Kamala Shankar

Kamala Shankar is an Indian classical slide guitar musician and Innovator of Shankar Guitar. She has employed a unique Gayaki style (also Tantraki) for more than 30 years. She was born in 1966 in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu.

Shankar is the first slide guitarist to receive the National Award in Music " Rashtriya Kumar Gandharva Samman" in 2013 by the Government of Madhya Pradesh.

Kamala was trained in music by her mother at the age of six. She studied under Padmabhushan Pt. Channulal Mishra and sitar maestro Pt. Bimalendu Mukherjee. She is the only woman to hold a doctoral degree in slide guitar from Banaras Hindu University. She holds a bachelor's degree in zoology.

Shankar attracted worldwide attention by successfully converting the western Hawaiian slide guitar into the 'Shankar guitar', which has overtones of the classical veena and sitar. A Shankar guitar is made from a single block of wood, with thicker walls and no sound hole. It has four melody strings, four chikari (rhythm strings) and 12 tarab (sympathetic strings). The instrument is named after the deity of Varanasi Lord Shankar

She performs across India and around the globe.

She resides in Varanasi.

She is the Director and founder of Shankara Arts Foundation, created in 2007at Varanasi. The aim is to make music available to a wider spectrum of society, especially those who do not have easy access to music. SAF organizes concerts, seminars, workshops and other such events that help people understand the power of music. Her recitals are featured regularly on All India Radio and Doordarshan.