I certainly count myself as a Shankar fan — have been since I heard his stuff back in the '60s — but I'm an even bigger fan of Ustid Ali Akbar Khan, who plays an Egyptian version of the sitar. It has fewer sympathetic strings and, while it is just as hypnotic, gives a much cleaner sound than the Indian instrument. Khan never got as big as Shankar, so him work might be harder to find, but he's definitely worth the effort.

cheers,

david