Music

That's me 

Musical Biography

I have been fortunate to be born in a musical family and have been a student of music since as long as I can remember. I have been learning Hindustani classical music under the tutelage of my mother and my Guru Smt. Meenal Deshpande, a prominent vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana. She has been a disciple of Pandit (Late) Ratnakar Pai and (Late) Gaansaraswati Smt. Kishori Amonkar.

I have attained Sangeet Visharad from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, equivalent to a an undergraduate degree in music. I am also a recipient of the prestigious CCRT (Centre for Cultural Resources & Training) scholarship by the Government of India for my music. I have rendered songs for popular albums such as 'Bawari Shyama’ (Song name: Rani-vani) and also for art films such as 'Parjanya’. I have also been actively involved in promoting Indian classical music through talks and lecture-demonstrations.

IndianRaga Fellowship

I was recently awarded the IndianRaga fellowship and became a 2016 fellow as a vocalist. We were 29 fellows from places across the globe and across different genres of performances, selected by a panel of renowned international judges. As an IndianRaga fellow, I got to meet and collaborate with some amazing musicians, dancers and production engineers, and the 10 days of the fellowship was a superb learning experience.

We collaborated on various ideas to produce innovative new-age music while adhering to our traditional roots. Some of my videos:

  • Padharo Mhare Des The quintessential Rajasthani folk song presented with a modern twist of instrumentation (This video has been highly viral on Facebook with more than quarter million views!)

  • Swar Saadhana This is a contemporary Hindustani Carnatic Jugalbandi with a bandish in Raag Jog written and composed by me, and a krithi 'Naadaanusandhana’ composed by Koteeshwara Iyer in ragam Vaagadeeshwari. The instrumentation with the pianos has a jazz feel to it which makes this piece a confluence of three great traditions of improvisation.

  • Irish Malhar This is a unique piece that combines the beautiful Irish piece 'Toss the Feathers’ by the band Corrs with a Hindustani traditional composition in Sur Malhar 'Badarva barasan ko aaye’

  • Odissi Ashtapadi A beautiful Odissi dance and music collaboration; this is an excerpt of Gita Govindam in Hindi, with lyrics from Pandit Jasraj's composition, and music composed by me in Raag Des.

Concerts

  • International Yoga Day event (organized by Indian Embassy, Israel): 21st June 2017 at Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, Israel
    Official Promo Video International Yoga Day 2017 (watch at 2:40)

Writing on Music

I sometimes blog about musical pieces that are dear to me: The Eclectic Listener