Kamala Chakravarty (born Saraswati Kamala Shastri, 1928) is an

Indian classical music 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 not ...

ian and former dancer, known for her association with

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 ...

maestro

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 ...

. From 1967 until the late 1970s, she accompanied Shankar, in the role of tambura player and singer, in a number of acclaimed performances, including the

Monterey International Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

(1967), his

Human Rights Day Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Right ...

duet with violinist

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

(1967),

the Concert for Bangladesh The Concert for Bangladesh (or Bangla Desh, as the country's name was originally spelt)Harry, p. 135. was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were he ...

(1971) and the Music Festival from India (1974). She lived with Shankar as his "wife" from 1967 to 1981, while he was still married to musician and teacher

Annapurna Devi (1927 – 13 October 2018) was an Indian surbahar (bass sitar) player of Hindustani classical music. She was given the name 'Annapurna' by former Maharaja Brijnath Singh of the former Maihar Estate (M.P.), and it was by this name that she was p ...

. While in her teens, Chakravarty trained and performed with

Uday Shankar Uday Shankar (8 December 1900 – 26 September 1977) was an Indian dancer and choreographer, best known for creating a fusion style of dance, adapting European theatrical techniques to Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian cl ...

's dance company. She is the younger sister of noted

Hindustani classical Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

vocalist

Lakshmi Shankar Lakshmi Shankar (née Sastri, 16 June 1926 – 30 December 2013) was an Indian singer and a noted Hindustani classical. Born into a south Indian Brahmin family, she became an outstanding Hindustani vocalist of the Patiala Gharana and married Ra ...

. She was married to Bombay film director

Amiya Chakravarty Amiya Chandra Chakravarty (1901–1986) was an Indian literary critic, academic, and Bengali poet. He was a close associate of Rabindranath Tagore, and edited several books of his poetry. He was also an associate of Gandhi, and an expert on the ...

from 1945 until Amiya's death in 1957.

Biography

Early years and participation in Uday Shankar's dance company

Kamala Chakravarty was born in Madras, south India, in 1928. Her father was R.V. Shastri, editor of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

's reformist newspaper ''

Harijan Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a ...

''. Along with her elder sister, Lakshmi Shastri, she studied at dance pioneer

's India Culture Centre, an academy based at Almora, in the remote north Indian state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

. Her teachers in the various classical dance traditions included Sankaran Namboodri (for

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

), Kandappan Pillai (

Bharata Natyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

) and Amobi Sinha ( Manipuri).Shankar, ''Raga Mala'', p. 95. At Almora in 1941, Chakravarty attended the wedding of Lakshmi, then aged fifteen, to Uday's brother Rajendra, where she met the youngest of the Shankar brothers, the future

virtuoso

. The latter recalls in his second autobiography, '' Raga Mala'' (1997), that Chakravarty was known as Saraswati Shastri at this time and only later began using Kamala as her first name.Shankar, ''Raga Mala'', p. 105.

Bombay and marriage to Amiya Chakravarty

The economic effects of

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 ...

forced the academy's closure in 1944, after which Chakravarty moved to Calcutta and then joined her sister and brothers-in-law in

Malad Malad (Pronunciation: aːlaːɖ is a suburb located in North Mumbai. Malad has a railway station on the Western line (Mumbai Suburban Railway) of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, lying between Kandivali station to the north and Goregaon station t ...

, near Bombay.Extract from Swapan Kumar Bondyopadhyay
''An Unheard Melody: Annapurna Devi''
mid-day.com, 15 May 2005 (retrieved 4 December 2013). There, Rajendra worked as a scriptwriter, and Ravi tried to establish himself as a musician and composer. In 2012, ''

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 ...

'' wrote of Ravi Shankar, his wife

and the Shastri sisters as "more or less contemporaries with a burning interest in music and dance".Ratnottama Sengupta
"Pandit Ravi Shankar: Music was his universe, his love, his weakness"
''

'', 16 December 2012 (retrieved 4 December 2013). A physical attraction grew between Shankar and Chakravarty, causing his family to hastily arrange a marriage between her and Bombay film director

. After the wedding in September 1945, Chakravarty's professional ambitions were sidelined, while Shankar relocated to

Andheri Andheri ( �n̪d̪ʱeɾiː is a locality in the western part of the city of Mumbai in India. Udayanagari, the name of a hill near the Mahakali caves, inspired the name Andheri. On the former islet of Versova, also known as Vasave, there was ano ...

International years with Ravi Shankar

Ravi Shankar recording for Pather Panchali

Following Amiya Chakravarty's death in 1957, Shankar and Chakravarty renewed their relationship.David Wilson & Siddharth Philip
"Beatles Muse Ravi Shankar, Father of Norah Jones, Dies"

Bloomberg.com Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...

, 12 December 2012 (retrieved 8 December 2013). She helped run 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. ...

from 1963 onwards, and after Shankar left Devi in 1967, they lived together until 1981, for much of the time in the United States.Priyanka Dasgupta, Purba Dutt & Nona Walia
"Meet India's bohemian lovers"
''

'', 18 February 2012 (retrieved 4 December 2013). Chakravarty accompanied Shankar, on tambura or as a singer, on several of his recordings and international performances. These included his warmly received set with

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� ...

player

Alla Rakha Ustad Alla Rakha Qureshi (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000), popularly known as Alla Rakha, was an Indian tabla player who specialized in Hindustani classical music. He was a frequent accompanist of sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar and was ...

at the

, in June 1967, the live album from which remains Shankar's highest-charting work on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' pop albums chart. In December that year, she and Rakha accompanied Shankar and American violinist

during their

duet in New York, which was the first recital of Indian classical music to be broadcast globally. Chakravarty subsequently contributed to the recording of the same piece, "Raga Piloo", for Menuhin and Shankar's album ''

West Meets East, Volume 2 ''West Meets East, Volume 2'' is an album by American violinist Yehudi Menuhin and Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, released in 1968. It is the second album in a trilogy of collaborations between the two artists, after the Grammy Award-winnin ...

'' (1968).Sleeve credits
''

'' LP (

HMV Records His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

, 1968). Also over 1967–68, she participated in filming for the ''

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 ...

'' documentary (1971), appearing in footage of Shankar's performances from the period and as his companion in off-stage scenes filmed at the Monterey festival and (with Lakshmi) at the Los Angeles branch of his Kinnara School. Among other Shankar albums, she plays tambura on '' In San Francisco'' (1967) and ''Transmigration Macabre'' (1973), a soundtrack recorded in 1968 with French

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

percussionists

Les Structures Sonores The Baschet Brothers were two French artists named François Baschet (born 30 March 1920, in Paris; died 11 February 2014) and Bernard Baschet (born 24 August 1917, Paris; died 17 July 2015) who collaborated on creating sound sculptures and invent ...

for the art film ''Viola''. Later in 1968, she, Lakshmi and

Jitendra Abhisheki Ganesh Balawant Nawathe, better known as Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki (21 September 1929 – 7 November 1998), was an Indian vocalist, composer and scholar of Indian classical, semi-classical, and devotional music. While he distinguished himself ...

were the singers in Shankar's Festival from India ensemble, which recorded an eponymous double album in Los Angeles before touring the United States. In August 1971, Chakravarty accompanied Shankar,

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

master

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was a Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, he ...

and Rakha at

, held at New York's

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. The success of the resulting

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

and

concert film A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...

gained Indian music its largest audience up to that point. Although she provided a minor role in the performance, as the tambura player,

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 ...

's introduction of Chakravarty to the New York audience ensured that her name became linked to the event.John Pidgeon, "''Bangla Desh''", ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', 15 July 1972, p. 24; available a
Rock's Backpages
(subscription required; retrieved 5 December 2013). In 1973, Chakravarty was among the chorus singers at the Los Angeles sessions for Shankar's genre-fusing album '' Shankar Family & Friends'' (1974). The album was produced by Harrison and featured Lakshmi as lead vocalist and Shubho Shankar (Shankar's son by Devi) on sitar. In 1974, Chakravarty, Lakshmi and the latter's daughter

Viji Viji was an Indian actress, who appeared in Tamil films. She made her debut in '' Kozhi Koovuthu'' and acted in over 40 films. Biography Viji made her debut in Gangai Amaren's '' Kozhi Koovuthu''. It went on to become a super hit and she was o ...

performed in Europe as part of

Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India was an Indian classical music revue led by sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar intended for Western concert audiences and performed in 1974. Its presentation was the first project undertaken by the Mater ...

, the first Indian orchestra to play in Europe. Her contributions, on tambura and as a backing singer, also appeared on the Music Festival's studio album,Album credits, ''

'' LP (

Dark Horse Records Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by former The Beatles, Beatle George Harrison in 1974. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Harrison to continue supporting other artists' ...

, 1976; produced by George Harrison). recorded in England at Harrison's

Friar Park Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, built in 1889. It was originally owned by eccentric lawyer Sir Frank Crisp and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatle George Harrison. ...

and released in 1976. That same year, Chakravarty participated in the recording of the third volume of Shankar and Menuhin's West Meets East series, issued in 1977. The album included "Morning Love", featuring Shankar and French flautist

Jean-Pierre Rampal Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal (7 January 1922 – 20 May 2000) was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th century." Biography Ea ...

backed by Rakha and Chakravarty – a piece that Shankar later named as a favourite among his various collaborative works.

Subsequent relationship with the Shankar family

By the time that Annapoorna finally granted Shankar a divorce in 1982, he and Chakravarty had split up. Having nursed Uday in the weeks before his death in September 1977 and similarly cared for Shubho after the latter had attempted suicide in 1970, she remained a close friend of the musician's

extended family An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem ...

. According to Shankar in ''Raga Mala'', Chakravarty accepted and was welcoming towards his second wife, Sukanya, and their daughter, Anoushka.Shankar, ''Raga Mala'', p. 269.

References

Sources

* Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik, ''All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975'', Ballantine Books (New York, NY, 1976; ). * ''Collaborations'', book accompanying '' Ravi Shankar–George Harrison Collaborations'' box set (Dark Horse Records, 2010; produced by Olivia Harrison; package design by Drew Lorimer & Olivia Harrison). * ''In Celebration'', booklet accompanying '' Ravi Shankar: In Celebration'' box set (Angel/Dark Horse, 1995; produced by George Harrison & Alan Kozlowski; package design by Rick Ward/The Team Design Consultants). * Peter Lavezzoli, ''The Dawn of Indian Music in the West'', Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ). * Simon Leng, ''While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison'', Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ). * Reginald Massey, ''India's Dances: Their History, Technique, and Repertoire'', Abhinav Publications (New Delhi, NCT, 2004; ). * Ravi Shankar, ''My Music, My Life'', Mandala Publishing (San Rafael, CA, 2007; ). * Ravi Shankar, ''Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar'', Welcome Rain (New York, NY, 1999; ). * ''World Music: The Rough Guide (Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific)'', Rough Guides/Penguin (London, 2000; ). {{DEFAULTSORT:Chakravarty, Kamala 1928 births Musicians from Chennai Living people