Shashank, born on 14th Oct, 1978, was barely nine months old when he was initiated to south Indian classical music, even before he started speaking his mother tongue. As advised by Flute Maestro T.R. Mahalingam, he learnt only vocal music from veteran musicians including Palghat K.V. Narayana Swamy. At his six Shashank picked his father’s flute and stunned onlookers by playing, spontaneously, to signal his entry into the flute world.


His maiden flute concert was at Adelaide, Australia in Sept 1990 when he was eleven followed by his debut in India on Dec 20, 1990. He became the youngest musician of the century to have been invited to play the prestigious “SADAS” concert on Jan. 1, 1991 at the Music Academy, Madras. Since then, has been a celebrity flautist world over and performs in the company of top ranking artistes in India and abroad.

Some land mark concerts of his have been Rashtrapathy Bhavan (The President's Palace at New Delhi), India Music Group at St.Xaviers college Bombay, UNESCO Paris , Tropical Institute - Amsterdam, J. Paul Getty Hall, Hollywood, National academy of sciences, Washington D.C., Xebec Hall – Kobe, Japan and Across Fukuoka – Fukuoka, Japan.

Shashank’s introduction of multi flute transposed fingering technique to merge flutes of different frequencies / lengths to the tonic note (the adhara shadja) – producing deep bass to the shrill sounds gave flute an enviable position in Indian music and has been acclaimed world over by music lovers as his significant contribution.

“Shashank sings through his flute”, “musical wiz kid of the century”, “magician flautist” , etc., are some of the often heard critics in the music world.

Shashank has enthralled audiences in India, South Africa, USA, Canada, UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, the Middle East, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

Shashank's performances feature an extraordinary range of musical expression - from the deepest meditations to youthful fun and astonishing virtuosity. Audiences respond enthusiastically to Shashank's flair and unpretentious style. Shashank's percussionists add pizzazz to the performances with rhythmic texture that ranges from colorful, sparse punctuation to driving motives that swell to exhilarating levels during solo passages. He has 21 compact discs to his credit.

Accompanying artistes:

B.U.Ganesh Prasad – Violin

Ganesh Prasad is an extremely talented youngster. He had his initial training from Basavanagudi Natraj of Banglore and advanced training under the able guidance of the violin Maestro V.V. Subramanyam of Madras. Ganesh has gained fame in India and abroad for his excellent accompaniment to leading artistes of South India and in particular he has been on several tours abroad in the company of Shashank.

P. Satish Kumar - Mridangam

Satish Kumar was initiated to this art by his mother, late Padmavathi, a former lecturer at the Govt. Women's College, Vizianagaram. He learnt mridangam playing from Sreeramachandra Murthy, Appalaswamy and Venkayala Narasimham. Equally proficient in mridangam and khanjira, Satish has accompanied many senior artists in India and abroad. Satish is one of the top ranked artistes amongst the younger generation and is the most sought after. His name appears on scores of audio and video publications. He is known for spontaneity, fine artistry and deft fingering.

Parupalli S. Phalgun – Mridangam and Khanjira

An extremely talented and dynamic youngster, Phalgun was trained from the age of five by the Late Radhakrishna Raju and later under his son M.L.N. Raju of AIR Vijayawada. He hails from a family of great musicians such as Parupalli Ramakrishnaiah Pantulu, the guru of vocal Maestro M. Balamurali Krishna. He has accompanied many stalwarts in the field of South Indian music and he is currently on the faculty of The Govt. Music College, Vijayawada. A recipient of many awards, Phalgun is an A grade artist of the All India Radio and Television. He has accompanied Shashank on several concerts and recordings including in a DVD production.

S. Shantala – Tanpura

Tanpura is an essential instrument in the Indian classical music scenario. Shantala is a very talented flute artist herself and is currently under the guidance of veteran vocalist Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan and Shashank. In addition, she has also been trained in the art of playing the tanpura and she has been touring in India and abroad along with Shashank.