Shashwati Mandal Biography 
Shashwati Mandal is a Hindustani classical music vocalist who follows Gwalior style of music. She is also associated with Khayal, Tappa and Bhajan forms of music. Shashwati Mandal, Sasha: A Tappa Journey, Pratah Swar and Studio Series I are her released albums till now. A child prodigy Shashwati started giving public performance at the tender age of seven. She has also served as a staff artist in All India Radio, Bhopal and an Assistant Professor of Music in Mumbai University, Mumbai. She is an 'A' grade artist at All India Radio and is an empanelled artist at Indian Council for Cultural Relations right now.
Shashwati Mandal was born in Gwalior in a family with rich heritage in music and arts. er maternal grandfather Pt. Balabhau Umdekar 'Kundalguru' was a court musician of royal court of Gwalior. For many generations the family has been following Gwalior school of music, and Shashwati is too following the same. Her mother Kamal Mandal is also a Hindustani vocalist, and Shashwati’s initial lessons were given by her. She gave her first stage performance at the age of 7. In 1987 she received a government scholarship through which she learnt Gwalior Gharana of music and also Tappa singing from Pt. Balasaheb Poonchhwale. She continued learning under Balasaheb Poonchhwale and Kamal Mandal, till their death in the mid-2000s.
Later she continued training in other forms of music such as Thumri under Purnima Chaudhuri for a brief period, Ghazal from Sarbat Hussain and Dhrupad from Gundecha Brothers. She also learnt under Madhup Mudgal on a scholarship. She successfully integrated all these styles of singing into her musical style known as Gayki. She performed live at many music concerts including Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav in Pune in 2006.
Published: February 18, 2019
Updated: February 18, 2019
