Just a quick hecklerspray reminder to raise a glass of Cobra for legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar who turned 85 on 7th April. The man’s still going strong.

For those of you unfamiliar with Shankar’s work, he’s a hugely talented musician widely credited with taking Indian classical music to the West and keeping it popular here since the 1960’s. He’s not just Norah Jones’ dad.

He is perhaps even more acknowledged in the West than in his native India. Though his achievements on both sides of the water cannot be underestimated.

Many believe he suffused a divide between the musical traditions of the North and West Indian territories. As a man wholly used to innovating and not imitating, Shankar is proficient in creating compositions for the viola, tabla and, most famously, the sitar, amongst others.

Ravi Shankar has perhaps the dubious honour of bringing the sitar into a thousand student bedsits all over the world. There may be no better instrument to get stoned by, but his contribution to music means so much more than just that.

George Harrison once referred to him as the "Godfather of World Music." But don’t let Harrison’s idiot ramblings put you off. It’s not all ‘meanings and messages’. Above all things, Shankar’s music is just damned good fun to listen to.

Get on the act; buy a Ravi Shankar Album at Amazon.co.uk (you can listen to clips there too). We recommend ‘Portrait of a Genius’ for a newbie.

The best tenner you’ll spend all week guaranteed.

[story by Chris Laverty]