Ragini Shankar - Violin
Mukundraj Deo - Tabla
Come join us at the Chhandayan Center for an evening of Classical Violin music performed by Ragini Shankar. The performance will also be streamed live.
Ragini Shankar
Ragini, as her name suggests, originates from the word Raga. Ragini means melody, an embodiment of music.
Born in a family with a musical lineage spanning over seven generations, Ragini Shankar began her training in Hindustani(North Indian) Classical Music on the Violin at the tender age of 4 under the tutelage of her illustrious grandmother, Padmabhushan Dr. N Rajam and her exemplary mother Dr. Sangeeta Shankar, ace violinists of India. Being highly gifted in her musical talents, Ragini has grown to show brilliance in her performances. Her asset being her ability to reproduce vocal music on the violin (Gayaki Ang, a revolutionary technique invented by her grandmother, Dr. N Rajam) with astounding accuracy, tonal quality & exceptional fingering and bowing techniques.
As a young 11 year old, Ragini gave her first public performance in Bharat Bhavan Cultural Center, a multi-faceted center for the performing arts, in Bhopal. Thereafter she has performed in many prestigious music festivals all across India like the 'Sawai Gandharva' Music Festival in Pune, ‘Doverlane Music Festival' in Kolkata, film actress Hema Malini’s ‘Jaya Smriti’, ‘Mahashivaratri’ at Isha Foundation, Coimbatore, 'Saptak' in Ahmedabad, 'Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan' in Mumbai, Banaras Hindu University, Music Academy in Chennai with her mother and grandmother.
Apart from having appeared on many platforms all over the country, she has also performed abroad extensively in countries like USA, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai. Ragini also gives lecture demonstrations and conducts workshops on a regular basis during her travels.
Known for her ability to reproduce vocal music on the violin, she has collaborated on musical projects with acclaimed 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’, fusing elements of timeless Indian classical music with contemporary cutting-edge 21st century production punctuated by their virtuosic violin interplay. She has collaborated with Grammy Award-nominated music producer Nick Patrick and acclaimed song-writer Amy Wadge for the album. Besides she has collaborated on diverse projects with renowned lyricist Irshad Kamil’s ‘Ink Band’, a series of beautiful poetry interwoven with melodious music, noted French composer Thierry Pecou’s ‘Sangata’, an Indo-French musical project and Dr. Sangeeta Shankar’s innovative fusion ‘inStrings’ which gives a grand new majestic sound to popular Indian tunes. She is a recipient of the Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Award and the Jashn-e-Youngistan award presented by the Vice President of India. She has also appeared on the platform of Talks at Google and TEDx for Indian music. She has also appeared in an article in France’s leading newspaper ‘Le Monde’. She currently teaches at Sharangadev School of Music and Culture and was a faculty at the Whistling Woods International-School of Music, a premier film school in Mumbai for 6 years.
Ragini has been highly applauded by music enthusiasts for being one of the most promising faces of Indian Classical music
She has also excelled in her academics being a top ranker in Mechanical engineering and holds a Masters’ in Music.
Mukundraj Deo
One of the finest Tabla Players from India, Mukundraj Deo comes from a family with great liking of Dance and Music. He has received inspiration and promotion for his art from his mother Dr. Mrs. Manjiri Deo, a Kathak Dancer [Disciple of Late Natraj Gopikrishna] and father, Mr. Shreeram Deo, a true lover of Dance and Music. He has undergone a rigorous training of Tabla from Late Pt. Brijraj Mishra of Bananas Gharana and Pt. Mridangraj of Ajrada Gharana. He completed Sangeet Visharad and Alankaar in Tabla with first class from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. His talent was acclaimed in the form of National Scholarship from Government of India in 1990, a prestigious title Taalmani from Sursingar Samsad, Bombay in 1993 and National fellowship in 1997. He is an 'A' grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan. Apart from this he also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce.
Mukundraj has written a book on Tabla in Marathi named 'Susamvad Tablyashi''. Recently he has been awarded by title 'PANDIT' by Savarkar Seva Sanstha, Thane.
He has the distinction of having accompanied Maestroes like Natraj Gopikrishna, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Dr. Prabha Atre, Begum Parveen Sultana, Ustad Dilshad Khan, Pt. Jasraj, Late Pt. C.R.Vyas, Dr. N. Rajam, Ustad Raiskhan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, , Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Ramnarayan, Pt. Satish Vyas, Rahul Sharma
He has performed overseas to Gulf countries, Japan, U.K., U.S.A., France, Switzerland, Hongkong, foray, Seychells, Mauritius and also participated in International Music Festivals in Adelaide - Australia, York early Music Festivals - England, Fes world Music festival - Morocco, Festival at Sydney era House - Sydney, La - Digue Music Festival