Popular for her Grammy nomination for her album Rise, Shankar is in Mumbai to perform at the concert Music for Hunger today —a fund raising music concert organised by the World Food Programme. “I will be performing in Delhi and Mumbai because I feel deeply for this cause. I also wish to have a longer association with them and perform at many more concerts,” she says. “It is performing for concerts such as these that give you a sense of satisfaction and the feeling is just invaluable.”

Shankar’s popularity has often soared with her albums. With her latest album Breathing Under Water with percussionist and producer Karsh Kale and contributions from Sting, her half-sister Norah Jones, as well as her father and Shankar Mahadevan, it has climbed new heights.

“This album is a mix of a variety of things. All the people I have worked with have been associated with me at some point in my life and career. The whole feeling was very positive. We learnt from each other and the main thing about the record is that it’s a collaboration between Karsh and me.”

Although Shankar doesn’t intend to do any more movies (she acted in Pamela Rooks’ national award-winning Dance Like A Man five years ago), she is keen on sharing the stage with her father who has been a major influence on her career and musical style. “Even though my father doesn’t perform regularly anymore, we try and do a few concerts in a year. The next one is in a couple of months at Chennai,” she informs.

Those who have witnessed the songbird’s rise through the years will say that it is by virtue of her ability alone. “But comparisons with my father are bound to happen,” she reasons. “I have inherited this talent from my father. He is my mentor, my guru. Whatever I learnt I owe to him.”