I'm teaching myself Bach piano concerto

How to pronounce Indian names correctly

Let's start with vowels. 

a - schwa sound "uh" 

(except when the a starts the name like arvind which is "ahrvind" and arithi which is like "ahr" in the beginning)

e - just like spanish "eh"

i - just like spanish "ee"

o - just like spanish "oh"

u - just like spanish "ooh"

consonants:

S - sometimes, if the name is from sanskrit, the "s" sound is "sh".  That's why ravi (not pronounced "rahvi" but "ruhvi") shankar spells his name with an "h".  It should be spelled sankar.
T- sometimes, if the "t" is followed by an "i" it is a "th" sound.  preeti (also spelled priti) is not pronounced "preetee" or "pretty" but "preethee".  This is why some people spell the name "preethi".

Accent:

If in doubt, always have the accent on the first syllable and every other one after that
 

"janani" is "JUH-nuh-nee" not "jah-NAH-ni"

 Examples:

srivats.  I heard this pronounced "shri-VATS" when it is actually "SHREE-vuts"
chandra.  "chun - druh"
parvati (of harry potter fame).  "PAR-va-TEE" (or thee, whatever they prefer). NOT "par-VA-tee"
kamala (of siddharta fame).  "KUHM-uh-LA" not "kah-MAH-la", and it definitely doesn't rhyme with "pamela"
chakribarty.  "CHUH-krih-BAR-tee"
ramayana. "rah-MY-in-AH" NOT "RAH-ma-YA-na" (this is counter to the first syllable rule)
bhagavad gita.  "BHUH-ga-VUHD GHEE-tuh"
subramanian.  "SOO-bra-MUH-ni-uhn"