Ragini Shankar is an Indian violinist who performs Hindustani classical music and fusion. She is the grand-daughter of the renowned Padmabhushan Dr. N. Rajam.[2] and the daughter of Dr. Sangeeta Shankar[3]

Ragini Shankar
Ragini Shankar performing at Theatre de la Ville, Paris[1]
Ragini Shankar performing at Theatre de la Ville, Paris[1]
Background information
BornVaranasi, India
GenresHindustani classical music, fusion
Occupation(s)Violinist
Instrument(s)Violin
Websitewww.raginishankar.com

Early life edit

She began her training at the age of 4 and gave her first public performance as an 11-year-old.[4] She plays violin in the Gayaki Ang, a revolutionary technique to reproduce vocal music on the violin.

Education edit

Shankar excelled in her education in mechanical engineering and also holds a master's degree in music.[5]

Performing career edit

She has performed in various prestigious festivals like the Europalia,[6] MERU, Netherlands,[7][8] Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Festival,[9] Dover Lane Music Conference,[10] Saptak Festival of Music,[11] Theatre de la Ville, Paris,[12] Theatre de l'Alhambra, Geneva, Switzerland,[13] MilapFest,[14] Yaksha (festival),[15] Aarohi for Pancham Nishad,[16] Jaya Smriti organised by Hema Malini,[17] Temple of Fine Arts,[18] Bengal Music Foundation.[19]

She has performed in several countries abroad; the USA,[20] Canada,[21] UK,[22] Netherlands,[7] Switzerland, [23] Germany, France,[24] Belgium,[25] Hungary, Singapore,[26] Malaysia and Dubai.[27] Ragini gives lecture demonstrations and conducts workshops on a regular basis during her travels.

She is known for her collaborations with various artists in diverse genres. Ragini and her sister Nandini Shankar have been signed by Decca Records US, a part of Universal Music Group for a full-length music album for their musical ensemble ‘Taraana’.[28][29] She is a part of the renowned Bollywood lyricist Irshad Kamil’s The Ink Band, a series of poetry interwoven with music.[30][31] She is also a part of an Indo-French musical project called Sangata, formed by the noted French composer Thierry Pecou[32] and was covered in an article in Le Monde.[33] Her recent collaborations include inStrings, an innovative fusion band, giving a new sound to popular Indian tunes.[34]

Ragini is a recipient of the distinguished Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Award[35] and the Jashn-e-Youngistan [36] [37] Award presented by the Vice President of India. She was a faculty at Whistling Woods International School of Music in Mumbai for 6 years and currently teaches at the Rajam School of Violin.[38] She has appeared on the platform of Talks at Google[39] and Tedx[40] for her talks on Indian music.

She resides in Mumbai.

Awards and honours edit

Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Award,presented by Rajashree Birla, 2019[41]

Jashn-e-Youngistan presented by the Vice-President of India, Venkaiah Naidu, 2018[42] [43]

Jaya Smriti presented by film actress and dancer, Hema Malini, 2012

Discography edit

Month/Year of Release Name Genre Artist(s) Type Label
March 2023 Indian Rivers Indian Fusion Ragini Shankar, Nandini Shankar Single (Album:Taraana) Decca Records US, Universal Music Group
February 2023 The Land of Spice Indian Fusion Ragini Shankar, Nandini Shankar Single (Album:Taraana) Decca Records US, Universal Music Group
October 2021 Vaishnava Jana To Indian Semi-Classical Ragini Shankar Single Legendary Legacy Promotions Pvt. Ltd.
January 2021 Vibe Indian Fusion Ragini Shankar Single Legendary Legacy Promotions Pvt. Ltd.
July 2020 Longing Indian Fusion Ragini Shankar Single Legendary Legacy Promotions Pvt. Ltd.
March 2020 Neelambari Live Indian Fusion Sandeep Narayan, Ragini Shankar Album Sounds of Isha
January 2020 Vande Maataram Indian Semi-Classical Sangeeta Shankar, Ragini Shankar, Nandini Shankar Single Legendary Legacy Promotions Pvt. Ltd.
May 2019 Wings in the Sky Indian Fusion Ragini Shankar Single Legendary Legacy Promotions Pvt. Ltd.
October 2019 Devi Bhajan in Raga Rageshri Indian Semi-Classical Ragini Shankar, Ojas Adhiya Album Legendary Legacy Promotions Pvt. Ltd.
September 2019 Raga of the Rain Indian Classical Ragini Shankar, Ojas Adhiya Album Legendary Legacy Promotions Pvt. Ltd.
April 2014 Asha Indian Classical Ragini Shankar, Mukundraj Deo Album Legendary Legacy Promotions Pvt. Ltd.

References edit

  1. ^ Theatre de la Ville, Paris
  2. ^ N. Rajam
  3. ^ Sangeeta Shankar - The Legacy Continues
  4. ^ Ragini Shankar's official website
  5. ^ "Meet Dr Sangeeta Shankar and her daughters Ragini and Nandini Shankar, who weave magic with their violins".
  6. ^ Europalia
  7. ^ a b "MERU".
  8. ^ "MERU Concert - Ragini Shankar on violin - Raga Bihag". YouTube.
  9. ^ DNA Syndication
    - DNA India - Pune's Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav ends on a soulful note, 12 December 2011
    - Mid-Day Archives: Performance by 3 generations of family steals show on final day, 12 December 2011
  10. ^ Dover Lane Music Conference
    - Dover Lane Music Conference
  11. ^ Saptak Annual Festival, 30 December 2009
    - Saptak Annual Festival
    - Saptak Annual Festival
    - Saptak Annual Festival
  12. ^ "Theatre de la Ville, Paris; Paris".
  13. ^ "Theatre de l'Alhambra, Geneva; Switzerland".
  14. ^ "Indika: Evening Raga – Ragini & Nandini Shankar | Milapfest".
  15. ^ Yaksha (festival)
  16. ^ Pancham Nishad - Past Events
  17. ^ Solaris Event Archives
  18. ^ Thyagaraja Tansen Music Festival, The Temple of Fine Arts, Malaysia
  19. ^ "Violins charm Bengal classical fest". 30 November 2015.
  20. ^ https://www.skidmore.edu/zankel/documents/Jan2017-ZankelSpringBrochure.pdf
    - https://muse.union.edu/music/ragini-shankar-violin/
  21. ^ Viloin Concert by Dr.N Rajam,at Sringeri Vidya Bharathi Temple - Toronto. YouTube. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Indika: Evening Raga – Ragini & Nandini Shankar | Milapfest".
  23. ^ "Theatre de l'Alhambra, Geneva; Switzerland".
  24. ^ https://detoursdebabel.fr/Sangata-1057 Archived 2018-10-31 at the Wayback Machine
    - https://www.indeenfrance.com/lille.php/lille-lire/ragini-shankar-en-concert
  25. ^ https://europalia.eu/archives/india/en/article/three-generations_141.html
    - http://www.art-base.be/index.php?view=details&id=593%3Atemplate-concert&option=com_eventlist
  26. ^ https://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18588 [bare URL]
  27. ^ "Gulftoday.ae | Sisters in perfect accord". Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  28. ^ Shriram Iyengar (14 March 2023). "Violinists Ragini and Nandini Shankar's debut album infuses global sounds". Mid-Day. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  29. ^ Taraana (2023). The Land Of Spice. Retrieved 12 August 2023 – via YouTube.
  30. ^ "Rahman launches Irshad Kamil's INK Band music series". Business Standard India. 21 March 2018.
  31. ^ "Aise Na Dekho (Extended Version) | | the Ink Band by Irshad Kamil | Season 1". YouTube.
  32. ^ "Ensemble Variances - Sangâta". www.ensemblevariances.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2018.
  33. ^ "" Sangâta ", le nouveau râga occidental de Thierry Pécou". Le Monde.fr. 30 March 2018.
  34. ^ "Indika: InStrings | Milapfest".
  35. ^ "Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Award".
  36. ^ "Dailyhunt".
  37. ^ "Dailyhunt".
  38. ^ "Faculty | Whistling Woods International".
  39. ^ "Talks at Google | Google". YouTube.
  40. ^ "TEDxGCEK | TED".
  41. ^ "Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Award".
  42. ^ "Dailyhunt".
  43. ^ "Dailyhunt".