Both Shanta and I deeply mourn the death of Smt. Vidya Shankar, who was a great source of inspiration to the students in Kalakshetra. Though she taught us Mathematics for the Matriculation exams, there was music in her Maths. She was a great teacher, whether it was music or maths. Unlike many musicians, Vidya teacher always attended Bharatanatyam performances and while appreciating the performance, she also made valuable suggestions to enhance the the musical aspect. We have benefitted a lot from her suggestions. When we were teaching Shoba Sharma (Radhakrishnan), Vidya teacher, being her aunt, took a lot of interest in shaping her musical talent and in turn helped improve the quality of music of our accompanying musicians. She was a good human being and shared her knowledge liberally. She will be remembered not only for her great music, but for being a simple and humble soul.
Shanta and V.P. Dhananjayan
