Ram Narayan (born 1927) is an Indian musician who popularised the bowed sarangi of Hindustani classical music as a solo concert instrument and became its first international virtuoso. He was born near Udaipur and learned to play at an early age. He studied under sarangi players and singers and, as a teenager, worked as a music teacher and travelling musician. All India Radio, Lahore, hired him as an accompanist for vocalists in 1944. He moved to Delhi following the partition of India in 1947 and moved to Mumbai in 1949 to work in Indian cinema. He had his first success as a concert solo artist in 1956 and has since performed at major music festivals in India. After sitar player Ravi Shankar successfully performed in Western countries, Narayan followed his example. He recorded solo albums and made his first international tour in 1964 to America and Europe with his older brother Chatur Lal, a tabla player who had toured with Shankar in the 1950s. Narayan taught Indian and foreign students and performed into the 2000s. He was awarded India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2005.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Narayan
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1734:
A black slave known as Marie-Joseph Angélique, having been convicted of setting the fire that destroyed much of Montreal, was tortured and then hanged in New France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Joseph_Ang%C3%A9lique
1826:
Greek War of Independence: A combined Egyptian and Ottoman army began their invasion of the Mani Peninsula, but they were initially held off by the Maniots at the fortifications of Vergas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Egyptian_invasion_of_Mani
1864:
New Zealand Wars: British victory in the Battle of Te Ranga brought the Tauranga Campaign to an end. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauranga_Campaign
1948:
The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine (replica pictured), the world's first stored-program computer, ran its first computer program. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Small-Scale_Experimental_Machine
1963:
Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was elected as Pope Paul VI. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_VI
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
midnight sun: The phenomenon occurring when the Sun does not set but only approaches the horizon at midnight; it occurs near the summer solstice in the polar regions. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/midnight_sun
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Calling someone a monster does not make him more guilty; it makes him less so by classing him with beasts and devils. --Mary McCarthy https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mary_McCarthy