A child prodigy, Shashank amazed audiences at the age of six in 1984, shortly after the death of the legendary T.R. Mahalingam, alias Mali, a genius and innovator of the Carnatic flute who had predicted a most promising future for him.

Trained in the finest tradition by Palghat K.V Narayanswami, one of the most renowned singers of the past century, Shashank has a vast repertoire and has never stopped evolving and innovating. He achieves a wide variety of tones through a technique he developed and adapted to nine different-sized flutes. This alone would make Shashank unique, but he goes even further by incorporating the Hindustani music he studied with the great singer Pandit Jasraj. His extraordinary tone and consummate art of improvisation make him the most astonishing flautist of South India. His art is close to magical, and many have him hailed him as a genius.