Directed Blog: Artists as professionals and intellectuals

Ravi Shankar is an Indian Sitar player and composer. He is considered a leading Indian instrumentalist of modern era. He is considered a genius in his field of music. He is not known as just a musician but as a great intellectual because of the kind of work he has done through the medium of music. For example, he was one of the organizers of The Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, which was an attempt to raise awareness of the growing crisis that was occurring in East Pakistan (now independent Bangladesh). He has composed extensively in India, Canada, Europe, and the United States, including Chappaqua, Charly, Gandhi (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award), and the Apu Trilogy. Along with his fame as a musician, his status was elevated as an intellectual and he was nominated to be a member of India's upper house of Parliament, for six years. He was also awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.