Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar born on 27th Jan. 1963 in Bijapur in Karnataka
Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar is currently recognized as one of the top vocalists of the younger generation. She started her training with veteran Late Pandit Vasantrao Kulkarni of the Agra Gwalior gharanas. Thereafter she was fortunate in receiving training from none other than Gana Saraswati Smt Kishori Amonkar of the Jaipur Atrauli gharana. Her gurus have influenced Arati's style. Listening to her performances one sees a very pleasant blend of the various gharanas represented by her teachers. Endowed with a rich resonant voice, Arati's performances are marked by an excellent command over both the rhythm and the melody.
Arati has performed at many prestigious conferences in India, such as the Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav (Pune), the Malhar Utsav (Delhi), Tansen Samaroh(Gwalior), the Dover Lane Festival (Kolkotta), the Shankarlal Festival (Delhi) and at sabhas organized by the Madras Music Academy (Chennai). She has also performed in Bangalore,Jaipur,Jodhpur, Ajmer, Udaypur, Agra, Banaras(Ganga Utsav),Bhubneshwar,almost all major cities in Maharashtra,Karnataka,M.P.,Rajasthan,Tamilnadu and Kerala.In some of the concerts the audience is sometimes five to seven thousand. She has been on concert tours in USA, Canada, UK and UAE,Australia,Singapore,Malaysia and many other countries.Thus Arati has tried to promote Indian Classical Music and Culture in different parts of the World.
A recipient of a Central Government scholarship (1975-80) and the Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar scholarship (1980-82), Arati stood first in the All India Radio competition held during 1983 and 1984 in Indian classical music, thumri and gazal and was awarded gold medal in all the three categories.Arati has received Mayor Award (2001)and prestigious Pt.Kumar Gandharva Sanman (2006-07) (M.P.) She also has been awarded Pt. Jasraj Award.
Arati has her to her credit a number of audio cassettes and CD recordings. She was the main playback singer for the Sham Benegal's film, "Sardari Begum."
Arati has received National Award (best playback singer) for the Konkani film 'Anternaad',based on the life of a classical singer.(Arati was the main playback singer) for the year 2006.She has also received Maharashtra State Award (best playback singer) , V.Shantaram Award and Maharashtra Times Award for a Marathi Film.
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