Shakti is a fusion band formed by English guitarist John McLaughlin and Indian violinist L. Shankar with percussionists Zakir Hussain (on tabla) and T. H. "Vikku" Vinayakram (on ghatam)[1].

The original lineup, formed in 1973, consisted of John McLaughlin on guitar, L. Shankar on violin and R. Raghavan on mridangam,[2] initially under the name "Turiyananda Sangit"[3] (which translates in English to "The pinnacle delight in music"[4]).

Zakir Hussain was later added on tabla and the name was changed to Shakti (meaning "creative intelligence, beauty, and power.

After 1977, the albums which L. Shankar recorded with Z. Hussain and T. H. "Vikku" Vinayakram stayed close to the music made popular by Shakti.

[9] In 1997, McLaughlin and Hussain put together another band with the same concept, called Remember Shakti, including V. Selvaganesh (son of T. H. "Vikku" Vinayakram ), mandolin player U. Shrinivas and eventually Shankar Mahadevan.