Sixty days after his demise, sitar legend Pandit Ravi Shankar was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Grammy award, which was jointly accepted by his musically-gifted daughters Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones.
Ms. Anoushka Shankar, a reputed sitarist herself, and Ms. Jones, who has carved a niche as a singer-songwriter, attended the pre-Grammy ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre to accept the honour bestowed on their iconic father, who passed away on December 11, 2012 at the age of 92.
“We know he was very excited to be receiving this award.
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We really miss him. He lived and breathed music. He was tapping out rhythms on the breakfast table and making me do five over seven... I am still trying to get it. We are very happy to accept the award for him,” said nine-time Grammy winner Ms. Jones (33).
“It was 60 days ago today that he passed away. It’s kind of difficult to be standing up here, like Norah said, I am thrilled that he knew about this award before he passed away at least.
But I wish we weren’t standing up here for him,” said Ms. Anoushka Shankar (31), who has accompanied her father at concerts all around the world.
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“I want to say thanks to my mom... He did his last performance just a few weeks before he died and I believe she was the reason he was able to be as healthy and strong as he was. I am eternally grateful to her for that.
“My father always said that music could create world peace because it had the potential to raise the consciousness of people... When I watched him play what moved me was this incredible meditative state where he could take people,” she added.
In addition to the Grammy Awards, The Recording Academy presents Special Merit Awards recognising contributions of significance to the recording field, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and Technical Grammy Award.