Iphigenia (Ito) Sharashidze was born on 25, May, 1933 in Tbilisi, Georgia. After graduating Tbilisi №2 secondary girls’ school with Honours (with a gold medal) she went to Tbilisi Medical Institute graduating as a cardiologist. For 45 years Ito worked as an emergency cardiologist and received many government awards and recognition during her doctoral practice.
Ito plays the guitar very well. She was given a musical education too. It was the mother, Ito, who first taught her son Gigla and the other children how to play the guitar. Ito speaks Russian and Armenian. She learned speaking Armenian in the Sololaki district of Tbilisi famous for its multinational population living in the Old Tbilisi houses with so-called Italian yards.
Ito’s parents were both teachers. Her father Constantine Sharashidze, a geographer by education and her mother Elene Gogeshvili were Honoured Teachers of Georgia. Ito’s sister, Diana Sharashidze, one of the eminent figures of her generation who died young, was a teacher too. Diana Sharashidze’s son Irakli Jhgenti was largely brought up by his aunt Ito. Unfortunately, Irakli, too, died young.
Ito is a descendant of the noble families of Sharashidze, Jakeli and Beridze from Guria and Meskheti (Georgian provinces). It should be noted that the Sharashidze family name has been famous for their good sense of humour and wits. In the second half of the 19th century Taguna Sharashidze, a famous literary man and journalist, established a humorous magazine called “Eshmakis Matrakhi” ( The Devils Lash).
In the circle of Ito’s relations were many individuals distinguished in the Georgian society, great lovers of literature and singing and witticism. At family reunions the Sharashidze family members used to sing airs from the operas by Z. Palishvili and D. Arakishvili. Ito’s maternal uncles and aunts also played the guitar and enjoyed singing. One of the families in Ito’s circle was that of the Honoured Painters of Georgia Ioseb, Vakhtang and Lado Kokiashvili. Vakhtang Kokiashvili in his unique latest work – an artistic album of Georgia called “Georgia, 3000” created with the collage technique which he himself calls The Visual Bible of Georgia has assigned the Chikovani family musical ensemble their proper place in the artistic panel representing Samegrelo, a Georgian province the Chikovani family has originated from.
Ito’s personal traits – her good sense of humour (she is a good parodist too), her gift for music, her warm and loving nature have largely determined the creation of the family ensemble together with her husband Zurab and contributed to its continuous success. A good (and funny as well!) example of her devotion to the common deed is the fact that being in her late pregnancy with the fourth baby she went to Moscow to take part in the concert at the famous Hall of Columns, accompanied by a her gynecologist who was a friend of the family as well.