Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Press

The BBC has released archival footage of Ravi Shankar tutoring George Harrison on sitar.

Th recording, depicting Shankar and Harrison performing in California during the filming of 1971 film Raga, forms part of a mini-documentary celebrates would have been sitar master’s 100th birthday on April 7,

In the video, Shankar’s daughter Anoushka also provides a commentary on her father’s legacy.

“People were drawn to this new music that they’d never heard before,” she shares, “and he was the right kind of person to want to teach and share it.”

The BBC‘s release follows messages of love and admiration of Shankar from Dhani Harrison, Oliva Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

“On this day remembering the great Ravi Shankar,” Ringo Starr Tweeted, “he was a beautiful human being and an incredible musician. Peace and love.

“Very best vibrations and good feelings from us all on what would have been Ravi Shankar’s 100th birthday,” McCartney wrote via Twitter.

“It was a privilege to know such a man,” the Beatle noted. “His talent was boundless and his loving spirit was the best. Happy Birthday, Ravi. We miss you. Love Paul.”

McCartney and fellow Beatle George Harrison first met Shankar in June 1966.

After becoming Ravi’s sitar pupil, Harrison would play, produce and promote several of Shankar’s albums.

Shankar would also perform at Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh and on his 1974 US tour.

Ravi would also serve as a gateway to Indian culture and spirituality, something which would have a profound effect on the former Beatle and his family.

George Harrison, who passed away in 2001, revered Ravi, once stating he was “the first person who ever impressed me in my life.”

Born to wealthy orthodox Brahmin family in India in 1920, Shankar reached a large Western audience through his appearance at the Monterey Pop festival in 1967 and his association with Harrison.

Standing aside from his fame in the West, he was a well respected classical musician in India.

Shankar passed away in 2012 after struggling with respiratory illness.