronto, Das suffered a major

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. He was persuaded to re-engage with his passion for music by Shankar, whose son Shubho had also died in 1992, and who himself has begun to suffer serious heart problems at this time. According to Cupchik, who interviewed Das at his Toronto home in 2003, Das was intending to write an autobiography at that time.Cupchik, pp. 71, 76. With reference to Das's stated wish that he be more widely recognised for his contribution to Harrison's introduction to Indian culture, Cupchick said that, rather than opportunism on Das's part, such an account would be more "a way of affirming his own identity".

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Shambhu Indian male classical musicians Sitar players Musicians from Varanasi Pupils of Ravi Shankar Hindustani instrumentalists Bengali Hindus Indian expatriates in Canada The Beatles and India 20th-century Indian musicians 21st-century Indian musicians 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians