Kamala Shankar is an Indian classical musician specializing in the Gharana tradition. She has created her own instrument, a custom version of a Hawaiian slide guitar that she calls the Shankar slide guitar. Shankar founded the Shakara Arts Foundation in 2007, and she holds a doctorate degree from Banaras Hindu University. She received the Kumar Gandharva Samman award from the government of Madhya Pradesh in 2013.