Raga Bihag

In 1956, Ravi Shankar played his first concerts in Western Europe and the United States.
Within a decade he would be the most famous Indian musician on the planet. His association
and experimentation with western music artists like The Beatles and Yehudi Menuhin did
much to expose the world to raga, the classical music of India. For Ravi Shankar music is a
spiritual discipline on the path to self-realization. By this process individual consciousness
can be elevated to a realm of awareness where the revelation of the true meaning of the
universe its eternal and unchanging essence can be joyfully experienced. Ragas are the
vehicles by which this essence can be perceived. In this concert, Ravi Shankar performs a
beloved evening raga, Raga Bihag, named after the province from whence the piece is said
to have originated.