One of the few musicians to straddle both classical music systems of India, Lalita Sharma was born and brought up in Kolkata. She had her initial training in Carnatic music at the age of 8 under Smt Padma Narasimhan in Kolkata and further training in Govt Music College, Madras, completing the Sangeeta Vidwan course with distinction, followed by Diploma in Music Teaching. She strengthened her knowledge by completing her B A music from the University of Madras. Further, she trained under Guru V R Krishnan, a noted disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.