Shankar goes offbeat

With films like My Name is Khan and Karthik Calling Karthik in his kitty, composer-singer Shankar Mahadevan has his hands full with work. But it's not just work that drives this National Award winner. He has some equally diverse tastes and interests in life. Shankar tells CS about things that excite him as much as music:

Dish it out
After music, cooking is my greatest passion. Sometimes as a musician, I take music for granted, but cooking is an external thing that I am very curious about. Like you create a song from instruments, notes and tunes, you make a dish from varied ingredients, so they're quite similar. Cooking de-stresses me totally. I also love watching cookery shows and can prepare Thai, Indian and Chinese dishes.u00a0

Hoarding stuff
I can't resist buying electronics. Period. Just a couple of days back I bought a wireless keyboard, though I don't need it. My wife and I shop like crazy when we are abroad. We just have our breakfast and head straight to the malls. Invariably we end up having all our meals at the malls, and leave only minutes before they shut down! London, Dubai, New York and Singapore are some of my favourite shopping destinations.

Sketchy details
My father had a flair for making caricatures and I have inherited it. I enjoy drawing and sketching characters like Richie Rich, Phantom, Laurel and Hardy, etc. This is my favourite pastime when I am travelling abroad with my international jazz group Shakti, especially in Europe, because we spend a lot of time in trains.u00a0u00a0

On vacation
I take breaks quite often as I feel it's very important. Sometimes I holiday just with my wife, at times with kids and friends. Every year, my friends and I make a trip to Goa with our families.u00a0

Family first
My family is my number one priority, even before my music. The happiness I derive from my wife and my kids, Siddharth and Shivam, drives me to compose good music. They are my source of strength and I value my time with them.