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Sitar virtuoso Shankar dies at 92

Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar has died at the age of 92.

The prime minister's office confirmed Shankar's death and called him a "national treasure".

Shankar helped millions of classical, jazz and rock lovers in the West discover the centuries-old traditions of Indian music over an eight-decade career.

He was a hippie musical icon of the 1960s who played Woodstock and rubbed shoulders with The Beatles.

George Harrison labelled him "the godfather of world music".

He also pioneered the concept of the rock benefit with the 1971 Concert For Bangladesh. To later generations, he was known as the estranged father of popular American singer Norah Jones.

Shankar collaborated with Harrison, violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane as he worked to bridge the musical gap between West and East.

Source: music.uk.msn.com
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