Dr. Sangeeta Shankar
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Violinist · Educator · Founder · Seventh Generation

Dr. Sangeeta
Shankar.

The only performing artist of her generation to have unified world-class performance, scholarship, education, preservation, institution-building, rural empowerment, and cultural diplomacy into one singular, selfless life — across five decades and six continents.

50+
Years on the concert stage
25
Nations performed across 6 continents
500+
Students in 30 countries
600+
Rare recordings preserved
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2021 Ph.D · Gold Medallist, BHU Top Grade — All India Radio & Doordarshan Cultural Ambassador UGC Research Fellow
Dr. Sangeeta Shankar with her violin
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8th
Generation of an unbroken musical dynasty — daughters Ragini & Nandini Shankar
50+
Village children receiving free classical music education at Swar-Sadhana Tapovan
6.5ac
Gurukul campus built entirely from personal resources in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu
100+
Students in the Rajam Gharana violin tradition across the world
The Lineage

Seven generations.
One continuous note.

Dr. Sangeeta Shankar is the seventh musician in an unbroken family tradition. She is the daughter and foremost disciple of Padma Vibhushan Dr. N. Rajam — sovereign of Hindustani violin, pioneer of the Gayaki Ang, Professor and Dean at Banaras Hindu University for four decades. She is also the niece of Padmabhushan Prof. T. N. Krishnan, placing her at the heart of India’s most decorated violin family.

“She is not one person with one achievement. She is a complete civilisation, fulfilling its duty.”

Sangeeta Shankar has carried the Gayaki Ang — the art of making the violin reproduce the ornament and inflection of a singing voice — to concert stages across 20–25 nations on six continents over five decades. She has performed alongside and been mentored by the greatest artists of our era, and continues to offer violin consultations and mentoring to serious students globally.

Her daughters, Ragini Shankar and Nandini Shankar, now perform internationally as the eighth generation. Her son-in-law Mahesh Raghvan — MSc in Digital Composition from the University of Edinburgh, Creative Director of IndianRaga, and a YouTube sensation with over 1 million followers — bridges the tradition into digital and fusion spaces, completing a living family of performers across eight generations.

Four generations of the family: Dr. N. Rajam, Dr. Sangeeta Shankar, and her daughters Ragini and Nandini Shankar
Four generations: Dr. N. Rajam, Dr. Sangeeta Shankar, Ragini & Nandini Shankar

Seven generations of musicians Gen I – VI

An unbroken lineage of classical musicians

A continuous family tradition preceding Dr. N. Rajam — six generations of musicians who handed the tradition intact into its most celebrated modern form.

Padma Vibhushan Dr. N. Rajam Gen VI

Pioneer · The Singing Violin · Padma Vibhushan

Pioneer of the Gayaki Ang; Professor & Dean, BHU for 40 years; Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellow — India’s highest honour in performing arts.

Dr. Sangeeta Shankar Gen VII

Violinist · Scholar · Educator · Founder · Cultural Servant

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2021); Cultural Ambassador; Ph.D & Gold Medallist, BHU; Top Grade, All India Radio & Doordarshan; Founder of the institutions carrying the tradition forward.

Ragini · Nandini · Mahesh Raghvan Gen VIII

The Living Future

Ragini and Nandini Shankar perform internationally, trained within the family for over two decades. Mahesh Raghvan (MSc, Edinburgh; 1M+ YouTube followers) carries the tradition into fusion and digital — keeping the lineage alive and evolving.

Credentials & Recognition

The scholar behind
the artist.

A formal academic grounding runs beneath every performance and every educational institution she has built.

Dr. Sangeeta Shankar receiving the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award from the President of India
Receiving the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award from the President of India
🎓

Ph.D in Music

Banaras Hindu University. Gold Medallist in both B.A. and M.A. UGC Junior and Senior Research Fellowships. A scholar’s rigour behind every artistic instinct.

🎍

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Conferred by the President of India, 2021 — one of the highest honours in India’s performing arts. A recognition of five decades of artistic and social contribution.

📻

Top Grade — AIR & Doordarshan

Accorded the highest grade of recognition by All India Radio and Doordarshan — the gold standard of acknowledgment for a classical musician in India.

🌐

Cultural Ambassador

Representing India internationally on numerous occasions — carrying Hindustani classical music to stages across 20–25 nations on six continents.

🏛

Visiting Faculty

Banaras Hindu University, MS University Vadodara, and other premier institutions — extending world-class musical knowledge into India’s most respected academic spaces.

🎞

Whistling Woods International

Founded and headed the School of Music at Whistling Woods International with Subhash Ghai (2015–2021) — building music directors with a rigorous, classical foundation.

Three Facets, One Practice

Performer. Educator.
Composer

These are not separate careers. They are one musical instinct, expressed in three directions simultaneously.

Dr. Sangeeta Shankar performing on violin
  • Solo Hindustani classical recitals
  • InStrings fusion ensemble performances
  • Three-generation concerts with Dr. N. Rajam, Ragini & Nandini Shankar
  • Sessions & recordings across classical, devotional and film genres
  • Violin consultations for serious artists worldwide

Making the violin sing like a human voice.

Sangeeta Shankar performs in the Gayaki Ang style — the revolutionary technique pioneered by Dr. N. Rajam that makes the violin reproduce the exact ornament, inflection, and emotional colour of the singing voice. The technique demands an exceptional left-hand capacity and continuous improvisation; she has carried it onto concert stages across 20–25 nations on six continents over five decades.

She performs solo Hindustani recitals, in fusion with the ensemble InStrings, and in three-generation concerts alongside her mother and daughters — one of the most extraordinary musical family presentations on any stage.

“An amazing left-hand technique and endless improvisation that amazes audiences and wins their hearts.”
Dr. Sangeeta Shankar speaking at an event
  • ‘Swar Sadhana’ TV series (1999) — with Zakir Hussain, Birju Maharaj, Jagjit Singh
  • Whistling Woods School of Music — Founder & Head (2015–2021)
  • ‘22 Shrutis Simplified’ — nine-session educational series
  • Rajam School of Violin — virtual gharana training since 2014
  • ‘Swar se Sanskar’ — values series for children aged 5–15
  • University lecture-demonstrations on the microtonal science

Making rare, endangered knowledge teachable.

Her educational instinct runs as deep as her performing one. In 1999 she created ‘Swar Sadhana’ — a national television series that introduced Indian classical music to an entire generation through conversations with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Jagjit Singh, and other legends, now preserved on YouTube as the ‘Knowledge Series.’

For six years she built and led the School of Music at Whistling Woods International with Subhash Ghai, shaping music directors now working across the industry. Her ‘22 Shrutis Simplified’ series has reached tens of thousands of musicians worldwide — making legible one of the most fragile and profound pieces of musical knowledge in the tradition.

Through Swar se Sanskar, she uses music as an instrument of moral architecture — stories, poems and song instilling values, discipline and civilisational pride in children aged 5–15. Building tomorrow’s citizens of conscience, not merely listeners.

The 22 Shruti system is not an esoteric footnote. It is the structural bedrock of a living practice over two thousand years old.
Swar
Sadhana
  • Co-composer, La Hacienda Creative, Montreal, Canada
  • Devotional, ghazal, geet, bhajan, film & children’s songs
  • Soundtracks — scored for film, TV, games and advertising
  • Motivational speaker at cultural and institutional events

Melody as a second native language.

Composition has run alongside her performing career from the beginning — tailor-made songs across devotional, ghazal, film, and children’s genres, and soundtracks for film, television, games and advertising. She is a co-composer at La Hacienda Creative in Montreal, extending the work internationally.

In 1999 she created ‘Swar Sadhana’ — a national television series that brought Indian classical music to an entire generation through conversations with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Jagjit Singh, and other legends. Now preserved on YouTube as the ‘Knowledge Series,’ it remains one of the most comprehensive archives of its kind.

Every composition is another form of what the violin does: finding the precise emotion and making it heard.
A Taste of Her Teaching

Three doorways.
Every kind of learner.

Whether you are encountering classical music for the first time, deepening a lifetime of study, or refining the final edge of your artistry — there is a course built for exactly where you are.

For Everyone

Crash Course
in Music

The joy of Indian classical music distilled into an accessible, joyful programme for students, professionals, and curious minds — no prior musical knowledge needed. Music that builds emotional intelligence, sharp focus, and cultural pride.

“It’s music that takes care of both EQ and IQ.”
Explore at Sharangadev
For Serious Musicians

22 Shrutis
Simplified

A nine session series unlocking the microtonal science at the heart of Indian classical music — a system older than Pythagoras, mathematically precise, acoustically pure, and still in living practice. Reaching tens of thousands of musicians worldwide.

“These notes gave me Bramhananda.” — Late Vidushi Kishori Amonkar
Explore at Sharangadev
For Advanced Students

The Finishing
School

For musicians who already perform — this is the final refinement. Working directly with Dr. Sangeeta Shankar on the subtleties that separate accomplished playing from truly moving an audience: phrasing, expression, presence, and the intangibles of the Gayaki Ang tradition.

“Correct fundamentals from this lineage have shaped careers.”
Explore at Sharangadev

50+ courses across Hindustani, Western, Folk, Fusion, Composition & more

Explore the full school at sharangadev.com →
What She Has Founded

Institutions built
to outlast any one career.

Every institution below was built from personal resources and personal conviction — a complete ecosystem where performance, education, preservation, and social service converge.

Online School · 50+ Courses

Sharangadev School of Music and Culture

A full online conservatory — Hindustani, Western, folk, fusion, composition, sound engineering, and the 22-Shruti system — reaching 500+ students across 30 nations. Taught by Dr. Rajam’s lineage and world-class faculty.

Visit sharangadev.com
Residential Gurukul · 6.5 Acres · Free Education

Swar-Sadhana Tapovan

The open-air Mandapam at Swar-Sadhana Tapovan at sunset
The Neelakanteshwara Temple at Swar-Sadhana Tapovan The sacred blue sapphire Shivalinga at the Neelakanteshwara Temple

A living residential gurukul in Samanur Village, Dharmapuri District, Tamil Nadu — one of the last of its kind in India. Classical music education is completely free, true to the ancient tradition. 50+ village children receive world-class training; rural women receive health, wellness and empowerment programmes.

The campus is home to the Neelakanteshwara Temple — enshrining a rare and sacred blue sapphire Shivalinga, a spiritual heart around which the entire Tapovan is built. Built acre by acre, majorly from personal resources, as an act of unconditional seva.

Visit the Gurukul
Record Label & Archive

Legendary Legacy Promotions

An artist-founded music and media label with 600+ curated recordings — Dr. N. Rajam with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Jasraj, and more. Distributed globally on Apple Music, Spotify and all major platforms. India’s musical memory, kept alive and accessible.

Enquire
Charitable Trust · 80G · CSR-1 Registered

Omkarnath Music Foundation Trust

The 80G-certified, CSR-1 registered charitable trust that sustains the Gurukul’s free education, village children’s music programme, rural women’s empowerment, and ongoing infrastructure — in compliance with Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013.

Partner with the Trust
In Their Words

Students, artists
and fellow musicians.

“Correct fundamentals are extremely important and I am fortunate to have learnt that from my guru, Dr. Sangeeta Shankar. That solid foundation has helped me as a playback singer and music director.”

— Former Student, Sharangadev School

“The improvement in my performing ability has been clearly visible and praised by several people — the credit for all of which goes to my guru’s constant push towards perfectionism.”

— Vocal Student, Sharangadev School

“The teaching was simple and easy to understand, covering a very wide range of topics about music. The first course of its kind — I simply loved it.”

— Crash Course in Music, Participant

“Her unending patience, positivity and knowledge has been nothing but a light on my musical path. I look forward to every class.”

— Violin Student, Rajam School

“He is extremely patient, clears all doubts and is extremely motivating — it is only because of this school that I am able to continue learning Sitar despite all my responsibilities.”

— Sitar Student

“Correct fundamentals are extremely important and I am fortunate to have learnt that from my guru, Dr. Sangeeta Shankar. That solid foundation has helped me as a playback singer and music director.”

— Former Student, Sharangadev School

“The improvement in my performing ability has been clearly visible and praised by several people — the credit for all of which goes to my guru’s constant push towards perfectionism.”

— Vocal Student, Sharangadev School

“The teaching was simple and easy to understand, covering a very wide range of topics about music. The first course of its kind — I simply loved it.”

— Crash Course in Music, Participant

“Her unending patience, positivity and knowledge has been nothing but a light on my musical path. I look forward to every class.”

— Violin Student, Rajam School

“He is extremely patient, clears all doubts and is extremely motivating — it is only because of this school that I am able to continue learning Sitar despite all my responsibilities.”

— Sitar Student

Let’s bring the violin’s voice to your stage.

contact@sangeetashankar.com Download media kit ↓ Sharangadev School — info@sharangadev.com CSR & Partnerships — omftrust@gmail.com