To be Jealous is to lack Self-confidence Pandit Ravishankar was a supreme artiste and an acclaimed  maestro.The accolades he received and the plaudits he embraced, the world over were undeniably deserved. But in reading this review by PPR- who as a reviewer, is gifted to get  into the substance and  soul of any book, he picks up to read and share- Ravishankar comes  through as an ‘unconfident’ sitarist .

To be Jealous is to lack Self-confidence

Pandit Ravishankar was a supreme artiste and an acclaimed  maestro.The accolades he received and the plaudits he embraced, the world over were undeniably deserved. But in reading this review by PPR- who as a reviewer, is gifted to get  into the substance and  soul of any book, he picks up to read and share- Ravishankar comes  through as an ‘unconfident’ sitarist .

Shocking but poignantly profound and true. Annapurna Devi shines so dazzlingly and blindingly bright. Her name itself is a classical definition of the ethos of Indian Secularism or rather Dharma- an undefinable mystic expression. When I wrote on the Mahakavi Subranania Bharathiyar, I realized that what made ‘Him – He’ was not his poetic prowess. But, what stood out for me were his ‘vulnerabilities’ alongside his ‘virtues’. And his ‘quirks’ ‘eccentricities’ and ‘imperfections’.

The greats are ‘characters’. That Pandit Ravishankar was ‘jealous’ meant he lacked ‘self-confidence’ does not ring true. But then who knows the ‘inside’ of even GOATs.  We only get to see them on the ‘outside’. PPR Sir, a mellifluous review of a book on forgotten brilliance.

(N Vijayaraghavan, Advocate, Madras High Court)