Career
She was known for her performances of khyal, thumri, and bhajans. Born in 1926, Lakshmi started her career in dancing. In 1939, when Uday Shankar brought his dance troupe to Madras (recently renamed Chennai), she joined the Almora Centre to learn Shankar’s dance style based on the Indian classics, and became a part of the troupe.
During a period of illness, Lakshmi had to give up dancing, and already having had a background of Carnatic music, she undertook learning Hindustani classical music for many years under Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan.
In 1974, Lakshmi performed in Europe as part of Ravi Shankar"s Music Festival from India. Following Ravi Shankar"s heart attack during the tour, she conducted his ensemble of musicians.
Lakshmi has shown her versatility and adaptability by composing music for Bharatanatyam for the leading dance company Shakti School of Bharatanatyam, located in Los Los Angeles Shankar died on 30 December 2013 in California.