lalith j rao | raag jhinjhoti vocal | indian classical music | khayal raag jhinjhoti

Rao's introduction to classical music was at the age of three, at a concert by the Agra gharana vocalist Faiyaz Khan. She started learning music from Rama Rao Naik, who initiated her into the Agra gharana. Rao's first public concert was at the Bangalore Sangeet Sabha at the age of 12[citation needed]. When she was 14, she won the All India Classical Music competition in Mumbai and became the youngest participant of the Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan the same year. Rao completed her Bachelors and Masters in Electrical Communication Engineering, the latter from the University of New Brunswick. In 1967, she married Jayavanth Rao and moved to Delhi to work. Her husband convinced Rao to abandon her engineering career and pursue singing, and she received training from Dinkar Kaikini and later from Khadim Hussain Khan. #raagjhinjhotivocal #artisticindia #raagjhinjhotivocal