In the U.K., classical music is composed by individuals and written down. Indian music is based on certain sequences called ragas. When I perform live, 95% of the music is improvised: it never sounds the same twice. — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
There are thousands of ragas, and they are all connected with different times of the day, like sunrise or night or sunset. It is all based on 72 of what we call 'mela' or scales. And we have principally nine… — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
What Sri Chinmoy does is God-given! He has a tremendous, a fantastic creative urge. — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
In our culture we have such respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God. — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
I will keep playing as long as my body lets me, and as long as I'm wanted by my listeners. Because music is the… — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
There cannot possibly be a god in heaven watching all of this calmly. — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
When people say that George Harrison made me famous, that is true in a way. — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
I love the work of Matisse and Picasso, but I don't have enough millions to own one. And I don't really believe in owning… — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
Pop changes week to week, month to month. But great music is like literature. — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
I try to give to my music the spiritual quality, very deep in the soul, which does something even if you are not realizing… — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
In the U.K., classical music is composed by individuals and written down. Indian music is based on certain sequences called ragas. When I perform… — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
I appreciate very much Vilayat Khan, the sitar player, and Bismillah Khan, the shehnai player; and among the tabla players, of course, Alla Rakha,… — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
I have great difficulty sitting in the middle of the night and writing. Everything I do comes spontaneous. Sometimes it takes a long time;… — Ravi Shankar Copy Share Image
