“I Always Knew He Was Destined for Greatness”: Durga Jasraj on Discovering Shankar Mahadevan’s Early Spark
Durga Jasraj recalls discovering Shankar Mahadevan and Niladri Kumar, sharing rare memories of his early struggles and first breakthrough in an exclusive interview.
In an exclusive conversation with The Hans India, Durga Jasraj shared her experiences from working with more than 60,000 musicians and performing artistes across genres over the past three decades. Among the countless names she has encountered, one artist’s early journey remains especially close to her heart is Shankar Mahadevan.
When asked if she had ever come across a young newcomer whose talent was so exceptional that she immediately knew Mahadevan would go far. She also mentioned Niladri Kumar as another extraordinary talent she recognized early on.
Durga recalled a vivid moment from the early 1990s when Shankar was still relatively unknown. At that time, music directors were more familiar with her than with him, so she often took him along to introduce him personally. She added, " I'd taken Shankar to so many music directors knocking on the door because at that time they knew me more than him and one day I just took him to Ashok Patki, who's like a very, very big, legendary composer and said, Ashok ji, iska gaana sunna hai. So, I took him and we went and he said, Cassette laaye ho? Because that time people had just started recording it to hear that this is how they sound on the mic."
Adding further, Durga remembered, "So, he asked, Cassette laaye ho? Shankar replied with and asked aap mujhe apna harmonium dijiye. So, he was shocked and gave Shankar harmonium. Shankar just started playing harmonium and started singing. And Ashok ji said, kal recording mein aana. And immediately Shankar did his first jingle next day for him and that whole process never stopped. It's just gone to another level. So, so proud of the journey."
Durga spoke with pride as she reflected on the musicians she has worked with, spanning every genre, instrument, and stage of artistic development. Yet Shankar’s rise stands out to her as an inspiring example of extraordinary talent combined with opportunity, persistence, and belief.
