Ravi Shankar, Indian sitar maestro, dies

A look back at the life of Ravi Shankar

Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar has died in a hospital in the US, aged 92.

His family said he had been admitted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego last week, but had failed to recover fully from surgery.

Shankar gained widespread international recognition through his association with The Beatles.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described him as a "national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage".

In a statement quoted by Reuters, Shankar's wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka said he had recently undergone surgery which would have "potentially given him a new lease of life".

"Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the surgeons and doctors taking care of him, his body was not able to withstand the strain of the surgery," they said.

"We were at his side when he passed away.

"Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as a part of our lives. He will live forever in our hearts and in his music."

Anoushka Shankar is herself a sitar player. Shankar's other daughter is Grammy award winning singer Norah Jones.
'Respect for music'
George Harrison of the Beatles once called Shankar "the godfather of world music".

He played at Woodstock and the 1967 Monterey Pop festival, and also collaborated with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane.

Ravi Shankar teaches George Harrison the sitar

Shankar also composed a number of film scores - notably Satyajit Ray's celebrated Apu trilogy (1951-55) and Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) - and collaborated with US composer Philip Glass in Passages in 1990.

Talking in later life about his experiences at the influential Monterey Pop festival, Ravi Shankar said he was "shocked to see people dressing so flamboyantly".

He told Rolling Stone magazine that he was horrified when Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire on stage.

"That was too much for me. In our culture, we have such respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God," he said.

In 1999, Shankar was awarded the highest civilian citation in India - the Bharat Ratna, or Jewel of India.

Born into a Bengali family in the ancient Indian city of Varanasi, Ravi Shankar was originally a dancer with his brother's troupe.

He gave up dancing to study the sitar at the age of 18.

For seven years Shankar studied under Baba Allauddin Khan, founder of the Maihar Gharana style of Hindustani classical music, and became well-known in India for his virtuoso sitar playing.

For the last years of his life, Ravi Shankar lived in Encinitas, California, with his wife.

Spice Girls musical leaves critics cold

The Spice Girls posed with Viva Forever! cast members after the show

Critics have passed damning verdicts on Viva Forever!, the new stage musical featuring songs by the Spice Girls.

The Mail's Quentin Letts dubbed it "a prize Christmas turkey" in his one-star review, while the Telegraph's Charles Spencer called it "a clunker" in his.

The Express called it "misconceived", while the Mirror said the plot was "cliched" and the dialogue "leaden".

The Sun's review, written by "true fan" Poppy Cosyns, was one of few positive notices for the West End production.

It said Absolutely Fabulous creator Jennifer Saunders had done "a great job with the script" and that the show "flows really well".

The Guardian's Alexis Petridis was also more complimentary than his colleagues, saying the cast were "largely great" and that the production "zips along cheerily enough".

Yet even he found fault with the Spice Girls' "appalling lyrics", saying the group had not enjoyed "enough memorable hits... to support two hours of theatre".

Hannah John-Kamen (front row in white dress) takes the lead role of Viva in Viva Forever!

Produced by Judy Craymer, who previously staged the hit Abba musical Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! tells the story of a girl band who pursue stardom via a reality TV series.

This was an issue for the Telegraph's critic, who said Saunders' script was "insultingly banal" with a heroine - played by Hannah John-Kamen - it was "hard to warm to".

"This is a fatuous show with nothing fresh to say about popular culture and our fixation with fame," his one-star write-up continued.

"Add to that some iffy performances, gloomy backdrops and a lamentably slow start, and you have the makings of a notable West End flop," added Letts in the Daily Mail.

"Viva Forever?" concluded Alun Palmer in the Daily Mirror. "More like clapped-out Vauxhall Viva, five careless owners and far too many miles on the clock."

In his two-star Express review, meanwhile, Simon Edge said he feared the show would "leave true Spice Girls fans wondering what happened to the oomph, pizzazz and sheer excitement of Girl Power."

"The evening only achieves the kind of deliriously silly and joyous lift-off that you really, really want from this kind of show - and more than once - at the encore," summed up Paul Taylor in The Independent.

The show, he went on, is "embarrassingly derivative of Mamma Mia! and looks way past its sell-by date in its utterly surprise-free satiric swipe at X Factor".

All five members of the Spice Girls were in attendance at Wednesday's first night, though Victoria Beckham's late arrival meant she did not pose for photos with her former bandmates.

But 'Posh' did take to the stage with Geri 'Ginger' Halliwell, Melanie 'Scary' Brown, Melanie 'Sporty' Chisholm and Emma 'Baby' Bunton at the end of the performance at London's Piccadilly Theatre.

Joan Collins, Joanna Lumley, Elaine Paige and Derren Brown were among the other celebrities who attended the show and the first night party at Victoria Embankment Gardens.

According to reports, Viva Forever! has already taken £4 million in advance bookings.

desing

My design work