Remembering Ravi Shankar - Faouzi Skali

The legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, a major influence on Western musicians including The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, died on Tuesday in a hospital in San Diego where he had travelled to undergo surgery. He was 92. Shankar collaborated with Harrison, violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, as he worked to bridge the musical gap between the West and East. He 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.

Ravi and daughter Anoushka

The most heart-felt tribute to Ravi Shankar was paid by the Director General of the Foundation Esprit de Fès, Faouzi Skali:

Ravi Shakar died last night. May his soul rest in peace.

We grow accustomed to the presence of some iconic figures that have the power to change our emotions and our memories, that is until we hear the words informing us of their disappearance and we realize that an entire chapter of our lives has come to an end.

I still remember this 78 rpm record sleeve that I had when I was twenty years old and in which we could see Ravi Shankar with his violinist Yehudi Menhuin. I still remember those moments when this great artist, who emerged from India, met the Beatles or when he took George Harrison as a disciple.

At that time, it was hard for me to imagine that a day will come when I will invite him to Fez - it was for the 11th edition of the World Sacred Music Festival, in 2005 - where he will give, with his daughter Anoushka, a concert with incredible power, power that transcended beyond space and time.

The concert made me dive into a deep meditative trance, before someone came to me while I was hardly opening my eyes, quietly tapping on my shoulder, announcing that my little girl was just born.

With this I recall the memory of the two most natural moments that conjoin the wheel of life; death and birth.

How could I forget such a man! How could I forget such a moment!

Un message de la part de Faouzi Skali, Directeur Général de la Fondation Esprit de Fès

Ravi Shankar est mort hier soir! Paix à son âme.
On s’habitue au voisinage de certaines figures emblématiques qui marquent nos émotions et nos mémoires jusqu’à ce que la nouvelle de leur disparition tombe et que l’on se rende compte qu’un chapitre entier de notre propre vie vient de se tourner.
Je me souviens encore autour de mes vingt ans de cette pochette de disque 78 tours où Ravi Shankar figure avec le fameux violoniste Yehudi Menhuin ou encore de ces moments où ce grand artiste du sitar, sorti de l’Inde millénaire, rencontre les Beatles ou prend comme disciple Georges Harrison.

Il m’était difficile d’imaginer à l’époque que viendrait un temps où je l’inviterai à Fès -c’était pour la 11ème édition du Festival des Musiques Sacrées du Monde, en 2005- où il donnerait avec sa fille Anoushka ce qui restera pour moi, et probablement pour tous ceux qui étaient présents à Bab Makina ce soir là, un concert d’une puissance inouïe, qui échappe à l’espace et au temps.
Un concert qui m’a plongé dans un état second, méditatif, profond, avant qu’une personne ne vienne discrètement me tapoter l’épaule alors que j’ouvrais difficilement les yeux, pour me murmurer à l’oreille : « votre petite fille vient de naître ! »
Ainsi se rejoignent dans ma mémoire la rencontre entre ces deux moments fondateurs qui constituent la roue de la vie ; la mort et la naissance.

Comment oublier un tel homme ! Comment oublier un tel instant!

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