Mumbai: George Harrison believes, Anoushka Shankar, like her father, is the music; she just happens to choose the sitar as her instrument. Ahead of a performance at Live Earth in Mumbai next month, iTalk allows her to mesmerise us with her golden strumming

If you browse through Anoushka Shankar's extensive biography, discography and affiliations with the best ofs in various genres of music, the mere 30-minutes assigned to encompass her ascent to being the queen of sitar in BBC's documentary, Sitar Trek, will seem like an impossible job. For someone who made her debut at 13, and was deemed as a sitar prodigy by the time she reached her late teens, seeking just one way to capture the personality of an artist's compositions that have come of age, would be stupid. Her every note is magnetic, her plucking is timed to the T, and the reverberation that follows this, churns a million little cells in your stomach that clamber up, all the way to your throat till you let them out in a breathless, "Wow"!

Classical only

Anoushka's music always holds the centre, and somehow even remains honest to her Indian school of classical music, despite collaborations with percussionists, DJs, rock stars and guitar gurus. "The music industry is full of trends, in every genre. And classical is no different. But, I prefer to play classical only," Shankar tells iTalk in a telephonic interview from Delhi, while she readies herself up for an intensive all-India music tour, followed by the mega musical extravaganza, Live Earth, scheduled in Mumbai this December.

With Roger Waters for Live Earth

Performing for a cause is not new for Shankar. In the past, she has toured across India in aid of the World Food Programme. As a kid, she attended benefit concerts with George Harrison. "Music is the best way to connect, and raise awareness for any cause. It is the easiest way to reach out to millions, at once," Shankar says, thrilled that India is participating in the global eco-watch event. If not in support of the awareness for global warming, fans will show up to be treated to one helluva surprise: An unreal collaboration between Anoushka Shankar and Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd) on two tracks Another Brick in the Wall and Wish You Were Here. An ecstatic Shankar says she's run out of a wish list. "I have already played with the best across the board. For the next few albums, I am going solo."

Anoushka will perform solo at Live Earth on December 7 at the Andheri Sports Complex at 6.30 pm. Tickets: Rs 625, Rs 1,250, Rs 2,500, available at Rhythm House (Kala Ghoda), Hiro Music House (Bandra) and Music World (Malad) and online on Bookmyshow.com