Every copy is personally signed by Ravi Shankar and individually-numbered. This edition is limited to 2000 copies. The book is bound in Bangalore raw silk (golden orange) including gilt tooling and gilded page edges. The two compact discs, showcasing 80 minutes of exclusive and rare material by Ravi Shankar, are housed along with an explanatory booklet in a specially-designed CD box. A packet of finest-quality Special Durbar Agarbathi incense sticks - the personal favourites of Ravi Shankar and George Harrison for over thirty years. Both the CD box and the incense box are covered in the same Bangalore raw silk as the book. Ravi Shankar has a remarkable tale to relate, and he brings to the task the same contrasting qualities that make him as uncommon a man as a musician: that mixture of charm and candour, of dignity and humility, of deep spirituality and wide-eyed, impish fun. Ravi Shankar is the world's foremost sitar-player, the man christened by George Harrison as the 'Godfather of World Music', who spearheaded the international spread of Indian culture. Shankar tells of his humble beginnings, his teenage years as a dancer in the glamorous world of 1930's Paris and New York, of hearing the clarion call of music and studying sitar for seven years with the legendary Allauddin Khan, and his emergence as a musician and personality of first national and then international stature. Along the way he has gained friends and devotees all over the world, and his story is punctuated by an extraordinary range of such encounters: Peter Sellers and Marlon Brando, Tagore and Nehru, Yehudi Menuhin and Satyajit Ray, and no shortage of presidents and royalty. The crazy days of Sixties superstardom, of Monterey, Woodstock and the Concert for Bangladesh, are recalled with both relish and a touch of distant relief. Since then, Ravi's continuing musical development and commitment have seen him attain the position of the elder statesman of Indian culture. The joys and sorrows in his often turbulent private life are recounted frankly but fairly, and to bring the story right up to date he reflects on the 50th anniversary of Indian independence, forecasts the path Indian music may take in years to come, and reveals his belated conversion to a more settled family life. A prestigious selection of friends also discuss their association with Ravi Shankar: George Harrison (who edited the book), Zubin Mehta, Yehudi Menuhin, Philip Glass and Zakir Hussain have all contributed, as has Ravi's wife Sukanya. 'Raga Mala' is further endowed with a comprehensive Index, a Glossary personally overseen by Ravi Shankar, and a Chronology of the sitar maestro's life and works. 'Raga Mala' features a remarkable collection of photographs and documents drawn almost entirely from the personal archives of Ravi Shankar and George Harrison. A large number of these have never been published before. Very fine copy.