Born on May 19, 1957 in Kyoto, Japan.   Her late father, Professor S.N. Chakravarty, was a professor of English at the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies and the founder and director of the Gandhi Institute, a cultural organization teaching Indian Philosophy, culture, and language.  Her mother, VasantaMala (Yae Yamato) is Japanese, and is the first to bring the true form of Indian dance to Japan.  She is the founder and director of the VasantaMala Indian Dance Institute which has its headquarters in Kyoto and a branch in Tokyo.

Shakti was trained in classical Indian Dance by her mother from the age of three and also studied under the foremost gurus of India.  She was trained in yoga and philosophy by her father.  She received her MA in Indian Philosophy from Columbia University, New York, where she also studied modern dance under Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, and jazz dance legend, Luigi.

Upon returning to Japan, Shakti created a new form of dance blending the two cultures that she is a product of and adding the western culture she was educated in.  Her dance is based on the technique of classical Indian dance and yoga.  It has the the control of yoga and the classic but yet has the freedom and energy that speaks to the people today.  She has performed for ex-prime minister, Indira Gandhi and the Imperial Family of Japan.

Currently she has become a resident of Australia.