A pioneer and a `path maker`, Sharan Rani was the first internationally renowned woman instrumentalist of India and one of
the foremost sarodiyas of the 20 th century. She was the very first woman to take up the `Sarod`.
She was born in Delhi on 9th April, 1929 in a conservative, non-musical Hindu family of businessmen and educationists.
As a child, much against social norms and family pressures, she first learnt Kathak from Guru Achhan Maharaj and Manipuri
from Guru Nabha Kumar Sinha. Her love affair with the sarod started at the age of 8 when she chanced upon the instrument
lying around in her house. Overcoming innumerable challenges which included conservative social norms, the hereditary male
dominated Gharanas of music and the fact that she lost both her parents in her childhood, she opened the doors of Hindustani
instrumental music for women, by charting her own course. She learnt Sarod from the great maestro `Baba` Ustad Allauddin
Khan and from his son, the Sarod wizard, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. As a young girl, she left home against all odds and went to
live in Maihar, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, to learn Sarod as the resident disciple of the legendary musician, `Baba`
Ustad Allauddin Khan. For Sharan Rani, the home of her Guru was like a temple of music. In 1953, she did her M.A from Delhi University.
The musical genius of Sharan Rani was a brilliant combination of superb artistry and intense soul searching emotions,
blissfully transporting her listeners to a profoundly moving experience. She played from within and her music was a
pure and spiritual journey through which she sought the Divine. A virtuoso composer, she created many beautiful Ragas
and bandishes.
Sharan Rani began performing in major music conferences and festivals from a very early age. She had the honour
of receiving a gold medal from Dr. Radhakrishnan, the then President of India at an early age. On the concert
stage for over seven decades, she earned the affectionate title of `Sarod Rani` (Queen of Sarod) and was critically
acclaimed as a `musician`s-musician`, and a `Thinking Artist` by the world of music. She was an inspiration for men
and women from non-musical families to come on the concert stage and played an exceptional role in changing the mindset
of conservative society.The then Prime Minister of India, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, called her the `Cultural Ambassador
of India`, as she played a primary role in introducing and popularising Indian classical music across continents
since the 1950s