Anoushka Shankar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anoushka Shankar
|
|
|---|---|
Shankar at the Rudolstadt-Festival 2016
|
|
| Born |
Anoushka Hemangini Shankar
9 June 1981 London, England
|
| Nationality |
|
| Occupation |
|
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) |
|
| Relatives |
|
| Musical career | |
| Origin | London |
| Genres |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Angel, Deutsche Grammophon, Mercury KX |
Anoushka Hemangini Shankar, born on June 9, 1981, is a talented British-American musician. She is famous for playing the sitar, an Indian string instrument. Anoushka plays many types of music, from traditional Indian classical to modern electronic sounds. She has released several albums and worked with many other musicians, including her famous father, Ravi Shankar. Anoushka has been nominated for Grammy Awards eleven times. She was also the first musician of Indian origin to perform and present at the Grammy Awards. She was also the youngest and first woman to receive a special award called the British House of Commons Shield.
Contents
Anoushka's Early Life
Anoushka Shankar was born in London. She spent her childhood living between London and Delhi, India. Her mother is Sukanya Shankar, and her father was the legendary Indian sitar player, Ravi Shankar. He was 61 years old when Anoushka was born.
Anoushka also has a half-sister, the American singer Norah Jones. Her half-brother, Shubhendra "Shubho" Shankar, sadly passed away in 1992. When she was a teenager, Anoushka lived in Encinitas, California. She went to San Dieguito High School Academy. She graduated with honors in 1999 and was even crowned Homecoming Queen! After high school, she chose to focus on her music career instead of going to college.
Her Amazing Music Career
Anoushka started learning the sitar at age eight. She trained with Gaurav Mazumdar, one of her father's students. By age ten, she began playing the tanpura (a drone instrument) during her father's concerts.
First Performances and Albums
Anoushka gave her first public sitar performance at just 13 years old. This was on February 27, 1995, in New Delhi. It was part of her father's 75th birthday celebration concert. For this special debut, she played alongside the famous tabla player Zakir Hussain.
That same year, she had her first experience in a recording studio. Her father's record label, Angel Records, released a special four-CD set. By age fourteen, she was traveling the world, playing with her father. At fifteen, she helped her father with his important album, Chants of India. This album was produced by George Harrison of The Beatles. Anoushka helped with the music notes and even conducted some performers.
Because of her talent, Angel Records offered her a contract. Anoushka signed her first recording deal when she was sixteen. She released her first album, Anoushka, in 1998. Her second album, Anourag, came out in 2000. In 1999, she decided to tour as a solo artist instead of going to university.
Grammy Nominations and New Sounds
In 2003, Anoushka and her half-sister Norah Jones were both nominated for Grammy Awards. Anoushka became the youngest nominee in the World Music category. This was for her third album, Live at Carnegie Hall.
After releasing three classical Indian albums, Anoushka took a break from recording. She focused on becoming a solo concert performer. She toured worldwide, playing many concerts each year. In 2005, she released her fourth album, RISE. This was her first album where she produced and composed the music herself. It earned her another Grammy nomination. In February 2006, she made history as the first Indian musician to play at the Grammy Awards. She performed songs from her RISE album.
Anoushka then worked with Indian producer Karsh Kale. They released Breathing Under Water in 2007. This album mixed classical sitar music with electronica beats. Famous guest artists included Norah Jones, Sting, and her father.
In 2011, Anoushka signed with Deutsche Grammophon record label. This began a very creative time for her. She continued to develop her unique sitar sound. She earned her third Grammy nomination in 2013 for Traveller. This album explored the connections between flamenco music and Indian classical music. She toured the world with a special group of musicians to support Traveller.
In 2013, she released Traces of You. This was a very personal album, released after her father passed away. It featured her half-sister Norah Jones singing. Traces of You earned Anoushka her fourth Grammy nomination. In July 2015, she released Home, which was a purely classical Indian raga album.
Recent Works and Collaborations
After Home, Anoushka released Land of Gold in 2016. This album included contributions from singers like MIA and Alev Lenz. It also featured a monologue by actress Vanessa Redgrave. The music videos for this album were influenced by film director Joe Wright. In the same year, Land of Gold remixes was released.
In 2019, she released Reflections. This album looked back at 20 years of her cross-cultural music. It included many of her past collaborations.
In 2020, Anoushka released Love Letters. This EP (Extended Play) was a collection of songs she wrote in 2018-2019. It featured many guest musicians, including Ibeyi and Ayanna Witter-Johnson.
Anoushka often works with electronic music producer Gold Panda and percussionist Manu Delago. She has also made guest appearances on recordings by other artists. These include Sting, Lenny Kravitz, and Thievery Corporation.
In 2010, she worked with Jazz legend Herbie Hancock on his album The Imagine Project. She also appeared on a track called "Rebirth" by the Indian fusion group MIDIval Punditz. In 2012, she played sitar on the album Area 52 by Rodrigo & Gabriela.
More recently, she played on the track "Ama La" for the Dalai Lama's first music album, Inner World, released in 2020. She also collaborated with Grammy-nominated Deva Premal on the song "Prabhujee". In November 2020, Anoushka was part of the BBC Radio 2's Allstars' Children in Need charity single, "Stop Crying Your Heart Out". This song reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.
Classical Sitar Performances
Anoushka continues to perform as a classical sitarist. She plays with Indian classical groups and as a soloist. She performs her father's compositions with famous orchestras around the world. These include the London Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
She is the only person to perform Ravi Shankar's First and Second Concertos for Sitar and Orchestra since he passed away. She has played under famous conductors like Zubin Mehta. In 2009, she premiered her father's Third Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra. In 2010, she premiered Ravi Shankar's first symphony for sitar and orchestra.
She has also performed duets with artists like violinist Joshua Bell and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.
Composing for Films
Anoushka started composing music for films. She wrote a Bengali lullaby for director Joe Wright's movie Anna Karenina (2012).
She also composed the score for the British Film Institute's restored silent film Shiraz: A Romance of India (1928). She performed this music live during screenings of the movie. In 2017, she co-wrote and performed the end-title song "Gain the Ocean" for the film Victoria & Abdul.
More recently, she co-composed the music for Mira Nair's BBC series A Suitable Boy (2020). This show is based on Vikram Seth's classic novel.
Acting and Writing
Anoushka has also tried acting. She appeared in the film Dance Like a Man in 2004. She is also a writer. She wrote a biography about her father called Bapi: The Love of My Life in 2002. She has also written columns for magazines and newspapers in India.
Helping Others: Benefit Concerts and Activism
Anoushka Shankar often performs at benefit concerts around the world. These concerts raise money for good causes.
In 2002, she was a main performer at the "Indian" part of the Concert for George. This concert honored the life and music of George Harrison. She played a solo sitar piece and performed George Harrison's "The Inner Light". She also conducted a new composition by her father, Arpan. This concert was similar to the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh, which her father and George Harrison organized.
She also performed at "Rock for the Rainforest" in 2002. In 2008, she and the band Jethro Tull held "A Billion Hands Concert". This concert raised money for victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Anoushka is an activist who supports many causes. She especially helps women and refugees. She also speaks up for animal rights.
One Billion Rising
In 2013, Anoushka supported the One Billion Rising campaign. This online campaign called for an end to violence against women.
Supporting Refugees
She works with the UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency and Help Refugees. In 2018, she joined other artists to ask politicians to help reunite refugee families. She is also an ambassador for The Walk, a project that supports refugees.
Other Causes
In 2020, Anoushka became the first President of The F-List. This is a UK database that aims to help balance the number of men and women in music. She also designed a pin for the "Pin Your Thanks" initiative. This supports National Health Service (NHS) charities during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
In 2007, the UN World Food Programme chose Anoushka as a spokesperson. She helped raise awareness about hunger and poor nutrition, especially for children in India. Anoushka and her father also appeared in a public service announcement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). This message was against animal suffering.
In October 2023, Anoushka signed the Artists4Ceasefire letter. This letter asked Joe Biden, the President of the United States, to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Anoushka Shankar has received many awards and honors:
- British House of Commons Shield, 1998
- Woman of the Year in India, 2003
- Named one of 20 Asian Heroes by Time magazine in 2004
- Her first Grammy Nomination in 2003 for Live at Carnegie Hall. She was the youngest nominee in this category.
- Nominated for Best Supporting actress in the film Dance Like A Man in 2004.
- Won Best Artist in the Songlines Music Award for her album Traveller in 2012.
- Received multiple Grammy nominations for her albums:
- Rise (2006)
- Traveller (2013)
- Traces of You (2015)
- Home (2016)
- Land of Gold (2017)
- Love Letters (2021)
- Between Us (2023)
- Udhero Na (2023)
- Chapter II: How Dark it is Before Dawn (2024)
- “A Rock Somewhere” with Jacob Collier (2024)
- Won the Eastern Eye Arts, Culture & Theatre Awards (ACTA) for Music in 2017.
- An asteroid, 292872 Anoushankar, was named in her honor in 2017!
- Won the ACTA award for her film score to Shiraz in 2018.
- Received Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music (Hon RAM) in 2021.
- Co-nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for A Suitable Boy Score in 2021.
- Became the first Visiting Professor of Music Business at the University of Oxford's Faculty of Music in 2023.
- Received an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Oxford in 2024.
Anoushka's Personal Life
Anoushka Shankar is the daughter of Pandit Ravi Shankar and Sukanya Rajan. She is the half-sister of Norah Jones and Shubhendra Shankar. She grew up in the US, the UK, and India. In 2010, she married British director Joe Wright. They have two sons, born in 2011 and 2015. They separated in 2017 and finalized their divorce in 2019. Anoushka now lives in London with her sons.
Anoushka's Music Albums
Studio Albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Anoushka |
|
| Anourag |
|
| Rise |
|
| Breathing Under Water (with Karsh Kale) |
|
| Traveller |
|
| Traces of You |
|
| Home |
|
| Land of Gold |
|
Other Albums
- Rise Remixes (2006)
- Full Circle: Carnegie Hall 2000 (2000)
- Live at Carnegie Hall (2001)
- Concert for George (2003)
- Reflections (2019)
- Between Us ... (2022)
Songs Featuring Anoushka
Anoushka has played sitar or contributed to many songs by other artists, including:
- Sacred Love – by Sting, 2003
- "Rebirth" – by Midival Punditz, 2005
- "Bring It On" – by Lenny Kravitz, 2007
- "Charu Keshi Rain" – by Nitin Sawhney, 2008
- "Ixtapa" – by Rodrigo y Gabriela, 2012
- "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" – by Miloš Karadaglić, 2016
- "Stop Crying Your Heart Out", Children in Need charity single, 2020
Anoushka's Film Roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Dance Like a Man | Lata |
Images for kids
-
Anoushka Shankar in Lorient Interceltic Festival in 2014
See also
In Spanish: Anoushka Shankar para niños
