About
V. Selvaganesh is one of the leading kanjira players of his generation, a percussionist working in the Carnatic tradition who has earned a place alongside the most celebrated names in Indian classical and cross-tradition music. A member of the group Shakti, he shared in its 2024 Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album.
Born in Chennai to the ghatam legend Vikku Vinayakram, Selvaganesh grew up immersed in Carnatic percussion and began performing with established artists by the age of nine. From 1999 to 2013 he performed in Remember Shakti alongside John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan and U. Srinivas, and he continues with Shakti, which won the 2024 Grammy for This Moment. He has collaborated widely across world music, released solo albums including Soukha, and helps run his family's percussion school.
The artistry
In Selvaganesh's hands the kanjira, a small single-headed frame drum, becomes a rhythmically intricate, tonally expressive lead voice able to hold its own against any instrument on stage. Rooted in Carnatic percussion, he moves fluently across rock, jazz and world music, and composes and produces across genres.
[Atlas Perspective] V. Selvaganesh is among the foremost percussionists in Indian and world music, and a Grammy winner with Shakti. For festivals and cultural events, he is a top-tier choice.
V. Selvaganesh has elevated the kanjira to an internationally celebrated solo and fusion instrument, carrying forward his family's percussion legacy and Indian rhythm into the highest levels of global music.