Shanker Arunasalam - A Tribute

Shanker Arunasalam, a leading young artist of the Sruthi Laya Seva ensemble in Australia passed away in tragic circumstances on December 21st, 1997. 19 year old Shanker was the most accomplished Carnatic percussionist of Australian origin. In addition to his debut concert with Balaji Shankar in August 1996, Shanker had contributed his talents to many other performances, including those of Dr. N. Ramani and other senior musicians from overseas and local artists in Australia. As well as his talents on the mridangam and kanjeera, Shanker was a highly promising student of the veena, An undergraduate student in Science at Melbourne University, Shanker also devoted considerable energy to the performance of community services and bhajans with the Sathya Sai and Chinmaya Mission youth groups. His talents and generosity of spirit are surely missed by those of us that are left behind.