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Kamala Chakravarty

December 15, 2023

Kamala Chakravarty (born Saraswati Kamala Shastri, 1928) is an Indian classical musician and former dancer, known for her association with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. 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 (1967), his Human Rights Day duet with violinist Yehudi Menuhin (1967), the Concert for Bangladesh (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.[1]

While in her teens, Chakravarty trained and performed with Uday Shankar's dance company. She is the younger sister of noted Hindustani classical vocalist Lakshmi Shankar. She was married to Bombay film director Amiya Chakravarty from 1945 until Amiya's death in 1957.

Biography edit

Early years and participation in Uday Shankar's dance company edit

Kamala Chakravarty was born in Madras, south India, in 1928. Her father was R.V. Shastri, editor of Mahatma Gandhi's reformist newspaper Harijan.[2] Along with her elder sister, Lakshmi Shastri, she studied at dance pioneer Uday Shankar's India Culture Centre,[3] an academy based at Almora, in the remote north Indian state of Uttarakhand.[4] Her teachers in the various classical dance traditions included Sankaran Namboodri (for Kathakali), Kandappan Pillai (Bharata Natyam) and Amobi Sinha (Manipuri).[5][6]

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 sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar. 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.[7]

Bombay and marriage to Amiya Chakravarty edit

The economic effects of World War II forced the academy's closure in 1944,[8] after which Chakravarty moved to Calcutta and then joined her sister and brothers-in-law in Malad, near Bombay.[9] There, Rajendra worked as a scriptwriter,[10][11] and Ravi tried to establish himself as a musician and composer.[12] In 2012, The Times of India wrote of Ravi Shankar, his wife Annapurna Devi and the Shastri sisters as "more or less contemporaries with a burning interest in music and dance".[2]

A physical attraction grew between Shankar and Chakravarty, causing his family to hastily arrange a marriage between her and Bombay film director Amiya Chakravarty.[13] After the wedding in September 1945, Chakravarty's professional ambitions were sidelined, while Shankar relocated to Andheri.[9]

International years with Ravi Shankar edit

 
Chakravarty's longtime romantic partner Ravi Shankar, pictured in Bombay during the recording of his score for the 1955 film Pather Panchali

Following Amiya Chakravarty's death in 1957, Shankar and Chakravarty renewed their relationship.[14][15] She helped run his Kinnara School of Music from 1963 onwards,[16] and after Shankar left Devi in 1967, they lived together until 1981, for much of the time in the United States.[17]

Chakravarty accompanied Shankar, on tambura or as a singer, on several of his recordings and international performances.[18][19] These included his warmly received set with tabla player Alla Rakha at the Monterey International Pop Festival, in June 1967,[20][21] the live album from which remains Shankar's highest-charting work on the Billboard pop albums chart.[22][23] In December that year, she and Rakha accompanied Shankar and American violinist Yehudi Menuhin during their Human Rights Day duet in New York,[24][25] which was the first recital of Indian classical music to be broadcast globally.[26] Chakravarty subsequently contributed to the recording of the same piece, "Raga Piloo", for Menuhin and Shankar's album West Meets East, Volume 2 (1968).[27]

Also over 1967–68, she participated in filming for the Raga documentary (1971), appearing in footage of Shankar's performances from the period[28] 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.[29] Among other Shankar albums, she plays tambura on In San Francisco (1967)[30] and Transmigration Macabre (1973), a soundtrack recorded in 1968 with French experimental percussionists Les Structures Sonores[31] for the art film Viola.[32] Later in 1968, she, Lakshmi and Jitendra Abhisheki were the singers in Shankar's Festival from India ensemble,[33] which recorded an eponymous double album in Los Angeles before touring the United States.[34]

In August 1971, Chakravarty accompanied Shankar, sarod master Ali Akbar Khan and Rakha at the Concert for Bangladesh, held at New York's Madison Square Garden.[35] The success of the resulting live album and concert film gained Indian music its largest audience up to that point.[36] Although she provided a minor role in the performance, as the tambura player,[37] George Harrison's introduction of Chakravarty to the New York audience ensured that her name became linked to the event.[38]

In 1973, Chakravarty was among the chorus singers at the Los Angeles sessions for Shankar's genre-fusing album Shankar Family & Friends (1974).[39] The album was produced by Harrison and featured Lakshmi as lead vocalist and Shubho Shankar (Shankar's son by Devi) on sitar.[40][41] In 1974, Chakravarty, Lakshmi and the latter's daughter[42] Viji performed in Europe as part of Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India,[43] the first Indian orchestra to play in Europe.[44] Her contributions, on tambura and as a backing singer, also appeared on the Music Festival's studio album,[45][46] recorded in England at Harrison's Friar Park and released in 1976.[47] That same year, Chakravarty participated in the recording of the third volume of Shankar and Menuhin's West Meets East series, issued in 1977.[48] The album included "Morning Love", featuring Shankar and French flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal backed by Rakha and Chakravarty[49] – a piece that Shankar later named as a favourite among his various collaborative works.[50]

Subsequent relationship with the Shankar family edit

By the time that Annapoorna finally granted Shankar a divorce in 1982, he and Chakravarty had split up.[15] 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.[51] According to Shankar in Raga Mala, Chakravarty accepted and was welcoming towards his second wife, Sukanya, and their daughter, Anoushka.[52]

References edit

  1. ^ "Hard to say no to free love: Ravi Shankar". Press Trust of India. Rediff.com. 13 May 2003. from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  2. ^ a b Ratnottama Sengupta, , The Times of India, 16 December 2012 (retrieved 4 December 2013).
  3. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 91, 95, 105.
  4. ^ Sunil Kothari, "Exhibition – Celebrating Creativity: Life & Work of Uday Shankar" 14 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine, IGNCA (retrieved 4 December 2013).
  5. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, p. 95.
  6. ^ Massey, p. 223.
  7. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, p. 105.
  8. ^ Shankar, My Music, My Life, pp. 74–75, 86.
  9. ^ a b Extract from Swapan Kumar Bondyopadhyay, An Unheard Melody: Annapurna Devi, mid-day.com, 15 May 2005 (retrieved 4 December 2013).
  10. ^ World Music: The Rough Guide, p. 92.
  11. ^ Suresh Kohli, "Patita (1953)", The Hindu, 6 July 2012 (retrieved 4 December 2013).
  12. ^ Lavezzoli, p. 54.
  13. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 105–06.
  14. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, p. 157.
  15. ^ a b David Wilson & Siddharth Philip, "Beatles Muse Ravi Shankar, Father of Norah Jones, Dies", Bloomberg.com, 12 December 2012 (retrieved 8 December 2013).
  16. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, p. 175.
  17. ^ Priyanka Dasgupta, Purba Dutt & Nona Walia, , The Times of India, 18 February 2012 (retrieved 4 December 2013).
  18. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 203, 220.
  19. ^ In Celebration, p. 29.
  20. ^ Sleeve credits, Live: Ravi Shankar at the Monterey International Pop Festival LP (World Pacific Records, 1967).
  21. ^ In Celebration, pp. 28–29.
  22. ^ Phil Gallo, "Ravi Shankar's Impact on Pop Music: An Appreciation", billboard.com, 12 December 2012 (retrieved 22 August 2015).
  23. ^ "Ravi Shankar: Awards", AllMusic (retrieved 22 August 2015).
  24. ^ Shankar, My Music, My Life, p. 96.
  25. ^ Timothy White, "Ravi Shankar: Gala 75th For The Godfather Of World Music (continued)", Billboard, 18 March 1995, p. 75 (retrieved 8 May 2018).
  26. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 7–8, 63.
  27. ^ Sleeve credits, West Meets East, Volume 2 LP (HMV Records, 1968).
  28. ^ Jeff Kaliss, , Songlines, 26 November 2010, p. 85 (archived version retrieved 10 July 2011).
  29. ^ Raga: A Film Journey into the Soul of India DVD, East Meets West/Apple Films, 2010 (produced and directed by Howard Worth; reissue produced by Shyama Priya & Cat Celebrezze).
  30. ^ "Ravi Shankar – In San Francisco CD Album" > "Product Description", CD Universe/Muze (retrieved 29 August 2015).
  31. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 203, 324.
  32. ^ Richie Unterberger, "Ravi Shankar Transmigration Macabre: Music from the Film Viola", AllMusic (retrieved 29 August 2015).
  33. ^ Sleeve credits, Ravi Shankar's Festival from India LP (World Pacific Records, 1968).
  34. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 203–04, 324.
  35. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 190–91.
  36. ^ Lavezzoli, p. 194.
  37. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 265–66.
  38. ^ John Pidgeon, "Bangla Desh", NME, 15 July 1972, p. 24; available at Rock's Backpages (subscription required; retrieved 5 December 2013).
  39. ^ Leng, p. 138.
  40. ^ Castleman & Podrazik, pp. 139, 205–06.
  41. ^ Lavezzoli, pp. 52–53, 195.
  42. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, p. 224.
  43. ^ Collaborations, pp. 44–50.
  44. ^ Leng, p. 148.
  45. ^ Album credits, Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India LP (Dark Horse Records, 1976; produced by George Harrison).
  46. ^ In Celebration, pp. 39, 46.
  47. ^ Collaborations, p. 15.
  48. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 184, 324.
  49. ^ In Celebration, p. 44.
  50. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 184–84.
  51. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, pp. 232, 260, 269.
  52. ^ Shankar, Raga Mala, p. 269.

Sources edit

  • Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik, All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975, Ballantine Books (New York, NY, 1976; ISBN 0-345-25680-8).
  • 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; ISBN 0-8264-2819-3).
  • Simon Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison, Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ISBN 1-4234-0609-5).
  • Reginald Massey, India's Dances: Their History, Technique, and Repertoire, Abhinav Publications (New Delhi, NCT, 2004; ISBN 81-7017-434-1).
  • Ravi Shankar, My Music, My Life, Mandala Publishing (San Rafael, CA, 2007; ISBN 978-1-60109-005-8).
  • Ravi Shankar, Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar, Welcome Rain (New York, NY, 1999; ISBN 1-56649-104-5).
  • World Music: The Rough Guide (Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific), Rough Guides/Penguin (London, 2000; ISBN 1-85828-636-0).

December 15, 2023
kamala, chakravarty, born, saraswati, kamala, shastri, 1928, indian, classical, musician, former, dancer, known, association, with, sitar, maestro, ravi, shankar, from, 1967, until, late, 1970s, accompanied, shankar, role, tambura, player, singer, number, accl. Kamala Chakravarty born Saraswati Kamala Shastri 1928 is an Indian classical musician and former dancer known for her association with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar 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 1967 his Human Rights Day duet with violinist Yehudi Menuhin 1967 the Concert for Bangladesh 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 1 While in her teens Chakravarty trained and performed with Uday Shankar s dance company She is the younger sister of noted Hindustani classical vocalist Lakshmi Shankar She was married to Bombay film director Amiya Chakravarty from 1945 until Amiya s death in 1957 Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early years and participation in Uday Shankar s dance company 1 2 Bombay and marriage to Amiya Chakravarty 1 3 International years with Ravi Shankar 1 4 Subsequent relationship with the Shankar family 2 References 3 SourcesBiography editEarly years and participation in Uday Shankar s dance company edit Kamala Chakravarty was born in Madras south India in 1928 Her father was R V Shastri editor of Mahatma Gandhi s reformist newspaper Harijan 2 Along with her elder sister Lakshmi Shastri she studied at dance pioneer Uday Shankar s India Culture Centre 3 an academy based at Almora in the remote north Indian state of Uttarakhand 4 Her teachers in the various classical dance traditions included Sankaran Namboodri for Kathakali Kandappan Pillai Bharata Natyam and Amobi Sinha Manipuri 5 6 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 sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar 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 7 Bombay and marriage to Amiya Chakravarty edit The economic effects of World War II forced the academy s closure in 1944 8 after which Chakravarty moved to Calcutta and then joined her sister and brothers in law in Malad near Bombay 9 There Rajendra worked as a scriptwriter 10 11 and Ravi tried to establish himself as a musician and composer 12 In 2012 The Times of India wrote of Ravi Shankar his wife Annapurna Devi and the Shastri sisters as more or less contemporaries with a burning interest in music and dance 2 A physical attraction grew between Shankar and Chakravarty causing his family to hastily arrange a marriage between her and Bombay film director Amiya Chakravarty 13 After the wedding in September 1945 Chakravarty s professional ambitions were sidelined while Shankar relocated to Andheri 9 International years with Ravi Shankar edit nbsp Chakravarty s longtime romantic partner Ravi Shankar pictured in Bombay during the recording of his score for the 1955 film Pather PanchaliFollowing Amiya Chakravarty s death in 1957 Shankar and Chakravarty renewed their relationship 14 15 She helped run his Kinnara School of Music from 1963 onwards 16 and after Shankar left Devi in 1967 they lived together until 1981 for much of the time in the United States 17 Chakravarty accompanied Shankar on tambura or as a singer on several of his recordings and international performances 18 19 These included his warmly received set with tabla player Alla Rakha at the Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967 20 21 the live album from which remains Shankar s highest charting work on the Billboard pop albums chart 22 23 In December that year she and Rakha accompanied Shankar and American violinist Yehudi Menuhin during their Human Rights Day duet in New York 24 25 which was the first recital of Indian classical music to be broadcast globally 26 Chakravarty subsequently contributed to the recording of the same piece Raga Piloo for Menuhin and Shankar s album West Meets East Volume 2 1968 27 Also over 1967 68 she participated in filming for the Raga documentary 1971 appearing in footage of Shankar s performances from the period 28 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 29 Among other Shankar albums she plays tambura on In San Francisco 1967 30 and Transmigration Macabre 1973 a soundtrack recorded in 1968 with French experimental percussionists Les Structures Sonores 31 for the art film Viola 32 Later in 1968 she Lakshmi and Jitendra Abhisheki were the singers in Shankar s Festival from India ensemble 33 which recorded an eponymous double album in Los Angeles before touring the United States 34 In August 1971 Chakravarty accompanied Shankar sarod master Ali Akbar Khan and Rakha at the Concert for Bangladesh held at New York s Madison Square Garden 35 The success of the resulting live album and concert film gained Indian music its largest audience up to that point 36 Although she provided a minor role in the performance as the tambura player 37 George Harrison s introduction of Chakravarty to the New York audience ensured that her name became linked to the event 38 In 1973 Chakravarty was among the chorus singers at the Los Angeles sessions for Shankar s genre fusing album Shankar Family amp Friends 1974 39 The album was produced by Harrison and featured Lakshmi as lead vocalist and Shubho Shankar Shankar s son by Devi on sitar 40 41 In 1974 Chakravarty Lakshmi and the latter s daughter 42 Viji performed in Europe as part of Ravi Shankar s Music Festival from India 43 the first Indian orchestra to play in Europe 44 Her contributions on tambura and as a backing singer also appeared on the Music Festival s studio album 45 46 recorded in England at Harrison s Friar Park and released in 1976 47 That same year Chakravarty participated in the recording of the third volume of Shankar and Menuhin s West Meets East series issued in 1977 48 The album included Morning Love featuring Shankar and French flautist Jean Pierre Rampal backed by Rakha and Chakravarty 49 a piece that Shankar later named as a favourite among his various collaborative works 50 Subsequent relationship with the Shankar family edit By the time that Annapoorna finally granted Shankar a divorce in 1982 he and Chakravarty had split up 15 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 51 According to Shankar in Raga Mala Chakravarty accepted and was welcoming towards his second wife Sukanya and their daughter Anoushka 52 References edit Hard to say no to free love Ravi Shankar Press Trust of India Rediff com 13 May 2003 Archived from the original on 23 October 2012 Retrieved 18 July 2009 a b Ratnottama Sengupta Pandit Ravi Shankar Music was his universe his love his weakness The Times of India 16 December 2012 retrieved 4 December 2013 Shankar Raga Mala pp 91 95 105 Sunil Kothari Exhibition Celebrating Creativity Life amp Work of Uday Shankar Archived 14 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine IGNCA retrieved 4 December 2013 Shankar Raga Mala p 95 Massey p 223 Shankar Raga Mala p 105 Shankar My Music My Life pp 74 75 86 a b Extract from Swapan Kumar Bondyopadhyay An Unheard Melody Annapurna Devi mid day com 15 May 2005 retrieved 4 December 2013 World Music The Rough Guide p 92 Suresh Kohli Patita 1953 The Hindu 6 July 2012 retrieved 4 December 2013 Lavezzoli p 54 Shankar Raga Mala pp 105 06 Shankar Raga Mala p 157 a b David Wilson amp Siddharth Philip Beatles Muse Ravi Shankar Father of Norah Jones Dies Bloomberg com 12 December 2012 retrieved 8 December 2013 Shankar Raga Mala p 175 Priyanka Dasgupta Purba Dutt amp Nona Walia Meet India s bohemian lovers The Times of India 18 February 2012 retrieved 4 December 2013 Shankar Raga Mala pp 203 220 In Celebration p 29 Sleeve credits Live Ravi Shankar at the Monterey International Pop Festival LP World Pacific Records 1967 In Celebration pp 28 29 Phil Gallo Ravi Shankar s Impact on Pop Music An Appreciation billboard com 12 December 2012 retrieved 22 August 2015 Ravi Shankar Awards AllMusic retrieved 22 August 2015 Shankar My Music My Life p 96 Timothy White Ravi Shankar Gala 75th For The Godfather Of World Music continued Billboard 18 March 1995 p 75 retrieved 8 May 2018 Lavezzoli pp 7 8 63 Sleeve credits West Meets East Volume 2 LP HMV Records 1968 Jeff Kaliss Ravi Shankar Raga A Film Journey into the Soul of India Songlines 26 November 2010 p 85 archived version retrieved 10 July 2011 Raga A Film Journey into the Soul of India DVD East Meets West Apple Films 2010 produced and directed by Howard Worth reissue produced by Shyama Priya amp Cat Celebrezze Ravi Shankar In San Francisco CD Album gt Product Description CD Universe Muze retrieved 29 August 2015 Shankar Raga Mala pp 203 324 Richie Unterberger Ravi Shankar Transmigration Macabre Music from the Film Viola AllMusic retrieved 29 August 2015 Sleeve credits Ravi Shankar s Festival from India LP World Pacific Records 1968 Shankar Raga Mala pp 203 04 324 Lavezzoli pp 190 91 Lavezzoli p 194 Shankar Raga Mala pp 265 66 John Pidgeon Bangla Desh NME 15 July 1972 p 24 available at Rock s Backpages subscription required retrieved 5 December 2013 Leng p 138 Castleman amp Podrazik pp 139 205 06 Lavezzoli pp 52 53 195 Shankar Raga Mala p 224 Collaborations pp 44 50 Leng p 148 Album credits Ravi Shankar s Music Festival from India LP Dark Horse Records 1976 produced by George Harrison In Celebration pp 39 46 Collaborations p 15 Shankar Raga Mala pp 184 324 In Celebration p 44 Shankar Raga Mala pp 184 84 Shankar Raga Mala pp 232 260 269 Shankar Raga Mala p 269 Sources editHarry Castleman amp Walter J Podrazik All Together Now The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961 1975 Ballantine Books New York NY 1976 ISBN 0 345 25680 8 Collaborations book accompanying Ravi Shankar George Harrison Collaborations box set Dark Horse Records 2010 produced by Olivia Harrison package design by Drew Lorimer amp Olivia Harrison In Celebration booklet accompanying Ravi Shankar In Celebration box set Angel Dark Horse 1995 produced by George Harrison amp 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 ISBN 0 8264 2819 3 Simon Leng While My Guitar Gently Weeps The Music of George Harrison Hal Leonard Milwaukee WI 2006 ISBN 1 4234 0609 5 Reginald Massey India s Dances Their History Technique and Repertoire Abhinav Publications New Delhi NCT 2004 ISBN 81 7017 434 1 Ravi Shankar My Music My Life Mandala Publishing San Rafael CA 2007 ISBN 978 1 60109 005 8 Ravi Shankar Raga Mala The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar Welcome Rain New York NY 1999 ISBN 1 56649 104 5 World Music The Rough Guide Volume 2 Latin and North America Caribbean India Asia and Pacific Rough Guides Penguin London 2000 ISBN 1 85828 636 0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kamala Chakravarty amp oldid 1144473484, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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