Lakshmi Shankar

Lakshmi Shankar is a Hindustani classical vocalist of the Patiala Gharana, known for her performances of "khyal", "thumri", and "bhajans".

Born in 1926, she initially started her career in dancing. In 1939, when Uday Shankar brought his dance troupe to Madras, she decided to join the Almora Centre to learn Uday Shankar’s original style of dance based on the Indian classics and became a part of his troupe. That is when her association to the Shankar family began. She married Uday Shankar's brother, Rajendra (Raju). After a period of illness during which she had to give up dancing, and already having had a background of Carnatic music, she moved to Hindustani classical music and trained rigorously for many years under Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan. Later, she also trained with Pt. Ravi Shankar, the Sitar maestro. She is one of the leading stalwarts in Hindustani vocal music in India today.

Discography

LP Records
* The Voice of Lakshmi Shankar - World Pacific, USA
* Les Heures et les Saisons - Ocora 558615/16, FranceCompact Discs
* Les Heures et les Saisons - Ocora, France
* Songs of Devotion - Auvidis (Ethnic), France
* Live Concert from Los Angeles - Ravi Shankar Music Circle, USA
* Live in London - Navras, UK
* Bhakti Ras - Navras, UK
* Shringar: Thumris - Music Today, India
* Ecstasy - Audiorec (Cat No 1052-2)
* Divine Love - Navras UK (Cat No NRCD 3515)Cassettes
* Live in London - Navras, UK
* Bhakti Ras - Navras, UK
* Songs of the Seasons - Music Today, India
* Shringar: Thumris - Music Today, India
* Thumris - HMV - India
* Lakshmi Shankar Vocal with Zakir Hussain and L. Subramaniam - HMV, India

External links

* [http://www.musicalnirvana.com/hindustani/lakhsmi_shankar.html Lakshmi Shankar]
* [http://www.associationsargam.com/lakshmi_shankar.htm Interview with Lakshmi Shankar]