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Vinayak Sharma, is recognized as one of today's exceptionally talented sitar artists of his generation in the field of Indian Classical Music.

 

He grew up in Jaipur, Rajasthan in a family dedicated to music. He was initiated into music at the age of 12 by his Grandmother Smt. Nirmala Devi Bhatt, who also played sitar.  

 

Under the tutelage of Pandit Rajeev Janardan of the Imdadkhani gharana, Vinayak studied sitar and developed the intricacies of 'gayaki' (vocal technique) and 'tantrakari' (instrumental technique).

 

Vinayak has performed sitar concerts in India, USA and China, and has won many awards from legendary musicians in India and abroad. In the spring of 2014, he traveled to USA to give sitar concerts. He presented a sitar demonstration at the Berklee College of Music as part of the LearnQuest Academy of Music Indian Classical Music Conference 2014. His sitar concerts included a performance at the legendary Cambridge, Massachusetts folk music venue Club Passim, the LearnQuest Academy of Music, Third Life Studio, and Cambridge Community Television (CCTV). He was awarded for securing first position in an All India Music Competition three times consecutively. In 2008, he traveled to China as part of an Indian Youth Delegation to perform in Beijing, Shanghai, Guiyang and Fuzhou as a cultural ambassador of India. He was the only musician selected in the instrumental strings category by the Government of India. In addition to performing with other artists in India for many years, he has given many solo performances and organized fusion concerts.  Presently, Vinayak is also the lead player of the electric sitar (Zitar) for the rock band Rudraksh.

 

Additionally, he has proficiency in playing the harmonium, Western keys, and vocal knowledge of both light and semi classical Indian music. 

 

Vinayak has earned a PhD from University of Rajasthan for his research of sitar. On July 20, 2014, Vinayak was awarded the title "Shodh Shashtri" (for his Ph.D.) and "Vidvat Jan Samman" (for distinguished achievements in the field of Music) at Suchna Kendra, Jaipur, Rajasthan. He was presented these awards by Dr. Arun Chaturvedi, Minister, Rajasthan Government and the award function was organized and conducted by Tailong Kulam. 

 

He is also a gold medalist in the Bachelor of Music and Masters in Music from University of Rajasthan in Jaipur, and was awarded the title of Sur Saadhak by Sur Ganga Sanstha for scoring the highest percentile for the Bachelor of Music degree from University of Rajasthan. The award was presented to him by former Governor of Rajasthan, and former President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil.