Monday, March 9, 2009

Anoushka shankar (Hindi: अनुष्का शंकर)

Born on June 9, 1981
Anoushka Shankar (Hindi: अनुष्का शंकर), is a sitar player and composer in the United States. She is the daughter of Ravi Shankar, Indian sitar player, and Sunkanya Rajan, a bank employee. Through her father, she is the half-sister of Grammy Award winner Norah Jones

" Ms. Shankar took over for the fast second section, perpetual motion melody improvisation, that kept gathering momentum, drawing sustained applause." New York Times - September 18, 1997

"…the audience loved Anoushka whenever she played brief solo pieces, warmly embracing her with thunderous applause. " India West - May 18, 1997

"Watching her skim the scales with her father is something akin to levitation." Voice, New York - September 10, 1997

"Anoushka, in demonstrating a distinctly un-adolescent aplomb in such a large room, the younger Shankar revealed herself to be a remarkably promising sitarist." Time Out, New York (Carnegie Hall Concert) - September 1997


"…Accomplished and beautiful, she has grown up in the shadow of her father and is perfectly accustomed to her celebrity status. She handles the media with evident poise, projecting the right amount of friendliness and confidence. But what strikes one most about this balanced young lady is her genuine naturalness." Panorama, Dubai - February 2000

Anoushka Shankar is in every way her father's daughter. She plays like him, looks like him and also has the same amount of dedication. A talented artiste herself, she finds it impossible to completely step away from the shadow of her father and guru, revered sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar. While she's satisfied and proud to be known as her father's daughter, she got lots of character and individuality and is an accomplished woman in her own right.

Shankar began training on the sitar with her father as a child, gave a public performance at the age of thirteen, and signed her first record contract at 16.

She released her first album, Anoushka, in 1998. Later, in February 2000, Shankar became the first woman to perform at The Ramakrishna Centre in Kolkata. Both Shankar and her half-sister, Norah Jones, were nominated for Grammy awards in 2003.

Shankar, in collaboration with Karsh Kale, released Breathing Under Water on 28 August 2007. It is a mix of classical sitar and electronica beats and melodies. Notable guest vocals include her half-sister, Norah Jones, Sting, and Ravi Shankar who performs a sitar duet with his daughter.

Benefit concerts
On 29 November 2002, she performed with her father at the Concert for George held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It was held in memory George Harrison and was modeled after Ravi Shankar's benefit concert with Harrison, the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh.

Shankar and Jethro Tull postponed a concert scheduled for 29 November 2008 in Mumbai after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. They reorganized the performance as A Billion Hands Concert, a benefit performance for victims of the attacks, and held it on 5 December 2008. Shankar commented on this decision stating that: "As a musician, this is how I speak, how I express the anger within me [...] our entire tour has been changed by these events and even though the structure of the concert may remain the same, emotionally perhaps we are saying a lot more."

"…Anoushka Shankar is a prime example of how the old ways are changing in Indian music." Folk Roots Magazine - July 1999

"…It cannot be denied that with Anoushka Shankar, a new chapter is being written." Classic CD, UK - July 1999

"…Ravi Shankar's mantle is descending slowly but surely upon his daughter Anoushka." India Currents - August 1998



Awards
  • British House of Commons Shield, 1998
  • Woman of the Year (shared with Kareena Kapoor, Ritu Beri, and Rhea Pillai) awarded on International Women's Day 2003
Activism

Anoushka is a supporter of animal rights and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She and her father appeared in a thirty-second public-service announcement against animal suffering.

Discography
  1. Anoushka (1998)
  2. Anourag (2000)
  3. Live at Carnegie Hall (2001)
  4. Rise (2005)
  5. Breathing Under Water (2007)
Genre(s) Indian classical
Occupation(s) Sitarist, composer
Instrument(s) Sitar
Years active 1998—present
Label(s) Angel

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