 She had a younger brother named Mugbil.Her father, a shoemaker who hailed from the village of Goshakilsa (presently in the Bolnisi Municipality, Georgia), noticed her musical gift when Shovkat was six years old.In 1910, he managed to find a sponsor, who agreed to promote her talent at a banquet organized by the vice-regent of the Caucasus, Count Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov.