Rajshekhar Mansur

Pt. Rajshekhar Mansur (born December 16, 1942) is a Hindustani Classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. He is the son and disciple of Hindustani vocalist Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur.
Though he started accompanying his father since age 20, he never practiced music full-time, and was a professor of English at Karnataka University, in his native Dharwad. He was awarded the 2012 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest award for performing artists, conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Early life and education

Mansur was born to singer Mallikarjun Mansur, one of the leading singers of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana founded by Ustad Alladiya Khan. At the age of 16, Rajashekar performed Raag Malkauns in his college gatherings and received tuition from his father. Within a couple of years, he won the gold medal in the Sangeet Visharad exam and went on to take first prize in the AIR Youth Music Competition.

He completed his M.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Wales on a British Council Scholarship.

Career

Rajshekhar Mansur start accompanying his father on concert at age 20, though he never practiced signing as a full-time profession, until his retirement. Mansur taught literature and linguistics for nearly 35 years and retired as a Professor and Chairman of the English Department, Karnataka University, Dharwad.He also taught English at P.G.Centre Gulbarga. At the same time, he continued to pursue music, giving vocal support to his father and also performing independently at various prestigious music festivals and on the radio.

He is now Top Grade Vocalist in the AIR. He has performed extensively in many prestigious music festivals throughout the country. The Karnataka Government has recognised his contributions to music by awarding him the Rajyotsava Award (1997). He was nominated as the chairman of Karnataka Sangeet Nrutya Akademi (2005–2008). He is also the recipient of Karnataka Kalashri Gaurav Award (2009). His music has been preserved in the archives of Indira Gandhi Manav Sangrahalaya in Bhopal. In September 7, 2009, he released his music album, In The Footsteps and Beyond to coinciding with his 60th birthday.

In 2012, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest award for performing artists, conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. In 2016, he was conferred the Ustad Bismillah Khan and Pandit Sanna Bharamanna Smarak Rashtriya Puraskar by the Tansen Academy of Music, Chennai