According to Andrew Robinson, author of the book Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker, sitar maestro Ravi Shankar watched about half of Pather Panchali before beginning work on the soundtrack. The half he saw was a rough edit, but he found it inspiring enough to compose a tune based on a folk song, to be played on a flute and used as a motif in the film. The result — along with two pieces for sitar based on the ragas Todi and Desh — was, according to many, one of the greatest scores of our time.

The Ravi Shankar Collection