Shashwati Mandal (b. 1971) is a

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, si ...

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

. She is an exponent of the Gwalior gharana.

Early life and training

Shashwati was born in

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

in a family of musicians. Her maternal grandfather Pt. Balabhau Umdekar 'Kundalguru' was a darbar-gayak (court musician) at the royal court of Gwalior, and a singer of the Gwalior gharana. Shashwati started her early classical training under the guidance of her mother, Smt. Kamal Mandal, at a very young age. From 1987-1992, she received a Department of Culture (Govt of India) scholarship to study under the veteran Gwalior gharana singer Pt. Balasaheb Poonchhwale. Balasaheb instilled into her the finer nuisances of Gwalior gayaki, and also trained her into the art of

Tappa Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music. Its specialty is a rolling pace based on fast, subtle and knotty construction. Its tunes are melodious and sweet, and depict the emotional outbursts of a lover. Tappe (plural) were sung mostly by ...

singing, the vibrant semi-classical genre. She continued her training with her gurus, Balasaheb Poonchhwale and Kamal Mandal until their deaths in 2005 and 2006, respectively. She also studied briefly under Purnima Chaudhuri for

Thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dr ...

, Gundecha Brothers for

Dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South In ...

, and Sarbat Hussain for Ghazal singing. In 2009-2010, she received Sanskriti Foundation's Mani Mann Fellowship to study under Madhup Mudgal of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi. In addition, she is heavily influenced by the gayaki of

Kumar Gandharva Pandit Kumar Gandharva (pronunciation:, Kn: ಕುಮಾರ್ ಗಂಧರ್ವ; 8 April 1924 – 12 January 1992), originally known as Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkalimath was an Indian classical singer, well known for his unique vocal style ...

, and the repertoire of

Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana The Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana (also known as Jaipur Gharana, Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana, and Alladiyakhani Gayaki) is an Hindustani music apprenticeship fraternity (''gharana''), founded by Alladiya Khan in the late-19th century. Evolved from the dhrup ...

. Shashwati has integrated these eclectic musical leanings into her gayaki (musical style). She has received praise for her full-throated resonant voice, and clarity of taans and murkis. She is widely regarded as one of the foremost exponents of

singing. She currently resides in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

Career

As a child prodigy Shashwati started giving public performance at the young age of seven. She has performed extensively in India and abroad. Some of her major performances include Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, Maharashtra in 2006 and 2022, Darbar festival in

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 2008, Saptak Annual Festival of Music in Ahmedabad,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

in 2010, Vishnu Digambar Jayanti Samaroh in

in 2010 and 2018, Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan in

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

in 2012 and 2019, ITC Sangeet Sammelan in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

in 2014, Hridayesh Art Festival in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, Maharashtra in 2019, and

Tansen Samaroh Tansen Samaroh or Tansen Sangeet Samaroh () is celebrated every year in the month of December in Behat village of Gwalior district, Madhya Pradesh. It is a 4-day musical extravaganza. Artists and music lovers from all over the world gather here to ...

(several years, most recently in 2021). She is a 'top' grade artist at

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

and is an empanelled artist at

Indian Council for Cultural Relations The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 Apri ...

. Shashwati also served as a staff artist in

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

and an Assistant Professor of Music in Mumbai University,

Discography

* ''Shashwati Mandal'', Alurkar Music House (2006) - Raag Dev Gandhar, Todi, Kalingada Tappa, Bhairavi Tappa * /www.amazon.com/Tappa-Journey-by-Sasha/dp/B01H7YHR70 ''Sasha: A Tappa Journey'' Sense World Music (2007). Nominated to top ten of Songlines Music Awards 2009. * ''Pratah Swar'', Pancham Nishad (2014) - Raag Lalit, Bhatiyar
''Studio Series I''
RagaNXT (2016) - Raag Malgunji, Sohni Bhatiyar, Yaman, Brindabani Sarang Tappa

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandal, Shashwati Hindustani singers Gwalior gharana Indian women classical singers Women Hindustani musicians 20th-century Indian women classical singers 21st-century Indian women classical singers Women musicians from Madhya Pradesh Singers from Madhya Pradesh People from Gwalior 1971 births Living people