Dr Shankar Mahadevan receives doctorate from Birmingham City University

Dr Sohini Paul and Dr Deyashini Mukherjee
Birmingham: On 24^th June 2023, the world-renowned singer, composer and all-round music maestro Shankar Mahadevan was presented with an honorary doctorate in music by Birmingham City University. This event took place at the prestigious Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and was attended by several dignitaries, academics and music enthusiasts. Two of the RBC ensembles performed a variety of pieces, spanning Carnatic-jazz and Indo-western fusion, paying homage to Dr Mahadevan’s many inspirations and vast repertoire of styles. The cherry on top was perhaps having Ustad Zakir Hussain and Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, as part of the famous fusion ensemble Shakti, being there to honour Dr Mahadevan, as well as perform an impromptu jugalbandi featuring voice, tabla and guitar on stage.

As part of the evening, we were fortunate enough to hear a little bit about Dr Mahadevan’s journey through music and current pursuits. He spoke about the initial challenges of leaving engineering and becoming a musician full-time, which he termed ‘a leap of faith’. He discussed how this had only been possible because of the belief that his family, especially his wife Sangeeta, had and still has in him. Shankar-ji fondly talked of his ‘brothers’ Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, with whom he has been making music for over 25 years, and how their creative differences and varying perspectives on a composition have shaped many award-winning masterpieces, such as Kal Ho Na Ho. He also inspired many in the room to pursue music without fear of failure, an ethos which he brings to his own work as an ‘eternal student of music’. Through the Shankar Mahadevan academy, he has endeavoured to make music more accessible to students across ninety countries, including those with autism spectrum disorder. He discussed about the power of music to heal and soothe, which is embodied in several concerts held daily by his academy for those with terminal illnesses. The entire event was brought together by Here & Now 635, the multicultural agency in London.

Dr Sohini Paul and Dr Deyashini Mukherjee are practising physicians in the NHS, UK and part-time reporters for www.radiobanlanet.com