"Most people are musicians simply because they play a certain instrument; when they play that instrument, the music appears but Ravi -- to me, he is the music; it just happens to be that he plays the sitar." - George Harrison

Earlier this year, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II made an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire of Ravi Shankar. At the ceremony, the British High Commissioner said of the maestro, "No one has done more than Ravi Shankar to promote the understanding and love of Indian classical music in the West." Beatle George Harrison, a long time devotee of Shankar’s, dubbed him "the Godfather of World Music."

Ravi Shankar, who turned 81 years old this spring, is today India’s unofficial cultural ambassador and greatest advocate of Indian music. His latest release, "Full Circle/Carnegie Hall 2000," features Shankar with his 19-year old daughter Anoushka, also a sitar virtuoso. The album was recorded live at New York's Carnegie Hall, some 62 years after Shankar's first performance there.

Mark Hellenberg spoke with Ravi Shankar by phone while he was on tour on the West Coast.