Born into an affluent family. But raised in genteel poverty, he was drafted by his big brother, along with his siblings, and presented as an innocent protagonist in stage shows of music and dance in Europe and America. Thus began Ravi Shankar's career on the stage. His father was a learned man who could also sing, but the son hardly knew him. It was brother Uday Shankar, an extraordinary dancer and showman, who loomed large in the lad's early life. The example of Uday Shankar, who was at heart an Indian, and his own readings, shaped his outlook on life. In the decades to come, he would emerge as a musician whose stage was the world and as an international celebrity recognised quickly in many countries, but the influences and experiences that enveloped him in his early years would ensure that he remained a true son of the soil at heart. The child was the father of the man, in this case, a universal man, a cosmopolitan, and yet a shimmering reflection of India's soul