Editing Ravi Shankar (section)

== Early life ==
Shankar was born on 7 April 1920 in [[Benares]] (now Varanasi), then the capital of [[Benares State|the princely state of the same name]], in a [[Bengali Hindu]] family, as the youngest of seven brothers.<ref name=Lavezzolip48>Lavezzoli 2006, p. 48.</ref><ref name="AMG">{{cite news |last=Hunt |first=Ken |title=Ravi Shankar – Biography |work=AllMusic |url={{AllMusic |class=artist |id=ravi-shankar-p3434/biography |pure_url=yes}} |access-date=15 July 2009}}</ref><ref name=Massey>Massey 1996, p. 159.</ref> His father, Shyam Shankar [[Chowdhury]], was a [[Middle Temple]] barrister and scholar who was originally from [[Jessore]] district in [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]] (now [[Narail district]], [[Bangladesh]]). A respected statesman, lawyer and politician, he served for several years as ''[[dewan]]'' (Prime Minister) of [[Jhalawar State]], [[Rajasthan]], and used the [[Sanskrit]] spelling of the family name and removed its last part.<ref name=Lavezzolip48 /><ref>Ghosh 1983, p. 7.</ref> Shyam was married to Hemangini Devi who hailed from a small village named Nasrathpur in Mardah block of [[Ghazipur district]], near Benares and her father was a prosperous landlord. Shyam later worked as a lawyer in [[London]], England,<ref name=Lavezzolip48 /> and there he married a second time while Devi raised Shankar in Benares and did not meet his son until he was eight years old.<ref name=Lavezzolip48 />

Shankar shortened the Sanskrit version of his first name, Ravindra, to Ravi, for "sun".<ref name="Lavezzolip48" /> Shankar had five siblings: [[Uday Shankar|Uday]] (who became a choreographer and dancer), Rajendra, Debendra and Bhupendra. Shankar attended the Bengalitola High School in Benares between 1927 and 1928.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shankar, Ravi (Biography) |url=http://www.designbluemanila.com/test/rmaf/main/awardees/awardee/biography/123 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006153100/http://www.designbluemanila.com/test/rmaf/main/awardees/awardee/biography/123 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 October 2015 |website=Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation |access-date=6 October 2015}}</ref>

At the age of 10, after spending his first decade in Benares, Shankar went to Paris with the dance group of his brother, choreographer Uday Shankar.<ref name="NewGrove">Slawek 2001, pp. 202–203.</ref><ref>Ghosh 1983, p. 55.</ref> By the age of 13 he had become a member of the group, accompanied its members on tour and learned to dance, and play various Indian instruments.<ref name="AMG" /><ref name=Massey /> Uday's dance group travelled Europe and the United States in the early to mid-1930s and Shankar learned French, discovered Western classical music, jazz, cinema and became acquainted with Western customs.<ref name=Lavezzolip50>Lavezzoli 2006, p. 50.</ref> Shankar heard [[Allauddin Khan]] – the lead musician at the court of the [[princely state]] of [[Maihar State|Maihar]] – play at a music conference in December 1934 in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], and Uday persuaded the Maharaja of Maihar H.H. Maharaja [[Brijnath Singh]] Judev in 1935 to allow Khan to become his group's soloist for a tour of Europe.<ref name=Lavezzolip50 /> Shankar was sporadically trained by Khan on tour, and Khan offered Shankar training to become a serious musician under the condition that he abandon touring and come to Maihar.<ref name=Lavezzolip50 />