Anoushka Shankar (b. June 9, 1981) is a sitar player and composer in the United Kingdom. She is the daughter of Ravi Shankar, Indian sitar player, and Sukanya Rajan. Through her father, she is the half-sister of Grammy winner Norah Jones.

Shankar was born in London. When she was nine years old, her father began training her in the sitar. She gave a public performance at the age of thirteen; since then she has become a world famous sitar artist.

After her mother reunited with Mr Shankar, from age seven on she lived in Encinitas, California, USA where she gave several charity performances as a teenager and graduated from the local public high school.

In an hour-long special on the US public TV network PBS she once explained that this is how she picked up her American accent, which according to her, her Indian fans find "cute".

In 1998, Shankar played at a gala dinnner for guests including British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, in recognition of which she was presented with a House of Commons Shield. In February 2000, Shankar became the first woman to perform at The Ramakrishna Centre in Calcutta. The Indian Television Academy, Asmi, and India Times chose her as one of four Women of the Year in India in 2003. In 2004 she was chosen as one of twenty Asian Heroes by the Asia edition of Time magazine.

Her album Rise was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary World Music category. This was Shankar's second Grammy nomination. She also became the first Indian woman to perform at the Grammy Awards when she performed during the pre-telecast ceremony of the 48th awards.

The name "Anoushka" was inspired by a very good friend of the family – Dr Anne Pennington – and the Russian version came because of the then-popularity of the actress Anoushka Hempel. The name "Anoushka" can also be linked back to South Asian origins.

She played sitar at the Concert for George, a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on November 29, 2002.

Shankar is a supporter of animal rights and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She and her father appeared in a thirty-second public-service announcement against animal suffering.[1]

Discography

1. Anoushka (1998)
2. Anourag (2000)
3. Live at Carnegie Hall (2001)
4. Rise (2005)

External links

• Official site
• Anoushka Shankar at the Internet Movie Database
• Anoushka Shankar's Official Myspace Page
• NPR article by Susan Stamberg (accessed 15 January 2006)
• TIME Asia article by Aryn Baker (accessed 15 January 2006)