As one tunes into the music programmes on AIR, Bangalore or the FM Channels, a familiar male voice is sure to be heard. Be it the early morning devotional slot, the regular Carnatic music concerts or the various features, operas, music lessons and documentaries, S Shankar is almost a permanent fixture on the broadcasting and visual media.

One of the leading Carnatic vocalists of the younger generation, Shankar with his chaste and attractive style has captured the imagination of music lovers. Initiated into music by his mother Rajamma Shastry, he was later groomed by the veteran musician Vallabham Kalyanasundaram, who initiated him into the different facets of Carnatic music. Endowed with a rich resonant voice with excellent timbre, Shankar’s music is characterised by a slow and unhurried pace of rendering, with emphasis on proper diction. This enables him to embellish his raga and kirthana renderings with the proper ‘gamakas’ so essential to bring out the inherent beauty of the ragas.

This brings to mind his exposition of the famous song ‘O Rangashayi’ of Saint Thyagaraja. This majestic composition acquires an added sheen in Shankar’s portrayal of the Kambhodi Raga wherein he gives expression to his fecund creativity.

Shankar, who has been deeply influenced by the music of the maestros R K Srikantan and the late Palghat K V Narayanaswamy gives more importance to ‘Manodharma’ or creative music, rather than employing mind boggling mathematical calculations aimed at whipping up the percussionists into a frenzied crescendo and eliciting claps from the audience. A notable aspect of his concerts is the importance given to ‘Shloka’s and the Ugabhogas of  the Haridasas. Set in a veritable garland of ragas, they come as a delectable dessert after a sumptuous melodic fare.

Possessing a vast and varied repertoire, Shankar has honed his skills with the eminent musicologist S Krishnamurthy, which has enabled him to delve into the rich ocean of  Mysore Vasudevacharya’s compositions.

Music enthusiasts still recall Shankar’s methodical teaching of Vasudevacharya’s ‘Pranatarthihara’ song in Raga Jhenjhuti.

Closely associated with the scholar late T N Padmanabhan, Shankar has participated in many music features on the works of Thyagaraja and D V Gundappa. His musical classicism notwithstanding, Shankar has forayed into other domains normally frowned upon by purists. His experiments with musicians of the North Indian style have been received well. His collaborations with famous musicians like Pandit Vinayak Torvi and Pandit Parameshwar Hegde show a careful planning of the concert, highlighting the distinctive features of both styles and yet revealing the basic similarity.

Shankar has also composed and directed music for various documentaries, projecting another aspect of his creativity. As one listens to his music for the Haridasa Compositions, the influence of another of his mentors, late A V  Krishnamachar is clearly discernable. Popularly known by his nom-de-plume ‘Padmacharan’ Krishnamachar was a gifted violinist, composer and director. His evocative song ‘Shringapuradhishwari’ on goddess Sharada of Sringeri has been melodiously rendered by Shankar and has caught the public fancy to such an extent that it is de-rigeur to sing this song as an invocation at most functions. 

Graded as a top rank artiste by both AIR and DD, Shankar has to his credit very many cassettes and CDs. One unusual CD, from both the composer’s as well as the composition’s point of view is the one on Sathya Sai of Shirdi. Compositions on Sathya Sai are rare, more so in Sanskrit. The songs in this CD have been composed by the eminent Sanskrit scholar of the previous century, Mayuram Vishwanatha Shastry. In a simple and appealing language, the composer has extolled the glories of Sathya Sai which have been set to music and melodiously sung by Shankar. Another notable CD is the one on the compositions of the late Swamiji of the Shringeri Shivaganga Peetham. The late Swamiji was a great sage and scholar who  composed many songs in Sanskrit.

Setting them to tune and recording them has been a labour of love for Shankar.

Participating in the prestigious Radio Sangeet Sammelans and the national programmes early in his career has been a feather in the cap of Shankar. With many honours and titles to his credit, Shankar is of the opinion that listening to music of all genres is very helpful in moulding a musician in that it helps in absorbing the salient features of the other type and infusing it into one’s own style while retaining the original identity.

As one listens to ‘Jayati Jayati Bharata Mata’, again a composition of Mayuram Vishwanatha Shastry sung by Shankar, one can visualise the march of people in the freedom struggle and to today’s generation, the song and the music is a clarion call for true nationalism.