Online conversation: Ravi Shankar biographer Oliver Craske with Chicago based music writer Aaron Cohen.

In his recent book “Indian Sun: The Life and Music of Ravi Shankar” (2020), London-based writer Oliver Craske presents readers with the first full portrait of the legendary Ravi Shankar, a musician who influenced—and continues to influence—countless artists. In his book, Craske describes the captivating, restless workaholic from his lonely and traumatic childhood in Varanasi to his youthful stardom in his brother’s dance troupe, from his intensive study of the sitar to his revival of India’s national music scene. Craske has also authored “Rock Faces: The World’s Top Rock’n’Roll Photographers and Their Greatest Images,” a survey of leading music photographers, many of whom are featured in South Asia Institute’s exhibition, Ravi Shankar: Ragamala to Rockstar. Craske, who contributed much of the exhibition’s text, will be in conversation with award winning Chicago music writer Aaron Cohen (Chicago Tribune, DownBeat, Washington Post, The Nation, NPR).