(This article was first published on 7 April 2018. It has been reposted from The Quint’s archives to mark Pandit Ravi Shankar’s death anniversary.)
“No, I didn’t learn the sitar from him”, is my typical answer when people (and there are many) ask me: “Did you learn the sitar from the maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar?”
So they ask, “Why do you call him guru ji then?”
“Because I learnt much more”, is my answer. 26 August 2001 is the day I joined Pt Ravi Shankar’s office in Lodi Estate as his office administrator; 12 December 2012, the day his body left the world, and till this moment, and all the moments to come – guru ji, Pt Ravi Shankar has, and always will be my teacher for life.
To have known him beyond his music and art has been one of the biggest blessings of my life. One could learn so much just by looking at him. How he spoke to people around him, his domestic staff, his extended family members like me, the so-called VIPs at events – just by being in his company, observing him silently, and holding his hand while he walked, I learned so much. And I am still trying to carry forth his rich legacy, which includes, but is not limited to:
- Giving love to every person no matter who she /he is or what she /he does: Guru ji would shower the same respect, admiration, and love on everyone he met. How I wish today’s men could learn etiquette from a true gentleman like him. At the dining table, he would be so particular in asking ALL of us if we were eating well. I remember Chinnamma (guru ji’s wife) getting irritated sometimes and telling him that we are not kids and we will eat well; he should just focus on his meal!
- Your own greatness lies in respecting others: I remember accompanying guru ji and Chinnamma to an event, at which he was the chief guest. Guru ji was the embodiment of punctuality – he was never late. The programme began and the singer on stage was completely out of tune. I wondered, if the terrible performance was affecting me so much, how upset must guru ji be! So I went up to him and whispered, “Guru ji, we can leave if you want”. But to my utmost surprise, he said, “This artist is performing. I can’t leave in the middle. We will go once he finishes. It’s disrespectful towards an artist to leave in the middle of a performance”. I have never forgotten this lesson.
- Never lose your sense of humour: Pt Ravi Shankar could be feeling unwell, upset or even anxious about an upcoming concert, but there was one thing he NEVER forgot – to crack jokes. We still fondly recall his memorable puns and continue to share, and laugh about them. When I quit the Ravi Shankar Centre to join Zee News, every time I went to meet him, he called me “Richa Zi” . So typically him!
- People around you are the most special: When I first met Pt Ravi Shankar, I was also hosting a TV show on ETV Urdu. Obviously, I wasn’t someone popular, nobody knew me as a TV anchor in 2001. One day he came to me in his office and asked, “What show do you host?” I was so embarrassed but I still told him the channel, the day and timings. And guess what? THE Pt Ravi Shankar told his staff that he should be reminded to watch my show on that date and time, and he actually sat and watched the show, whole of it!! I couldn’t believe it. I am sure I must have been pathetic at my work, I had just started doing TV, but he watched it. I often ask myself, will I be able to do this for someone else? Tough question. Not all of us can be Pt Ravi Shankar.
After many years when he saw me on KBC, he told Chinnamma to call me up and ask me why I didn’t tell him that I am coming on the show. And I always wondered how can he love each one of us so much?
I met guru ji regularly when he spent his winter months in Delhi, but my husband couldn’t, so they both barely met. When Zubin (Anoushka Shankar’s elder son) was born, we had a small party at the Ravi Shankar Centre. My husband also went that day and met guru ji. They were meeting after a long gap and guru ji asked, “Aniruddha, so how is Indian Oil doing?”
Aniruddha works for Indian Oil but how many of us would care to remember such a thing about someone we hardly meet? Doesn’t this man surprise you? He surprised me for sure, and this time, Aniruddha was shocked too. He said, “at 90, how can he remember what company I work for?”
My last meeting with guru ji was in February 2012, at an annual music and dance festival that we organise at the Ravi Shankar Centre. For the first time he said, “Richa left working for us long back, but she didn’t leave us”. And then he just placed his hand on my head and said, “Bless you beta”.
Wish I knew at that moment that he probably knew that he would never see me again, but yes, I am blessed. Happy birthday, guru ji. For the world, he lives through his music, but for us, he lives through his smile, the touch of his hands, his humility, his kindness, his love, care, compassion, it’s an endless list.
(Richa Anirudh is the host of YouTube channel ‘Zindagi with Richa’.)
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