Strings for all Seasons

It isn't far from the truth to say that Violin is one of the most complicated instruments to master- Shankar however, born into a family of music prodigies, did it at a very young age and grew up to become the face of violinists in India.

L Shankar; Source: Wikimedia Commons

The recent hustle culture is to study with some chill, lo-fi beats as your background music, but there are still many who prefer to unleash their productivity with classical instrumental music. A favourite for such people is Vivaldi’s 'Four Seasons', a timeless masterpiece. Today, we bring you the desi alternative to Vivaldi- Lakshminarayana Shankar.

Amongst the lesser-known gems of India, Shankar is a great musician who has even won a Grammy.

Born on 26 April 1950, his life was international from the very beginning, much like his fame and fanbase. While his birthplace is India, he spent his childhood in Sri Lanka, then shifted to the US for his studies, and is currently mesmerising people worldwide.

Shankar’s musical journey with his violin began at the age of seven when he became a usual at local gigs. Along with his brothers  L. Vaidyanathan and L. Subramaniam, he toured the entirety of India.

The star-studded glamorous career of Lakshminarayana kickstarted while he was pursuing ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University.  Here, he got into the jazz scene, the vogue of the musical world and got into touch with Jimmy Garrison, Ornette Coleman and John McLaughlin. He started a group, Shakti with McLaughlin. Together, they released three albums that represented a blissful blend of eastern and western harmonies.

Later, he established 'The Epidemics' with unconventional rock icon, Frank Zappa.

Shankar’s popularity reached its peak with his “jugalbandi” alongside Peter Gabriel. Together, they made the soundtrack for the movie The Last Temptation of Christ and won the highest award of the music industry, the Grammy, for it.

Well, his list of wow-worthy collaborations doesn’t end here.

Till now Shankar has worked with iconic musicians like Elton John, Yoko Ono, Phil Collins, and Stewart Copeland. Currently, he is charming the world with his melodies with Gingger.

This violinist duo is called (extremely predictable)  Duo Shankar & Gingger.

His musical talents are not just limited to his instrument, he is also a vocalist and a composer. So the next time you sit down to relax to some Chopin or Tchaikovsky, don’t forget to enjoy the magic of Lakshminarayana Shankar.