Dr. Kamala
Shankar is the proud “First Woman Exponent in Hindustani Classical
Guitar”. The entry of the Western Guitar into the Hindustani
Instrumental Music is proved to be an Interaction between EAST & WEST.
Dr.Kamala Shankar has contributed much to the popularity of the instrument
and is one of its outstanding masters. For this she has earned a prominent
place in the field of Indian classical music. She is known for her sweet and
melodious rendition with the superb control of the instrument to present her
versatility in the field.
Born in
Tanjore district of Tamilnadu, Kamala's musical carrier started with the
training in Vocal music, initiated by her mother at the age of six and
blossomed to be a true Artist under the valuable guidance from Pt. Channoolal
Mishra, the renowned artist of Varanasi
and Sitar Maestro Pt. Bimalendu Mukherjee of Imdadkhani Gharana.
Kamala has
developed the Guitar as a singing instrument and used
The celebrated 'Gayaki' Ang' with 'Imdadkhani' -'Baj' (the base of Imdadkhani
Gharana) to present her repertoire of Hindustani classical music.
Besides
having the degree of B.Sc (hons.) in Zoology and B. Mus. in Vocal, Kamala has
got her Doctorate in Music with specialization in Guitar from Faculty of
Performing Arts, Banaras Hindu University, She has also passed the qualifying
examination for "Lectureship" (in music) conducted by U.G.C.
She has given many performances all over India and Abroad. The famous and
prestigious amongst them are :
• Tansen –Samaroh, Gwalior.
• The Music Academy,
Chennai.
• Sawai Gandharva Festival,
Pune.
• Sangeet Natak Academi
concerts.
• Baba Harballabh Sangeet
Sammelan - Jalandhar.
• Spirit of Unity concert for
Universal Integration.
• Vasantrao Deshpandey
Sangeet- Samaroh (SCZCC), Nagpur.
• Taj - Mahotsav, Agra.
• I.C.C.R. Programmes, New Delhi.
• ‘Saptak’
festival, Ahmedabad.
• 'Ustad Allauddin Khan
Sangeet- Akademi Mahotsav (govt - M.P.)
• Raag Sabha – Durgiyana
Mandir - Amritsar.
• Sankat Mochan Sangeet
Samaroh - Varanasi
• Ganga Mahotsav, Varanasi.
• SPIC-MACAY (all over india)
• Soorya Festival- Trivandrum, UAE,
Switzerland & London chapters.
• India
International centre - New Delhi
• Kala Mandir - Kolkata
• Jawahar Kala Kendra - Jaipur
Achievements:
• Received SURMANI
award from Sur - Singar Samsad” , Mumbai .
• Awarded Fellowship in the
field of Music by the Ministry of
Human-Resource
Development, Govt. of India.
• Group Study Exchange tour to
:
New
York, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston,Fredricksberg
& London.
(Sponsored by
Rotary International)
• CD-Album released by
H.M.V.(Hamara CD) "Music Melody on the Guitar"
* Felicitated by
"Bharathrathna" (Late) Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi.
*Innovated
a New Guitar named "Shankar Guitar"
