BANGALORE :Hindustani classical vocalist Nachiketa Sharma Yakkundi is gearing up for his concerts in the city. The vocalist who is settled in the USA is a software engineer by profession but is passionately involved in classical Hindustani music.
Born in Dharwad, Nachiketa had his early education in Jamshedpur, Chennai and Jakarta (Indonesia) Dharwad and Bangalore. He went to the US to obtain his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science. Though settled in the USA since long, his penchant for music is not diminished. On the other hand he has shaped himself as a Hindustani classical vocalist pursuing his study and practice in music with the single minded devotion.
Nachiketa started his music education at a very young age in Chennai under the tutelage of BN Simha and B Hanumantachar. After moving to Dharwad he continued his music pursuit with Pandit Basavaraj Rajuguru. He has the credit of having accompanied his Guru on many of his concerts. He had the rare fortune to be with his Guru when he breathed his last.
Nachiketa is the winner of numerous prizes in appreciation of his academic excellence and achievements in music at various levels. He is the recipient of the scholarship instituted by the Karnataka State Sangeet and Nritya Academy.
He has given performances at several prestigious platforms in Dharwad, Bangalore, Mumbai, New York, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco and other places in the USA.
He is the faculty of Ali Akbar College of Music at San Rafael USA where he teaches Hindustani classical vocal music. Nachikeata is a member of the Padma Vibhushan Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s Maihar Orchestra created by the Ustad himself.
Nachiketa runs his own Rajguru Sangeet Vidyaniketan -- a school of music in Cupertino California -- a place of his living- carrying forward the great legacy of Guru by teaching the young artists. He is also a teacher at the Sangeetanjali School of Music in Bay Area California.
He has given saath to several leading maestros on their concerts in California. He has brought out the CDs of his classical music, Devaranamas and Vachanaas.
The concerts will be held at Datta Mandir, 59, 6th Main, 3rd Block, Tyagaraj Nagar 6 pm on August 7 and at Sneha Bhavan, Sahakar Nagar Bangalore at 6 pm on August 8.
bngexpresso@expressbuzz.com
