There is a tendency to regard Panditji's music as only a reflection of his music guru, Ustad Allauddin Khan's influence. Actually Panditji was a performing musician much before he met his guru. There is a Vinyl LP originally recorded during his visit (as part of a dance troupe led by his eldest brother, the legendary dancer & choreographer Uday Shankar) to the USA in 1937 called "Indian Music Ragas & Dances". In this record Panditji plays Esraj (a Sarangi-like instrument.)
As Ravi Shankar was also a dancer, there is more emphasis on the tala element even in his mature work as a Sitarist, compared to his "gurubhais" in the same gharana Ali Akbar Khan & Nikhil Banerjee. His pioneering efforts to present Carnatic ragas in Hindustani garb also stemmed from the above mentioned record, where ragas Simhendra Madhyamam & Hamsadhwani are presented.
Panditji's pioneering missionary zeal to popularize Hindustani music world wide may also have been inspired by his brother Uday Shankar's similar zeal to universalise Indian dance abroad. So both his brother & guru helped turn him into the global icon he became later.
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