Music: Special Series; Anoushka Shankar, 18

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Nov 22, 1999

SPECIAL SERIES

Anoushka Shankar, 18
Sitarist

Miss World
Young, smart, vivacious. Yet to give a full-fledged solo sitar recital. Before you go hmmm, consider that this girl has star billing through sheer force of legacy -- her father is called Ravi Shankar. She has already shown impressive prowess playing alongside her father whether at the Carnegie Hall in New York or the Siri Fort Auditorium in Delhi; in this new age world of global music and global marketability, there is a place for someone with talent, attitude and global exposure at this early an age.

Born in London and brought up in California, Anoushka navigates through times and cultures with surprising grace. She can be the teenager in hip-hugging jeans or a traditional musician in a brocade salwar-kameez, her natural easy going self from a bubbly "Hi" to a demure "Namaste". But more than the amazing likeness to her father, the buzz is her innate sense for melody and rhythm. Yet, the awesome inheritance sometimes weighs heavy. "I am frightened because I'm still very much in my father's shadow," she admits, "and it's kind of a weird thought about what's going to happen when I come out of it. Yeah." Like, chill.

-S Kalidas

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